idea ev

What idea ev does

IDEA (Evangelische Nachrichtenagentur IDEA e.V.) is an independent German Evangelical news agency founded in 1970 and headquartered in Wetzlar, Germany. It operates as a registered nonprofit association (eingetragener Verein) and is described as the only financially independent confessional news agency in Germany. The organization publishes IDEA - Das Magazin, which it characterizes as the highest-circulation national Christian weekly magazine in Germany, alongside a multi-platform portfolio spanning digital (idea.de), print, video (IDEA TV), and audio (IDEAListen podcast, KÖNIGSKINDER video series) channels, with topic coverage across churches, faith, human rights, politics, media, and society. Its theological orientation is conservative and grounded in the Deutsche Evangelische Allianz Glaubensbasis.

Name

idea ev

Legal name

IDEA e.V. Evangelische Nachrichtenagentur

Website

https://idea.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

IDEA is a German nonprofit Evangelical news agency founded in 1970, publishing the highest-circulation national Christian weekly magazine and a multi-platform portfolio (website, TV, podcast) serving German-speaking Christians and Christian organizations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Christian News Media

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120), Broadcasting and Content Providers (516), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812), Television Broadcasting Stations (4833)

akta.pro primary industry

Faith-Based Media, Publishing & Broadcasting (Radio, TV, Digital, Press) (BPAGAJAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Denominational & Community Periodicals (Church Magazines, Diocesan/Temple Newsletters) (MPAJAHAI), Religious/Faith-Based Broadcast Networks (MPABAAAF)

Keywords

• Christian news media
• Evangelical publishing
• Faith-based journalism
• Religious news agency
• Christian news magazine

Headquarters

HQ city

Wetzlar

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Digital Subscriptions: IDEA-Digital-Abo (E-Paper) and IDEA-Premium-Abo (print + E-Paper) providing full access to all content on idea.de, E-Paper downloads, and the online archive. Digital trial: 4 weeks for €1, then €8.95/month.
2. Print Magazine Subscriptions: IDEA - Das Magazin as a weekly print publication. Print subscribers receive the physical magazine.
3. IDEA-Pressedienst: A weekday press service targeting organizations and users with commercial re-use intentions. Requires a paid subscription. Individual article re-use rights can be purchased via a shopping cart system.
4. Donations: Donations accepted to support IDEA's journalism mission, processed via FundraisingBox (Wikando GmbH) with PayPal, Stripe, and SEPA direct debit options.
5. Advertising: Commercial advertising space in IDEA media handled by IDEA-Medienagentur zeichensetzen kommunikation GmbH. Media data sheet available for advertisers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

IDEA operates a multi-channel Christian news media service for German-speaking evangelical and ecumenical audiences. Its core offering is original editorial news content produced daily and distributed through the print weekly "IDEA – Das Magazin," the 24/7 news website idea.de, weekly television program IDEA TV, the IDEAListen podcast, the KÖNIGSKINDER video series, and the IDEA-Pressedienst news service for organizations and other media.

Product overview

IDEA (Evangelische Nachrichtenagentur) operates as a media organization with a multi-platform portfolio. The core offerings include IDEA - Das Magazin (the largest nationwide Christian weekly magazine in Germany, available as print and E-Paper), idea.de (the news website providing both free and paid content 365 days per year), and IDEA TV (weekly television broadcast). Premium offerings include IDEA+ paid content, IDEAPressedienst (subscription-based press service), and various subscription tiers combining print and digital access. Supporting products include the IDEAListen podcast, KÖNIGSKINDER video series, and branded items like the Gebetstagebuch. The organization also operates related platforms including Christ und Job (job marketplace) and offers alternative payment options through tiun pay-per-article and FundraisingBox for donations. The IDEAGruppe includes the parent IDEA e.V., the Congress of Christian Leaders (KCF), the IDEA media agency zeichensetzen, and the IDEA Foundation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• IDEA TV: Television program producing news content
• KÖNIGSKINDER
• IDEA-Medienagentur zeichensetzen
• idea-Stiftung
• Christ und Job

Products and services

• IDEA – Das Magazin
• idea.de
• IDEA Digital-Abo / Premium-Abo
• IDEA E-Paper
• IDEA-Pressedienst
• IDEA TV IDEA's weekly television program providing Christian news and feature reporting in video format, distributed via streaming and social channels.
• IDEAListen Podcast IDEA's regular audio podcast covering Christian news, commentary, and interviews for German-speaking listeners.
• KÖNIGSKINDER IDEA-branded video series for younger audiences produced by IDEA's youth media brand.
• IDEA Edition Annual prayer diary published by IDEA, offering daily devotional entries to subscribers.
• IDEA Spezial IDEA's special-edition publications offering in-depth coverage of specific topics, themes, or events.
• tiun pay-per-article Pay-per-article purchasing option on idea.de via tiun AG, allowing readers to buy individual Premium articles without a full subscription.
• Christ und Job IDEA's job marketplace listing Christian-affiliated employment opportunities; published as part of IDEA's print and digital products.
• IDEA Newsletter Free IDEA newsletter delivered via email on a regular schedule, providing summaries of top stories from idea.de.
• IDEA Switzerland IDEA's editorial service for Switzerland, with separate imprint providing IDEA news and services for German-speaking Swiss readers.

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration18 records

AI capability2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• IDEA-Medienagentur zeichensetzen kommunikation GmbHcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorA subsidiary of the IDEA Group responsible for all advertising space (Anzeigen) and inserts in IDEA media and other products and services. Handles commercial advertising sales for the IDEA Group.
• idea-Stiftung zur Förderung christlicher PublizistikminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerA foundation within the IDEA Group dedicated to promoting Christian journalism and publishing.
• Kongress christlicher Führungskräfte (KCF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA purpose-driven operation of IDEA e.V. (Zweckbetrieb) focused on conferences for Christian leaders. Part of the IDEA Group.
• Deutsche Evangelische AllianzcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIDEA works on the theological basis of the Deutsche Evangelische Allianz Glaubensbasis (faith foundation). IDEA describes itself as theologically conservative within this framework.
• IDEA SchweizminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerA Swiss sister organization publishing a separate weekly magazine in Switzerland. Operates under IDEA Information AG. Oliver Roth serves as Verwaltungsratspräsident (board chair) as of 2025.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• IDEA Schweiz (IDEA Information AG): Sister organization publishing a separate weekly Christian magazine in Switzerland under the IDEA Information AG umbrella. Operates on the same theological foundation and is explicitly referenced as a related entity in IDEA's corporate materials.
• Evangelische Zeitung: Regional Protestant weekly newspaper published by the Evangelische Kirche Hessen-Nassau. Competes for evangelical Christian news readership in Germany with similar print-digital distribution model.
• pro-medienmagazin: German Christian media trade publication covering the religious media landscape. Comparable as a niche Christian publishing outlet targeting media professionals and engaged Christian audiences.
• chrismon: Monthly evangelical magazine published by the Gemeinschaftswerk der Evangelischen Publizistik (GEP). Targets a similar German Protestant audience with longer-form journalism and commentary, distributed via church networks.
• Katholische Nachrichten-Agentur (KNA): Germany's leading Catholic news agency, providing confessional news coverage to Catholic media outlets. Most direct structural analogue to IDEA, but operating for the Catholic market rather than evangelical audience.

Broad incumbents

• Christianity Today: Leading US evangelical Christian news and publishing organization with multi-format presence (print magazine, digital, video). Operates a comparable mission-driven Christian journalism model at significantly larger scale, serving as a benchmark for content diversification strategy.
• ERF Medien: Major German Christian broadcasting organization operating radio (ERF Radio), TV, and digital media platforms. Larger and more established than IDEA in broadcasting, with overlapping evangelical audience but broader portfolio including music and entertainment programming.
• EKD (Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland) News Service: Official news and press office of the Evangelical Church in Germany, the umbrella organization for Protestant churches. Operates a news service and produces content for church-affiliated media, directly overlapping with IDEA's coverage domain but institutionally backed rather than independent.

Emerging players

• Religion News Service (RNS): US-based independent nonprofit news wire service covering religion across traditions. Comparable as a mission-driven, financially independent confessional/interfaith news agency model, though serving a broader interfaith remit than IDEA's evangelical focus.

Regional players

• Christliches Zentrum Buchenfeld - ChrisMedia: Smaller-scale German Christian media operation producing Christian content across digital channels. Less established than IDEA but operates in an adjacent niche within the German evangelical media landscape.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ideaNachrichten
• Xx.com/ideade
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/idea-e-v

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries3 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 idea ev