BurdaForward vs NOZ/mh:n MEDIEN

Burda merges Focus print and online editorial teams

Burda is merging the editorial teams of its Focus magazine brand with Focus Online and Focus+ under the project "Focus One". The first step was taken in late October with the installation of a joint editorial board, including Georg Meck, Franziska Reich, Carsten Fiedler, and Florian Festl. The four newsrooms, located in Munich and Berlin, will be consolidated in Q1 2027, with the legal merger of the companies (BurdaVerlag and BurdaForward) planned for mid-2027. The digital product is being shifted toward paid content, with Focus Online now mixing Plus articles into the homepage and targeting 4,000 trial subscriptions by year-end. The goal is a "digital first" approach, producing print editions from digital content.

• Burda merges editorial teams of Focus, Focus Money, Focus Online, and Focus+ under the project 'Focus One'.
• Joint editorial board installed at the end of October 2026.
• Newsrooms in Munich and Berlin consolidated in Q1 2027, with full integration by mid-2027.

Generationswechsel und neue Doppelspitze bei den Verlagen der NOZ/mh:n-Gruppe im nördlichen Niedersachsen

NOZ/mh:n-Gruppe has announced a leadership transition across its publishing locations in northern Lower Saxony effective November 1, 2026. Helmut Loerts-Sabin retired at age 70 from operational business at BruneMettcker in Wilhelmshaven, with Thorsten Schulze and Falk Lindemann stepping in as co-managing directors. The duo will bundle management responsibilities across sites in Norden, Weener, and Wilhelmshaven to leverage group-wide synergies and technological modernization.

• Helmut Loerts-Sabin retired from operational management at publisher BruneMettcker at age 70.
• Effective November 1, 2026, Thorsten Schulze and Falk Lindemann took over as co-managing directors at Medienhaus Brune Mettcker GmbH.
• Thorsten Schulze additionally joined management at H. Risius Verlag GmbH & Co. KG in Weener alongside Falk Lindemann.

NOZ/mh:n Cleared to Acquire Zeitungsgruppe Ostfriesland

The German Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt) has approved the planned acquisition of the regional newspaper group Zeitungsgruppe Ostfriesland (ZGO) by the media group NOZ/mh:n from Osnabrück. This is part of NOZ/mh:n's strategy to strengthen its position in the German media market. The article is largely paywalled, with only the headline and lead paragraph available. The approval marks a significant consolidation in the regional newspaper sector, potentially affecting advertising markets in the Ostfriesland region.

NOZ/mh:n-Gruppe verdoppelt wöchentliche Digital-Abo-Bestellungen

By optimizing user guidance on its dynamic paywall, German regional publishing group NOZ/mh:n-Gruppe doubled its weekly digital subscription orders to around 600 within eight weeks. The growth was driven by doubling the click-through rate while maintaining a constant conversion rate through reduced paywall complexity and ad suppression. For the coming year, the publisher aims to increase Plus growth from 12% to 19% and nearly double paid content revenue over the next five years.

• Weekly digital subscription orders doubled to approximately 600 within an eight-week optimization period.
• Around 90% of all new subscriptions are generated via local editorial content, with 2,500 sales across 1,400 distinct articles in August alone.
• Paywall optimizations included shifting focus to an annual subscription, adjusting the first-month entry price to one euro, and suppressing all ads when the paywall is active.