AGMA / MMC (AGMA‑MMC)

Agma Adds Synthetic Data to MA Podcast Study

Arbeitsgemeinschaft Media-Analyse (Agma) has, for the first time, supplemented its MA Podcast study with synthetic data, according to an interview with Agma managing director Olaf Lassalle published on August 6, 2026. Agma states the synthetic-data addition did not involve generative AI at this stage. The interview, conducted by journalist Helmut van Rinsum for Horizont, discusses the methodological change and suggests a mid-term plan to augment studies with synthetic data.

agma mixes real interviews with synthetic cases

The Arbeitsgemeinschaft Media-Analyse (agma) has for the first time augmented MA Podcast audience profiles by mixing 18,000 original interviews with 82,000 synthetically modelled cases to create a combined dataset of 100,000 cases. agma says this 'transparent white-box' approach (explicitly without generative AI or external data sources) expands target-group and usage attributes to nearly all participating podcasts, notably helping smaller shows that previously lacked sufficient survey responses. agma maintains the technical download measurement remains unchanged; only the assignment of audience and usage characteristics is augmented. The move is called a milestone by agma’s managing director but also revives debate about the limits and transparency of synthetic data.

Kicktipp Tops Publishers in June Reach

The football prediction platform Kicktipp saw a major traffic surge in June: agma's DNA study reports a 170.9% month-on-month increase, putting Kicktipp ahead of established media brands such as Spiegel and Die Zeit. The article cites multiple reach metrics — 12.56 million users in one ranking and an advertising-relevant net reach rising from 4.85 million in May to 13.14 million in June — placing Kicktipp fourth in the DNA ranking behind t-online, Web.de and GMX. The piece lists other monthly winners (Sport1, Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, desired.de, op-online.de, Express.de, come-on.de, aponet.de) and losers (Merkur.de, Transfermarkt, Nordkurier.de, Abendzeitung, mainpost.de). It also explains the DNA methodology: agma measures only contacts on pages with bookable ad inventory, uses the Prebid standard for Advertising-Reach measurement and models alternative identifiers such as netID or ID5 instead of third-party cookies.