11 Freunde

What 11 Freunde does

11 Freunde is a German football culture magazine and digital media platform, founded in 2000 and headquartered in Berlin. The company publishes journalism covering the Bundesliga, German national team, international football, and broader football culture through a multi-channel portfolio: a monthly print magazine (11FREUNDE) with special editions (SPEZIAL, CHRONIK, LEGENDEN), a website and mobile applications (iOS/Android) providing daily news and analysis, a digital archive spanning 20+ years, and multiple branded podcasts including 11FREUNDE täglich, Zeigler & Köster, Eine Lina für sich, and Der Fußball mein Leben und ich. Interactive features include the Bundesliga Transferkarte, a 30-year transfer visualization powered by transfermarkt.de data, and trivia games.

The company's technology stack is a standard digital publishing platform with web CMS, native mobile apps, and a digital ePaper archive system. Its core technology is content-driven rather than technology-driven. 11 Freunde operates within the SPIEGEL media group's broader infrastructure, sharing account management, advertising sales, and customer service systems.

The business model is primarily subscription-based through the 11FREUNDE CLUB program, with three tiers: Digital (€6.49/month), Klassik print+digital (€8/month), and Premium annual (€120/year). Supplementary revenue streams include merchandise sales, single-issue purchases through the online shop, and gift subscriptions. The target audience is German-speaking football enthusiasts in the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland), with the company maintaining a small team of 1-10 employees and no disclosed venture funding.

Name

11 Freunde

Legal name

11FREUNDE Verlag GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://11freunde.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

11 Freunde is a Berlin-based German football culture media company founded in 2000, publishing a monthly print magazine, digital articles, podcasts, and interactive features for German-speaking football fans via a tiered subscription model (11FREUNDE CLUB) within the SPIEGEL media group.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Media

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Open Educational Resources (OER) & Open Access Academic Publishing (MPAJABAG)

Keywords

• Football magazine
• Sports journalism
• Digital subscription
• Football podcast
• Football culture

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Subscription Revenue - Digital: Digital subscriptions (11FREUNDE CLUB Digital) providing access to all website articles, app content, and digital ePaper editions for €6.49/month with monthly cancellation flexibility
2. Subscription Revenue - Print + Digital: Combined print and digital subscriptions (11FREUNDE CLUB Klassik) including monthly print magazine delivery plus digital access for €8/month
3. Subscription Revenue - Premium: Premium annual subscription (11FREUNDE CLUB Premium) offering complete package including print editions of 11FREUNDE, 11FREUNDE SPEZIAL, 11FREUNDE CHRONIK plus all digital content for €120/year with first-year commitment
4. Single Issue Sales: Individual magazine issues and books sold through the 11FREUNDE Shop (shop.11freunde.de)
5. Merchandise Sales: Merchandise products sold through the online shop with subscriber discounts (10% for club members)
6. Gift Subscriptions: Geschenkabo (gift subscription) service for purchasing subscriptions as gifts

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

11 Freunde is a German-language football magazine and digital media platform that publishes a monthly print magazine alongside a subscription-based digital offering (the 11FREUNDE CLUB) covering Bundesliga, German national team, international football and football culture. The company produces multiple podcasts, interactive web features such as a Bundesliga transfer map, and an online shop selling single issues, books and merchandise. Content is delivered through 11freunde.de, iOS and Android mobile apps, ePaper digital editions and an archive of 20+ years of journalism.

Product overview

11 Freunde is a German football culture magazine and digital media company offering a multi-platform portfolio centered around football journalism. The core offering includes the print magazine (11FREUNDE Magazin) along with specialized editions (11FREUNDE SPEZIAL, 11FREUNDE CHRONIK, 11FREUNDE LEGENDEN). The company operates the 11FREUNDE CLUB subscription program with three tiers (Digital, Klassik, Premium) providing digital access to all content. Audio/video content is delivered through multiple podcasts including '11FREUNDE täglich' (with daily Themenfrühstück and 11FREUNDE am Abend segments), 'Der Fußball, mein Leben und ich', 'Zeigler & Köster', and 'Eine Lina für sich'. Interactive features include an Bundesliga transfer map visualization and football trivia games. The product ecosystem combines print, digital subscriptions, podcasts, and interactive web features.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 11FREUNDE CLUB: Subscription membership program offering exclusive content, podcasts, and digital access
• 11FREUNDE täglich
• 11FREUNDE SPEZIAL
• 11FREUNDE CHRONIK
• 11FREUNDE LEGENDEN
• 11FREUNDINNEN
• Der Fußball, mein Leben und ich
• Zeigler & Köster
• So ist Fußball
• Eine Lina für sich

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SPIEGEL-Gruppe (Spiegel Group)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner11FREUNDE operates as part of the SPIEGEL media group. The company uses SPIEGEL's account management system (gruppenkonto.spiegel.de), and digital offerings fall under SPIEGEL's general terms of service. SPIEGEL Media handles advertising sales, and the SPIEGEL group's customer service infrastructure supports 11FREUNDE operations. The company is legally operated by 11FREUNDE Verlag GmbH & Co. KG, distinct from but integrated with SPIEGEL group operations.
• Deutsche Fußball-Liga (DFL)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner11FREUNDE covers DFL-operated Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga leagues. Content includes match analysis, transfer coverage, and club stories from Germany's top two football divisions.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• DAZN: Global sports streaming service with comprehensive Bundesliga rights and an owned-and-operated content/news layer. Competes indirectly for both subscription wallet share and editorial attention among German football fans.
• Sport1 (Sport1 Medien / Constantin Medien): Multi-sport German broadcaster and digital platform covering football alongside handball, motorsport, US sports and esports. Overlaps with 11 Freunde on football news and podcasts (e.g., Doppelpass, Fußball-Insider) but operates broader sports portfolio and TV distribution.
• Eurosport (Discovery / Warner Bros. Discovery): Major pan-European sports broadcaster with German-language site covering Bundesliga, tennis, cycling, and Olympic sports. Larger incumbent that competes with 11 Freunde for football content attention and live-event storytelling without specializing exclusively in football culture.
• ran (ProSieben / Seven.One): German free-TV sports brand produced by ProSiebenSat.1 covering Bundesliga, NFL and motorsport with digital verticals. Adjacent competitor for football-fan attention and live-event coverage in Germany.
• ESPN FC: US-originated global football editorial brand covering Bundesliga, Premier League, Champions League, transfers and tactical analysis. Comparable as a digital-first football publisher with podcasts and long-form video, though English-language and global rather than German-DACH focused.

Direct peers

• Sport Bild (Axel Springer): Major German sports weekly (print + Bild.de sports vertical) covering Bundesliga, transfers, and fan culture. Competes with 11 Freunde for the same football-fan reader on news, gossip, and longer-form features, with much larger distribution and ad reach.
• Transfermarkt: German-origin football data platform with editorial content on transfers, market values, and club news. Directly comparable: 11 Freunde actually licenses Transfermarkt data for its Bundesliga Transferkarte, and both serve German football fans seeking transfer intel and club context.
• Goal.com (DAZN-owned): Global football-only digital publisher with a dedicated German edition covering Bundesliga, transfers and European leagues. Operates the same football-only editorial positioning as 11 Freunde, monetized through advertising and DAZN's subscription ecosystem.
• Spox (Perform Group / DAZN group): German-language sports news portal with strong Bundesliga, NFL, NBA, and international football coverage. Competes for the same digitally-native sports consumer in Germany on news speed, live tickers, and multimedia formats.
• Kicker (Olympia Verlag / Spiegel-Gruppe affiliate in football media): Germany's flagship football daily (print + digital + kicker.tv) covering the Bundesliga, national team and European leagues. The closest 1:1 competitor to 11 Freunde on Bundesliga journalism, subscription paywall (Kicker+), and football culture, and a sibling within the broader SPIEGEL media ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/11Freunde_de
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/11FreundeTV
• Facebookfacebook.com/11freunde
• Instagraminstagram.com/11freunde
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/11freunde

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about 11 Freunde