Rheinische Post Mediengruppe

What Rheinische Post Mediengruppe does

Rheinische Post Mediengruppe is a privately held German multi-platform media conglomerate headquartered in Düsseldorf, operating across daily newspapers, advertising papers, digital media, radio, and specialized professional publications. Its core product portfolio centers on regional daily newspapers under the Rheinische Post flagship and wholly-owned sub-brands such as General-Anzeiger Bonn, Wuppertaler Rundschau, and multiple Anzeigenblattverlage across North Rhine-Westphalia. The group employs approximately 3,000 people across editorial, printing, logistics, advertising, radio/video production, and customer service operations, with a corporate structure spanning operating subsidiaries including RP Digital GmbH, RP AdLog GmbH, RP Invest, and Rheingrund Immobilien Verwaltungs-GmbH.

The business operates on a diversified revenue model combining recurring subscription revenue from print and epaper readers, advertising sales across newspapers and digital platforms, and B2B services encompassing commercial printing, logistics, call center, market research, event management, publishing services, and real estate. Distribution is multi-channel: print subscription home delivery, online and mobile self-service portals, epaper access, and dedicated phone-based customer service. The technology backbone consists of TYPO3 CMS for web properties integrated with Google Analytics 4, Google Tag Manager, Google Maps, and YouTube — standard third-party services rather than proprietary platforms.

The group is managed by a two-person Geschäftsführung chaired by Johannes Werle, with Hans Peter Bork as the second managing director. Corporate strategy as of 2026 explicitly emphasizes digital transformation, evidenced by the August 2026 appointment of a newly created Deputy Sales Director with a digital growth mandate. The company also operates a formalized sustainability function at Holding level, achieving its first group-wide CO2 footprint and sustainability report in 2023, and maintains WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility compliance, GDPR compliance, and an ISO 27001-certified whistleblower portal. Ownership is private with no public listing, institutional investors, or parent company disclosed.

Name

Rheinische Post Mediengruppe

Legal name

Rheinische Post Mediengruppe GmbH

Website

https://rheinischepostmediengruppe.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1946

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Rheinische Post Mediengruppe is a privately held Düsseldorf-based German regional media conglomerate operating daily newspapers, advertising papers, digital media, radio, and professional publications across North Rhine-Westphalia, serving readers, regional advertisers, and B2B service clients with approximately 3,000 employees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regional Media Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110), Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

National & General-Interest Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAA), Newsletter Publishing Platforms (MPACAIAA)

Keywords

• Regional newspaper publishing
• Digital media services
• Commercial printing
• Advertising sales
• Media logistics

Headquarters

HQ city

Düsseldorf

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Print Newspaper Subscriptions: Daily newspapers form the core of the media group, generating subscription revenue from readers who pay for print and digital newspaper access
2. Advertising: Revenue from advertisers placing ads in newspapers, advertising papers, and digital platforms. Contact for advertising: Tel. 0211 505 2222
3. Service Operations: Revenue from B2B services including call center operations, printing services for external clients, logistics, market research, events, publishing services, and real estate management
4. Event Services: Organization and hosting of events with registration through rp-events.de and Tel. 0211 505 1237

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Rheinische Post Mediengruppe is a German media company that publishes daily newspapers, advertising papers, and professional media across print, digital, and radio channels. The group operates subscription-based news products for individual readers and sells advertising space, printing services, logistics, events, and publishing services to business clients. It employs approximately 3,000 staff and is headquartered in Düsseldorf, with operations focused on the North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany.

Product overview

Rheinische Post Mediengruppe is a multi-platform German media company operating as a media conglomerate with a diverse portfolio of print and digital products, radio broadcasting, and professional publications. The core offerings include daily newspapers (Tageszeitungen) as the heart of the media group, supplemented by digital media (Digitale Medien) including mobile portal and epaper services, radio broadcasting, and specialized professional media (Fachmedien). The group also operates subsidiary companies including RP Digital GmbH for digital products, RP AdLog GmbH for advertising logistics, RP Invest for investment management, and Rheingrund Immobilien for property management. Service operations encompass call center, printing (Druck), logistics, publishing services, events, market research, purchasing, and real estate management. The group employs approximately 3,000 employees across Germany and internationally, with headquarters in Düsseldorf.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• General-Anzeiger Bonn: Daily newspaper and advertising publication for Bonn region
• Düsseldorfer Anzeiger am Wochenende
• Extra-Tipp
• Stadt-Kurier & Kaarster ExtraTipp
• Erft-Kurier & Top Kurier
• Wuppertaler Rundschau

Products and services

• Daily Newspapers (Tageszeitungen) Daily newspapers covering local and regional news across multiple regions in Germany, including Rheinische Post and sub-brand titles such as General-Anzeiger Bonn, Wuppertaler Rundschau, and others; delivered to subscribers via print and digital editions.
• Digital Media (Digitale Medien)

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature2 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• NOZ Medien: Osnabrück-based regional newspaper and digital media group with print, online, and service operations; another private German regional publishing group of similar scope and footprint.
• Funke Mediengruppe: One of Germany's largest regional newspaper groups (WAZ, NRZ, Westfalenpost, Thüringer Allgemeine, Berliner Morgenpost) operating a comparable multi-platform model of regional print, digital, and advertising papers — the closest direct competitor in NRW-adjacent territory.
• Madsack Mediengruppe: Hannover-based regional newspaper group (Hannoversche Allgemeine, Lübecker Nachrichten, Leipziger Volkszeitung) with parallel print, digital, and service operations; comparable in scale and portfolio breadth as a privately held German regional publisher.
• DuMont Mediengruppe: Cologne-based media company (Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, Berliner Zeitung, Mitteldeutsche Zeitung) operating regional newspapers with digital and service extensions; directly comparable as a mid-sized private German regional publisher.
• Südwestdeutsche Medienholding (SWMH): Stuttgart-based holding of regional dailies (Stuttgarter Zeitung, Stuttgarter Nachrichten) plus digital and service operations; structurally similar private regional newspaper group with comparable diversification into services.

Others

• Shutterstock Editorial / dpa: Deutsche Presse-Agentur is a wire service and content supplier to German regional newspapers including RPMG; comparable as an ecosystem participant that regional publishers rely on for non-local news content.

Broad incumbents

• Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck: Stuttgart-based media group encompassing Handelsblatt, Die ZEIT, WirtschaftsWoche, and digital platforms; overlaps in newspaper/magazine publishing, advertising sales, and digital subscription models but operates at portfolio-group scale.
• Axel Springer: Germany's largest national digital media publisher (Bild, Welt) with adjacent regional activities; competes for advertising and reader attention across the same channels, but operates at a much larger scale and with a national/digital focus.
• Ströer: Cologne-based digital and out-of-home advertising group; competes for regional advertising budgets that RPMG's newspapers and advertising papers historically captured, making it an adjacent incumbent on the ad-revenue side.

Regional players

• Medienhaus Rhein Main / VRM: Hesse/Rhineland-Palatinate regional publisher (Allgemeine Zeitung, Wiesbadener Kurier) with print, digital, and logistics; comparable portfolio and business model, though operating in an adjacent rather than overlapping region.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/rheinische-post-mediengruppe

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments2 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Rheinische Post Mediengruppe