Frankfurter Rundschau

What Frankfurter Rundschau does

Frankfurter Rundschau is a privately held German daily newspaper headquartered at Hedderichstraße 49 in Frankfurt am Main, founded in 1945 and operating under the legal entity Frankfurter Rundschau GmbH. The company publishes both a traditional print edition and a digital ePaper, with multiple regional editions covering the Rhine-Main metropolitan area, including Stadtausgabe, Darmstadt/Offenbach, Hochtaunus, Main-Kinzig/Wetterau, and Main-Taunus, alongside a national Deutschland edition. The business is independently owned with Dr. Max Rempel serving as Managing Director and is grouped within the IPPEN.MEDIA network for shared digital infrastructure.

The company's technology stack centers on a cloud-based ePaper digital reading platform with native iOS and Android applications and a web-based reading portal at epaper.fr.de. Core digital features include offline reading via downloadable issues, a 30-day archive for subscribers, a Themenmonitor (topic monitoring) alert system with keyword operators, bookmarks, reading position memory, adjustable text sizes, and text-to-speech. The platform supports in-app subscription billing through Apple App Store and Google Play, with payment processing handled by BS PAYONE and PayPal.

Frankfurter Rundschau operates a diversified B2C revenue model built on recurring print and ePaper subscriptions, single-issue digital sales (€2.79 per issue), combined bundle offers pairing subscriptions with tablet devices on installment plans, regional magazine inserts and prospectuses, and display advertising across digital and print channels. Distribution spans print home delivery, postal delivery, the proprietary web reading portal, and app store channels, serving general consumers and individual readers in Frankfurt and Hesse with a self-service, product-led go-to-market motion.

Name

Frankfurter Rundschau

Legal name

Frankfurter Rundschau GmbH

Website

https://fr-online.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1945

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Frankfurter Rundschau is a privately held German daily newspaper based in Frankfurt am Main, publishing print and ePaper editions across multiple regional Hesse editions and serving general news consumers through subscriptions, single-issue sales, bundles, and advertising.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Newspaper Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (51311)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industry

Alternative/Independent Newsweeklies & Opinion Press (MPAJADAH)

Keywords

• Daily newspaper publishing
• Digital news subscription
• Print newspaper delivery
• EPaper digital reading
• Regional news media

Headquarters

HQ city

Frankfurt

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, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Print Subscriptions: Home delivery of printed newspaper editions, including state delivery fees and postal delivery options
2. ePaper Subscriptions: Digital subscription providing access to current and archived ePaper editions with various regional editions
3. Single Issue Digital Sales: Individual ePaper editions sold for €2.79 per issue through app stores and reading portal
4. Bundle Offers: Combined offerings pairing ePaper/print subscriptions with tablet devices on installment payment plans with minimum contract terms
5. Magazine Inserts and Prospectives: Specialized magazine products and promotional flyers included with regional editions (e.g., GEO, Einfach & Lecker, FR7, puzzle magazines)
6. Advertising: Display and content advertising across digital and print platforms

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Frankfurter Rundschau is a regional German daily newspaper that publishes print and digital editions covering local Frankfurt/Hesse news, national politics, economy, sports, and culture. The company distributes its content through home delivery of printed newspapers, an ePaper digital reading platform (web portal plus native iOS/Android apps), and a free online news portal at fr.de. Revenue is generated primarily through paid print and digital subscriptions, single-issue ePaper sales, bundle packages pairing print with digital access, and advertising across both print and digital channels.

Product overview

Frankfurter Rundschau operates a multi-platform news media business offering both print and digital products. The core offerings consist of the Print-Abonnement (physical newspaper delivery) and the ePaper (digital newspaper edition), which can be purchased as standalone products or combined in value packages. The digital reading experience is delivered through the Leseportal web platform and native FR ePaper Apps for iOS and Android. The FR+ App provides premium digital subscription access. The Themenmonitor feature enables personalized topic tracking across content. Regional editions and supplementary magazines (GEO, FR7, Rätsel-Magazin) expand the content portfolio. All digital products are distributed through the ePaper platform at epaper.fr-online.de.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FR ePaper: Digital edition of the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper accessible via web reader, iOS and Android apps
• FR+ App

Products and services

• E-Paper (FR ePaper) Digital edition of the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper, available as a subscription or single issue purchase. The ePaper replicates the print edition layout and can be read online, offline via app, or downloaded as PDF.
• FR ePaper App (iOS/Android) Native mobile applications for iOS and Android devices that allow subscribers to read the digital newspaper offline. The app provides the complete ePaper reading experience with additional features like bookmarks, topic monitoring, text-to-speech, and adjustable font sizes.
• Leseportal (Reading Portal) Web-based reading platform accessible via browser at epaper.fr.de. Subscribers can read digital editions online, access a 30-day archive of past issues, download issues, and manage their subscription and account settings.
• Print-Abonnement (Print Subscription) Traditional print newspaper subscription delivering the physical Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper to subscribers' addresses. Available with various regional editions including Deutschland, Stadtausgabe, Darmstadt/Offenbach, Hochtaunus, Main-Kinzig/Wetterau, and Main-Taunus.
• FR+ App Premium digital subscription service that provides access to enhanced digital content and features across the Frankfurter Rundschau platforms.
• Kombi-Angebote (Combined Packages) Bundle packages combining print subscription with digital ePaper access, offering subscribers both physical newspaper delivery and digital reading capabilities at a discounted rate.
• Regional Magazines and Prospekte Supplementary magazine content and promotional brochures available through the ePaper platform, including publications like GEO, FR7, Rätsel-Magazin, and Einfach & Lecker, as well as regional prospectuses.

Quantifiable outcome

• ePaper available evening before print publication
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• MailChimp (The Rocket Science Group, LLC)coreTechnology or IntegrationEmail newsletter distribution platform handling newsletter sending, tracking, and subscriber management. Uses tracking pixels for open/click analytics and integrates with the reading portal for newsletter opt-in/opt-out.
• IPPEN.MEDIAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent media network grouping multiple regional news portals under shared digital infrastructure and potentially shared content/network resources.
• Verlag Dierichs GmbH & Co. KGminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSubscription management and invoicing partner handling contract administration and billing for subscription services, located in Kassel.
• Apple Inc. (App Store)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistribution platform for iOS ePaper app, handling app distribution, in-app purchases, and subscription billing through Apple platform.
• Google LLC (Google Play)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistribution platform for Android ePaper app, handling app distribution, in-app purchases, and subscription billing through Google platform.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Die Welt / WeltN24: National German daily with print and WeltPlus digital subscription. Competes with FR for national news readers and digital subscription revenue under Axel Springer ownership.
• Rheinische Post: Major German regional daily with strong digital subscription business (RP Plus) covering North Rhine-Westphalia. Comparable regional daily with successful digital paywall transition.
• Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: Frankfurt-based national daily with strong regional Hesse roots and digital subscription model (FAZ Plus). Closest direct competitor given shared geography and overlapping news/politics coverage, though positioned more conservative vs. FR's left-liberal stance.
• Frankfurter Neue Presse: Local Frankfurt daily covering the same Hesse/Rhine-Main market with print and digital subscriptions. Direct competitor for regional advertising and readership in the same city and adjacent districts.
• Hessische/Niedersächsische Allgemeine (HNA): Regional Hessian daily with print and ePaper subscriptions covering overlapping Hesse geographies. Comparable regional daily business model with multi-edition local coverage.
• Bild / Bild Plus: Germany's highest-circulation mass-market daily with Bild Plus digital subscription. Direct competitor for digital subscriber acquisition and advertising spend at the mass-market end of the spectrum.
• Süddeutsche Zeitung: Germany's largest national quality daily with regional roots (Munich/Bavaria) and strong digital subscription product (SZ Plus). Direct competitor for digital subscribers and national advertising budgets.

Regional players

• Hamburger Abendblatt: Hamburg-based regional daily with print and ePaper subscriptions. Comparable regional newspaper model serving a major German metropolitan market outside FR's geography.
• Main-Post: Würzburg-based regional daily covering Lower Franconia with print and digital subscriptions. Comparable regional daily structure, though outside FR's Hesse core market.
• Berliner Morgenpost: Berlin-based regional daily with print and digital subscriptions. Operates a similar regional daily business model but in a different German metropolitan market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/fr_online
• Facebookfacebook.com/FrankfurterRundschau
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/frankfurter-rundschau

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 Frankfurter Rundschau