Sales 2022: € 2.200 billion

Overview

Bauer Media Group, based in Hamburg, ranked 124th among Germany's largest family businesses at the beginning of 2024. A media group active primarily in the areas of "publishing" and "audio", known above all for its "Yellow Press", its "colorful papers", and its numerous radio stations. Quote from Bauer's homepage: "With more than 500 million magazines sold per year, we are one of the largest publishers in Europe."

General Information

Headquarters
Burchardstraße 11
20077 Hamburg
Germany
Telephone 0049 40 3019-0
e-mail: presse@bauermedia.com
website: http://www.bauermedia.com/corporate-brand-de

Branches of trade: print media, electronic media, audio
Legal form: KG
Financial year: 01.01.-31.12.
Founding year: 1875 as JAL Bauer, 1962 conversion into a limited partnership

Basic economic data

	2023	2022	2021	2020
Revenue (in million €)*	2.200	2.200	2.200	2.076,5
Employees	12.000	11.500	11.500	13.226

*The Bauer Media Group publishes sales figures at the end of each year for the previous year.

management

• Yvonne Bauer, Owner & Chair of the Board
• Gerald Mai, Chief Legal Officer
• Jan Wachtel, President Publishing
• Vivian Mohr, President Audio

History

In 1875, Johann Andreas Ludolph Bauer (1852-1941) founded a lithography and stone printing business on Billhorner Röhrendamm in Hamburg. From 1897, the company, renamed Bauer & Baltzer, printed the free advertising paper of the "Rothenburgsorter Zeitung" there. A few years later, Heinrich Friedrich Matthias Bauer (1874-1949), the founder's son, took over the printing business. The company moved its headquarters to Burchardstrasse in 1923 and published the magazine "Rundfunkkritik" from 1926. With the increasing importance of the radio medium, circulation rose to more than half a million copies sold in the 1930s, and "Rundfunkkritik" became "Funk-Wacht".

Since 1918, the founder’s grandson Alfred Louis Heinrich Bauer (1898–1984) also worked in the family business. In 1935 he became a partner and in 1939 he joined the NSDAP. Research by “Spiegel” and the NDR media magazine “Zapp” in 2020 revealed a content proximity the “Rundfunkkritik” or “Funk-Wacht” adhered to Nazi ideology. For the Nazis, the “Funk-Wacht” was “an important instrument for directing and influencing the population”, for the Bauer Verlag: the most successful magazine in the Third Reich.

The “Zapp” research also revealed that a serial novel was published in the “Funk-Wacht” in the autumn of 1933, “which was influenced by National Socialism in its diction and ideology.” It was about “a group of social democratic anti-fascists, portrayed as corrupt and incompetent – entirely in keeping with the prevailing ideology. At the end of the novel, they end up in a concentration camp, where some members of the group are brought back to true National Socialist life through physical labor.” Media historian Karl Christian Führer commented: “Nobody would have cared if the 'Funk-Wacht' had simply published another entertainment novel. It suddenly publishes a novel that legitimizes the dictatorship, justifies it and supports the tyranny of the National Socialists.” (In 1942, the “Funk-Wacht” was discontinued due to a lack of paper).

After the war, Bauer Verlag tried to obtain a license again, this time for the “Neue Funkwacht”. But the Hamburg Press Committee only issued it under certain conditions: the serial novel mentioned was judged to be “pandering to the NSDAP and defaming the democratic parties”. What also turned out was that Bauer had bought a total of eight properties in the 1930s, including two from Jewish owners in 1938. At a time “when many Jewish owners had to sell their properties to escape Nazi terror.” (“Zapp”)

Alfred Bauer took over management after the end of the war. Since the company did not receive a press license from the British administration, it was not until the founding of the Federal Republic that the idea of publishing magazines began. However, in the course of the economic miracle, Bauer expanded and became the second largest West German publishing house by 1968 - first in 1961 by purchasing the Kurt Müller publishing house in Düsseldorf and then the Vienna-based Lachner publishing house in 1963. In the same year, Heinz Heinrich Bauer (born 1939), Alfred Bauer's son, took over management of the publishing house in the fourth generation.

The group grew and soon dominated the “Yellow Press” market, including with the following magazines: “Hören und Sehen” (later “TV Hören und Sehen”), “Quick”, “Neue Post”, “Praline”, “Bravo” (a youth magazine taken over in 1968 that became one of the company’s most successful publications), “Bravo Girl” (1988), “Revue” (merged with “Neue Illustrierte” in 1966. “Neue Revue” was created and was discontinued in 2008). Or it grew with fashion and women’s magazines (“Neue Mode”, “Neuer Schnitt”, “Elsa Moden”). Or it took pulp novels from the country milieu and trivial literature into the publishing program. In the 1970s, more and more special interest titles were published, for example on the topics of cooking, DIY, living and building, gardening, vehicles. The Bauer Publishing Group: Germany's largest magazine publisher.

Since 1984, Bauer has been involved in TV productions, for example the magazine "Bravo TV" (Sat.1, RTL2, ZDF; discontinued in 2010). In 1991, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Bauer bought a daily newspaper: the "Volksstimme" from Magdeburg, founded in 1890, originally social democratic in orientation, published in the GDR as an SED organ. In addition, in 2020 the Bauer Media Group also took over the "Mitteldeutsche Zeitung" (abbreviation "MZ", from Halle) from the Cologne-based DuMont Media Group. Then, like many German publishers, after 1989 Bauer took the opportunity to expand into Central and Eastern Europe. And in 1991 the program guide "TV Movie" was founded. Finally, in 2012 the Bauer Media Group bought the German editions of "Cosmopolitan", "Shape" and the magazine "Joy".

But there were setbacks. In 1992, the magazine “Quick”, the former flagship of the group, had to be discontinued. And the project to compete with the Hamburg “Spiegel” with the news magazine “Ergo” failed. What also failed in 2002: the purchase of Sat.1 and ProSieben, parts of the Kirch bankruptcy estate in which the company was interested. Or the expansion in the daily newspaper market. Bauer was interested in the Berlin “Tagesspiegel” in 2003 – the renowned capital newspaper was supposed to be the sleazy image von Bauer. But despite a final offer of 20 million euros, the deal with Holtzbrinck-Verlag failed.

In 1989, the first Bauer newspaper was launched in the USA with "Woman's World". In 2006, the company acquired shares in the Polish radio station RMF (which is now fully owned by the publishing group), which claims to be the most listened to station in Poland. At the end of 2007, the company took over popular magazines and radio stations from the British media company emap (founded in 1887). The magazines now owned by Bauer in Great Britain include titles such as "Empire", "FHM", "Mojo", "Q", the British edition of "Grazia" and "Closer"; the 94 radio stations cover most of Great Britain. Bauer is now the second largest commercial radio operator and the largest magazine publisher in Great Britain.

In September 2012, Bauer took over the Australian media company Australian Consolidated Press (ACP), at the time the largest magazine publisher in Australia and New Zealand, for the equivalent of 407 million euros (in June 2020, however, the news came: Bauer is selling its entire Australia and New Zealand business to the financial investor Mercury Capital. Bauer's COO at the time: "Australia is one of the most difficult magazine markets in the world"). Finally, in 2013, the Bauer Media Group bought the British radio station "Absolute Radio" and in 2015 the Scandinavian radio provider SBS Discovery Radio with the stations "Mix Megapol" (Sweden), "Radio Norge" (Norway), "Nova fm" (Denmark) and "Iskelma" (Finland).

But then rdeclining sales and advertising revenues from Bauer Media. In 2018, publisher Yvonne Bauer said: The group should become more independent from its core business, becoming a "multi-business company" with four pillars: "Publishing business (print/digital), radio, online comparison portals for cell phone, financial and electricity contracts, and digital marketing services for smaller companies." A business strategy that did not work out. The first two pillars now have English titles (Publishing, Audio), the comparison platforms only appear in investments - the marketing services no longer exist.

For a long time, Bauer had no particular interest in its own past. Other large publishing houses had looked into their role in National Socialism: Burda, for example, DuMont Verlag, Bertelsmann even with a commission of historians. And now, after research by "Spiegel" and "Zapp", Bauer too. It was said: "We will commission a historian in the course of 2020 to research the history and prehistory of Bauer Verlag during the National Socialist era and share the results with the public."

management

Since its foundation around 150 years ago, the company has been owned by the notoriously secretive Bauer family. The last generational change had been imminent, however. “At the time, my father had chosen me to inherit a large part of the publishing house,” the publisher Heinz Heinrich Bauer (born 1939), who was considered to be shy of the press, a “bean counter” or a “penny pincher without vision,” told the “Spiegel”" 2009. "The principle has proven itself because I was able to make quick decisions and take high risks. I want to do the same." In the same year, the course was set accordingly. Bauer brought his second youngest daughter Yvonne, born in 1977, who "toughest“ of his four children into the company management and made her head of important publishing divisions. For the “cool crown princess”, according to “Die Welt” in January 2010, this was an intermediate step towards the complete assumption of power.

In December 2010, the headline read: “Yvonne Bauer is the new publisher.” 85 percent of the company’s limited partnership shares were transferred to her with immediate effect. And the publishing house remains in family hands for the fifth generation. The three sisters – Mirja, Nicola and Saskia Bauer – now each have a five percent share as limited partners in Heinrich Bauer Verlag KG. On the occasion of the company’s 150th anniversary (2025), Yvonne Bauer (Chair of the Board) presented the Executive Board Jan Wachtel ("Publishing", previously in management positions at Bild, RTL and the Funke Media Group) and Vivian Mohr ("Audio") were appointed to head the core business areas. Yvonne Bauer: "I am proud to be able to lead the Bauer Media Group as a family business in the fifth generation and to ensure that we also help shape the media industry for the next few decades."

Business segments

Today, Bauer is active in eleven international markets, including Germany, Great Britain, the USA, Spain, France, Poland, Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. More than half of the turnover is generated abroad, in the three business areas Publishing, audio, investment. Or rather, quote from Bauer's homepage: "We are a media company that focuses on creating content for millions of people across Europe. Our offering includes print and online publications, audio entertainment and investments in other media and technology areas."

Bauer Media Publishing (“Informing, entertaining and inspiring every day”)
Another quote from Bauer's homepage: "With more than 500 million magazines sold each year, we are one of the largest publishers in Europe. From women's and celebrity magazines to TV magazines and food and special interest titles: both in print and digitally, we publish some of the most popular media brands in Germany, Great Britain, Poland and France."

In Germany, Bauer is the largest company in the publishingIndustry. The focus is on the TV, Women, Celebrity, Food, Health and Special Interest segments. Examples of magazines published in Germany: “Alles für die Frau”, “Astrowoche”, “Auf einen Blick”, “Auto Zeitung”, “Avanti”, “Bella”, “Bravo”, “Bravo Girl”, “Bravo Sport”, “ClassicCars”, “Closer”, “Fernsehwoche”, “Freizeitwoche”, “inTouch”, “Joy”, “kochen & genießen”, “Laura”, “Lecker”, “Mach mal Pause”, “Maxi”, “Mein TV und ich”, “Mini”, “das neue”, “Das Neue Blatt”, “Neue Post”, “Rezepte pur”, “Schöne Woche”, “Selbst ist der Mann”, “Shape”, “Tina”, “tv14”, “TV Hören und Sehen”, “TV klar”, “TV Movie”, “Welt der Wunder”, “Woche heute”, “Wohnidee”. And further: “In the digital world, our online brands, including our wide-reaching women’s lifestyle portal “WUNDERWEIB.de” ... and our food portal “lecker.de”, are leaders in their respective fields.”

The Bauer Media Group took over the German edition of the traditional women's magazine "Cosmopolitan" in spring 2012. Bauer (they wanted to attract advertising customers from the luxury segment) called the deal an expansion of the "premium portfolio" at the time; the Süddeutsche Zeitung commented that it seemed "as if Pinneberg and Paris were to become twin towns".

Foreign markets (examples): One in three Great Britain sold magazine comes from the Bauer Media Group (including “Grazia”, “Empire”, “Mojo”, “Closer”, “Bella”). In France For example, there are “Télécâble Sat Hebdo” (with around 416,000 copies sold per week), “Maxi” (with around 274,000 copies sold per week), “Maxi Cuisine”, “Jeux de Maxi”. In Poland 200 million copies of magazines are sold annually and “9 out of 10 best-selling magazines” are published.

Bauer Media Audio (“Making our listeners’ world sound better”)
Europe's leading operator of digital radio stations with over 57 million listeners every week. Active in eight countries, Bauer owns audio brands such as Mix Megapol (Sweden), Radio Norge (Norway), RMF (Poland), Radio Expres (Slovakia), The Voice (Denmark), Radio Comercial (Portugal), Radio Nova (Finland), Today FM (Ireland) or KISS, Magic, Absolute Radio, Scala Radio, Hits Radio Brand Network (all in the UK) and many more.

Bauer Media Investments
This includes two daily newspapers: the Magdeburg-based “Volksstimme”, founded in 1890 and acquired by Bauer in 1991; the “Mitteldeutsche Zeitung” from Halle, taken over by the Cologne-based DuMont Media Group in 2020. And the shares in the TV station RTL Zwei (31.5 percent) and in Radio Hamburg (25 percent capital shares), as well as internet comparison and health platforms.

Current developments

“Less and less advertising money is being invested in printed magazines”: In 2024, the print group Bauer decided to outsource the independent marketing of its German magazines to Ad Alliance (RTL or Bertelsmann “marketing unit”) from 2025 onwards; the Federal Cartel Office granted permission for this on November 11, 2024.

There was also a new editorial organization from March 2025: a single "central editorial office" was to develop the content for "almost all of the company's magazines." For years, editorial departments had been merged into "cross-title topic teams," and now the aim was to "revolutionize magazine production." This would not cost any jobs, it was said, without saying anything about the terms and conditions.