MEDIA MARKET

EUROPE: DECEMBER 2007 - Consolidation forecast in the German newspaper industry.

Germany's newspaper industry is highly fragmented and the market has attracted overseas investors as local publishers are restricted in their expansion plans by still extant legislation preventing media concentration which were passed in the wake of World War 2. Many smaller family-owned newspaper groups are forecast to come on to the market as they lack successors and funds for expansion into the digital arena. It has been forecast that 80 to 100 regional publishers will have disappeared by 2025.

The Suddeutsche Zeitung, Germany's bestselling broadsheet is currently being auctioned and has attracted interest from UK and US private equity companies and four privately-held German newspaper groups, SWMH, Holtzbrinck, DuMont and WAZ Group

Employees of Berliner Verlag, publishers of, amongs others, Berliner Zeitung and Hamburger Morgenpost, are in dispute with new owner Mecom. Mecom was founded in 2005 by David Montgomery, formerly Chief Executive of the UK's Mirror Group and is an acquisitive pan-European newspaper group.

Their issues include Mecom's plans to combine online and print activities, outsourcing of sub-editing responsibilities and its reputation for fierce cost-cutting.

Germany's largest newspaper publisher, Axel Springer, recently announced an 8.9% increase in revenues for the first 9 months of 2007; earnings for the period (EBITA) were equivalent to the same period in 2006 despite higher start-up costs.

Related Market Industry Reports

Germany Newspapers 2007
Snapdata's Snapshots Germany Newspapers 2007 provides 2005 year-end market size data, with 2006 estimates, 4 years of historical data and five-year forecasts. The Snapshots report gives an instant overview of the German newspaper market, and covers national, regional and other newspapers. Free newspapers are not included. Market volume is based on average daily circulation. The data is supplied in both graphical and tabular format for ease of interpretation and analysis. The Snapshots Germany Newspapers 2007 forms part of Snapdata's Media industry coverage.