Bertelsmann

Return to England: Harry & Meghan's Business Model Implodes

Manager Magazin reports that Prince Harry and Meghan plan to return to England in August 2026 after a period of mixed commercial results in the U.S. High-profile content agreements — a multi-year Archewell-Netflix deal initially reported at about $100 million and a reported $25 million Spotify podcast arrangement — underperformed or were scaled back: Netflix work moved to a cautious first-look pact and the Spotify podcast ended after twelve episodes. Other ventures show uneven success: Harry secured a reported $20 million Penguin Random House book deal with strong initial sales, while Meghan’s D2C lifestyle brand As Ever achieved rapid sell-outs and an alleged $36 million in 2025 sales from a signature jam gift box (figure leaked January 8, 2026). Harry also holds a role at BetterUp.

UFA pilots Twitch quiz hosted by Max Schradin

UFA Show & Factual, Bertelsmann’s production arm, and DLS Consulting are piloting an interactive live quiz for Twitch titled "Was weiß ich?! Frag die Anderen!". The pilot premieres live on August 21, 2026 on streamer Max Schradin’s Twitch channel, with Schradin hosting and creators Zarbex and Trymacs competing. The format lets contestants use their communities as jokers—bringing followers in via video call or letting Twitch chat vote—features surprise guest jokers from creator, comedy and music scenes, and uses a points-and-penalties mechanic culminating in a final round where a supporter can multiply or divide the finalist’s score. UFA frames the project as transferring classical TV quiz expertise into Twitch’s live, interactive community logic and sees potential commercial and distribution opportunities; senior producer Hendrik Thieler and DLS founder David Leonard Stade provided commentary.

Payback Strengthens FMCG Team

Payback, the American Express-owned loyalty business, has expanded its FMCG team to deepen collaboration with consumer-goods partners and accelerate its commerce-media activities. The company created a new role, Lead Sales & New Business FMCG, intended to lead sales efforts and pursue new advertiser and partner opportunities across FMCG. In June Payback appointed Maximilian Aigner — a former Bertelsmann manager with marketing experience — to the position; his hiring has been communicated both internally and externally as a commerce-focused sales appointment. The personnel move is part of a wider strengthening to make Payback more attractive to FMCG companies as it builds out commerce and media capabilities. The appointment was reported on 13 August 2026 by Horizont (Michael Reidel) and Lebensmittelzeitung (DFV Mediengruppe).