Observed Signal · Jul 1, 2026 · Report Release · Source: Meedia · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
LAE 2026: Manager Magazin, Wirtschaftswoche Top Winners
The Leitanalyse Entscheidende in Wirtschaft und Verwaltung (LAE) 2026 study, covering 3.066 million 'deciders' in business and administration, shows shifts in crossmedia and print reach among German news brands. Crossmedia winners (print + online) include Manager Magazin and Wirtschaftswoche, while Der Spiegel remains the largest brand overall but lost print readers and saw a small drop in percentage reach. Stern and Capital did not participate this year; Business Insider, Politico and Gründerszene (three Axel Springer online brands) and the TV broadcaster Welt are included for the first time with reported reach figures. Several newspapers and digital outlets (Handelsblatt, Süddeutsche Zeitung, F.A.Z., heise online) also recorded audience gains in either online or print segments.
LAE 2026 publishes audience reach and crossmedia rankings used by media buyers and publishers for planning and monetisation; relevant industry data but not a platform policy or major market-shifting event.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- LAE 2026 counts 3.066 million "deciders" (target population), up ~52,000 from the prior year.
- Der Spiegel remains the largest crossmedia brand with 1.729 million reach but its percentage reach fell from 57.0% to 56.4%; Spiegel lost 33,000 print readers.
- Manager Magazin added 42,000 readers (an 8.1% increase) across print and online; Wirtschaftswoche grew by 35,000 (4.3%).
- For the first time LAE reports Axel Springer online brands: Business Insider (275,000 reach), Politico (150,000) and Gründerszene (110,000); TV channel Welt appears with 306,000 daily viewers.
- Stern and Capital did not participate in the LAE this year (noted as dropped, associated with the RTL group).
Connected Companies & Entities
4 Entities mapped“Die größten Gewinner bei den Crossmedia-Reichweiten aus Print und Online heißen diesmal “Manager Magazin” und “Wirtschaftswoche”...”
“Erstmals dabei sind hingegen mit "Business Insider”, “Politico” und “Gründerszene” drei Online-Marken von Axel Springer...”
“MEEDIA berichtet über die Milliarden Euro schwere Schnittmenge, in der sich Medien und Marken treffen. MEEDIA-Chefredakteur Jens Schröder li...”
Related Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
Handelsblatt, Tagesspiegel and B.Z. Gain Reach 2026
AGMA's MA Tageszeitungen 2026 shows mixed results: while overall readership trends remain downward, several titles grew reach year-on-year. Bild remains the largest daily with 5.81 million readers (down 4.4%). Notable reach gains were recorded for Handelsblatt, Tagesspiegel (now classified as an overregional paper), B.Z. and the Morgenpost for Sachsen; regional subscription combos such as RheinMainMedia Gesamt and the Stuttgarter Zeitung/Stuttgarter Nachrichten duo also improved. Losses were reported for titles including F.A.Z. (−5.0%), taz (−17.2%, now digital-only), Berliner Morgenpost, Ostsee Zeitung and Westdeutsche Zeitung. The report notes a methodological caveat: the MA base population fell from 71.00 to 70.03 million due to new microcensus figures, making small national declines (around 1.4%) expected.
MA Reach: Spiegel, Bild am Sonntag Biggest Losers
The MA Pressemedien II 2026 audience measurement shows broadly declining reach for German magazines and weekly newspapers. The largest absolute losses were recorded by Der Spiegel (−450,000 readers) and Bild am Sonntag (−430,000 readers), while ADAC Motorwelt and TV Spielfilm plus also suffered steep declines. Prisma remains the highest-reach title with 5.88 million readers per issue. Only nine of the top 50 titles gained reach versus the prior MA; notable gainers include lifestyle titles InStyle (+130,000 readers, +21.7%) and essen&trinken (+110,000 readers, +11.8%). Several program-guide titles (e.g., Hörzu, TV Movie) grew despite the overall downward trend.
Carsten Schwecke to Lead Retail Media at MediaMarktSaturn
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.
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