Axel Springer
Digital publisher monetising news audiences through ads and subscriptions.
Available information varies by company and source.
Profile record updated:
Company facts
- Official name
- Axel Springer SE
- Entity type
- COMPANY
- Founded
- 1946
- Headquarters
- Axel-Springer-Straße 65, 10888 Berlin
- Company size
- >5,000
- Market role
- Publisher & Media Owner
- Official website
- axelspringer.com
What Axel Springer does
Axel Springer creates and acquires editorial brands that attract large consumer and professional audiences across web, mobile, newsletters and print. It monetises those audiences through direct-sold and programmatic advertising, paid digital subscriptions, premium editorial products and centralised inventory sales across multiple titles. Value is created by combining strong media brands, recurring reader revenue and shared commercial infrastructure that can be applied across markets and publications.
Category differentiation
This is the German media group, not a single newspaper title or a standalone advertising platform. It should also be distinguished from its individual brands such as BILD, WELT, Business Insider and POLITICO.
Strategic context
AI-supported assessment from the existing company research; distinguish interpretation from sourced facts.
Axel Springer is a German media company that owns and operates a portfolio of digital and print publishing brands, including mass-market news, premium journalism and specialist political media. Its portfolio includes BILD, WELT, Business Insider, POLITICO, Onet, Fakt and lifestyle media such as ICON, and it has also expanded into the UK through Telegraph Media Group. The company serves both consumer audiences and professional readers, while also selling advertising inventory to brands and agencies through its central sales organisation. The group makes money through a hybrid model combining advertising and subscriptions. Consumer-facing media brands monetise through digital advertising, premium paywalls and newsletters, while Media Impact commercialises cross-brand inventory for advertisers. Axel Springer also operates proprietary advertising products such as AdUp Technology for native and performance advertising, reinforcing its role as both a publisher and a media monetisation platform.
Company news briefing
Briefing updated:
Axel Springer has appointed Florian Reinartz and Karsten Lehmann as co-CEOs of Bonial following leadership shifts, while reinforcing its global editorial team with investigative journalist Jonathan Calvert. In digital product innovation, the Welt brand launched an Instagram-native livestream format for state elections. Additionally, the company announced the 2026 Axel Springer Award featuring Peter Thiel at its Berlin headquarters.
Business model & monetisation
The company uses a hybrid monetisation strategy. Core publishing brands generate revenue from digital advertising inventory and paid subscriptions or premium access. Advertising sales are centralised through Media Impact, which packages inventory across multiple titles for direct and programmatic campaigns. Additional monetisation comes from native and performance advertising via AdUp Technology, while some brands still retain print-related advertising and circulation revenue. The supplied product data also indicates a strong digital mix, with more than 85 percent of revenues coming from digital channels.
- Digital advertising across owned publisher brands
- Ad-supported inventory sold direct and programmatically
- Reader subscriptions and premium content
- Content Subscription
- Native and performance advertising
- Percentage Take-Rate
- Print advertising
- Ad-supported print inventory
- Print circulation and magazine sales
- Content Subscription
Products & capabilities
No products with linked sources are available in this view.
Products & market categories
Competitors & alternatives
- Recurrent Ventures
Digital media owner monetising niche editorial brands through advertising and subscriptions.
- Condé Nast
Premium publisher monetising editorial brands through ads, sponsorships and subscriptions.
Side-by-side comparisons
Subsidiaries & acquisitions
- SoD ScreenOnDemand
Multiscreen advertising platform for cross-device delivery, data and creatives.
- WELT
German publisher and broadcaster behind the WELT news brand.
- Telegraph / The Telegraph
UK subscription-first news publisher with premium advertising inventory.
- POLITICO
Political news publisher with premium policy intelligence subscriptions.
- mediaimpact
German media sales house for premium publisher advertising inventory.
Recent recorded signals
Dates refer to the source publication. Older entries are historical context, not evidence of a new event.
Morning Brew Acquires Express Checkout Newsletter
M&A · Recorded impact score: 2/5
Morning Brew Inc., the business media publisher owned by Axel Springer, has acquired Express Checkout, a creator-led media brand focused on the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. The all-cash deal, whose terms were not disclosed, gives Morning Brew 100% of Express Checkout's intellectual property. Co-founders Nate Rosen and Jenna Movsowitz will join Morning Brew full-time. Express Checkout started as a weekly newsletter covering CPG and e-commerce. This acquisition continues Morning Brew's strategy of bringing independent creators and their audiences into its portfolio.
- Morning Brew Inc. acquires Express Checkout, a creator-led CPG media brand.
- The deal is all-cash and includes 100% of Express Checkout's intellectual property.
Carsten Schwecke to Lead Retail Media at MediaMarktSaturn
Retail Media · Recorded impact score: 3/5
Carsten Schwecke, formerly Chief Commercial Officer at RTL Deutschland and previously head of marketing at Seven.One Entertainment Group, will become co-CEO and Managing Director of MediaMarktSaturn Marketing GmbH on November 1, 2026, leading the retail media and partner marketing unit jointly with CMO Michael Schuld. Schwecke focuses on expanding first-party data activation, offsite media, and the publisher business, broadening the growth strategy beyond retail media and partner marketing. He succeeds Boris Prondzinski and Torsten Ahlers, who are leaving amicably; Ahlers supports the handover until January 31, 2027. In fiscal year 2024/25, retail media revenue reached around 91 million euros, up from about 5 million three years earlier. For offsite expansion, MediaMarktSaturn partners with Unlimitail.
- Carsten Schwecke becomes co-CEO and Managing Director of MediaMarktSaturn Marketing GmbH on November 1, 2026, alongside CMO Michael Schuld.
- Schwecke previously held leadership roles at RTL Deutschland, Seven.One Entertainment Group, and Axel Springer.
Dyn partners with Sport Bild, loses Basketball Champions League rights
Sports Rights · Recorded impact score: 2/5
Dyn, the German sports streaming service, has entered a partnership with Sport Bild, allowing the Axel Springer-owned media brand to broadcast 150 live games from top German leagues, including basketball, handball, table tennis, hockey, and volleyball, on its platforms. Dyn also announced a collaboration with Ströer to display handball highlights on digital out-of-home screens and acquired extensive table tennis rights through 2028, including European Championships and ETTU Champions League. However, Dyn lost the rights to the Basketball Champions League to Deutsche Telekom's MagentaSport, which will now broadcast up to 64 games. Additionally, Sportdigital secured a package of eight international football and rugby competitions, while Sky and RTL added new experts for NHL and NFL coverage.
- Dyn and Sport Bild agreed on a partnership enabling Sport Bild to show 150 live games from German leagues.
- Dyn lost the Basketball Champions League rights to Deutsche Telekom's MagentaSport.
Thiel Criticizes Media as 'Left-Wing Hate Machine' at Award Ceremony
Media Criticism · Recorded impact score: 1/5
Tech billionaire Peter Thiel received the Axel Springer Award in Berlin, during which he sharply criticized parts of the media, calling them a 'left-wing hate factory.' He praised Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner and CBS journalist Bari Weiss for their 'courage' and as 'counter-voices.' Thiel also commented on the recent election success of the Left party in Berlin, acknowledging housing issues but dismissing their rent control policies. The event was met with protests from over 200 people, and the German Journalists' Association (DJV) had also criticized the award beforehand.
- Peter Thiel was awarded the Axel Springer Award in Berlin.
- Thiel described parts of the media as a 'left-wing hate factory' during his speech.
German Online Media Traffic: Ruhr 24 and Tag24 Strong, t-online and Chip Down
Media · Recorded impact score: 2/5
According to Similarweb data for August 2026, the majority of Germany's top 100 online media outlets saw a decline in visits compared to the previous year. Notable losers included t-online (-28.2%), Chip (-32.3%), and Chefkoch (-28.7%), while Ruhr 24, Tag24, and MDR achieved their highest traffic in 13 months. Bild remained the clear leader with 166.32 million visits. The article highlights that Ippen Group's titles (Merkur.de, Frankfurter Rundschau, Ruhr 24) continue to benefit from Google traffic, suggesting AI tools have not yet negatively impacted them. The data is based on Similarweb's estimations, not direct measurement.
- Bild was the top German media website with 166.32 million visits in August 2026, down 4.5% year-over-year.
- t-online saw a 28.2% drop in visits year-over-year, losing 41.04 million visits.
Explore company relationships
Questions about Axel Springer
What is Axel Springer?
Axel Springer is a German media company that owns digital and print publishing brands and monetises them through advertising and subscriptions.
Who uses Axel Springer?
Its products are used by consumer news readers, business and policy professionals, subscribers, and by advertisers and agencies buying access to its media inventory.
How does Axel Springer make money?
It makes money from digital and print advertising, paid subscriptions, premium editorial products, and native or performance advertising sold across its portfolio.
Sources & coverage
This profile uses public, official and technically observable information. Missing information does not prove that a product or relationship does not exist. The list below does not imply that every profile statement has been verified.
19 publicly documented primary sources and citations linked across the market graph.
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