City-Press

What City-Press does

City-Press GmbH Bildagentur is a Berlin-based sports photography and image agency founded in 1998, operating as the official photo agency for major German sports organizations including the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), the German national ice hockey team (DEB), Bundesliga football club Hertha BSC, and multiple DEL club teams (Eisbären Berlin, EHC Red Bull München, Grizzlys Wolfsburg). The company also extends coverage to 1. FC Union Berlin, Alba Berlin, Füchse Berlin, and BR Volleys, and operates in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy.

The company's core offering is professional sports photography — live match coverage, studio productions, press conferences, and event shoots — delivered in real-time to media clients via iMessage and password-protected online galleries, and supported by a digital archive of over 1.6 million IPTC-tagged photos (powered by the pixx.io DAM platform). Since 1998, City-Press has additionally held the exclusive license for DEL collectible products, producing official playercards, seasonal sticker series, special editions (glitter, hot foil), and Game-Worn Jersey Cards distributed through retail channels including PENNY supermarket loyalty programs. An in-house graphics and print department provides photo editing, retouching, montage, and print production services.

Revenue is generated through a mix of professional services (event photography contracts), transactional archive licensing (photo usage fees to newspapers and publishers), and licensed collectible product sales. The company is privately held under German GmbH structure, jointly managed by Marco Leipold and Florian Pohl, with no disclosed external funding, parent company, or public revenue figures.

Name

City-Press

Legal name

City-Press GmbH Bildagentur

Website

https://city-press.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

City-Press GmbH is a Berlin-based sports photography agency serving as the official photo partner for the DEL, DEB national team, Hertha BSC, and top German clubs, delivering real-time images, an archive of 1.6M+ photos, and exclusive DEL collectible products.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Photography Services

NAICS

Commercial Photography (541922), Photographic Services (54192)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Highlights, Clip Licensing & Archive Rights (MPABAJAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sports Art, Prints & Photography Retail (CRAMAOAG)

Keywords

• Sports photography
• Image licensing
• Photo agency
• Trading cards
• Graphic design services

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Photo Licensing & Archive Access: Licensing of sports photography to newspapers, publishers, and media outlets. Clients access the photo archive for historical and current sports images.
2. Live Event Photography Services: Professional photography services for sports events, including game-day coverage, studio production, press conferences, and events. Photos delivered in real-time to media partners.
3. Trading Cards & Sticker Products: Production and sale of DEL player cards and sticker collectibles. Includes standard series, special editions (glitter, hot foil), and Game-Worn Jersey Cards with authentic player jerseys. Retail distribution and customer loyalty programs.
4. Graphic & Print Services:

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

City-Press operates as an official sports photo agency for major German leagues (DEL, DEB) and teams (Hertha BSC, Eisbären Berlin, EHC Red Bull München, Grizzlys Wolfsburg, Alba Berlin), providing match-day, studio, and event photography with real-time delivery to media partners. It licenses a digital image archive of over 1.6 million photos covering 20+ years of Berlin sports history, produces licensed DEL trading cards and sticker collectibles, and offers in-house graphic design and print production services.

Product overview

City-Press GmbH is a sports photography agency offering a portfolio of interconnected products and services. The core offering centers on sports photography (match days, studio productions, events, press conferences) and an extensive image archive of over 1.6 million photos covering Berlin and international sports. The company also produces licensed trading cards and stickers for the DEL (Deutsche Eishockey Liga) through its DEL Sammelprodukte line, which includes Playercards and Game-Worn Jersey Cards. A graphics and print department provides in-house design, retouching, and print production capabilities. The image archive is powered by pixx.io digital asset management software, enabling real-time photo delivery and licensing. The portfolio functions as an integrated service offering—photos are captured, processed through the graphics department, stored in the archive, and distributed via secure galleries or delivered directly to clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sports Photography Services (Sportfotografie) Professional sports photography covering match days, studio productions, press conferences, events, and advertising campaigns for football, ice hockey, basketball, handball, and volleyball, delivered in real time to media partners via iMessage and password-protected galleries.
• Bildarchiv (Image Archive)

Quantifiable outcome

• 1.6+ million photos archived
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity-Press is the official photo agency for the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL), covering all games and providing exclusive photography services. Since 1998, they have been the exclusive license partner for DEL collectible products, producing official player cards and stickers.
• Deutsche Eishockey Nationalmannschaft (DEB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial photo agency for the German National Ice Hockey Team, providing coverage of national team events and games.
• Eisbären BerlincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial photo agency for Eisbären Berlin, covering all home and away games. Partnership includes exclusive player photography and event coverage.
• Hertha BSCflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial photo agency since 1998, covering all home and away games for the Bundesliga football club.
• EHC Red Bull MünchencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial photo agency for the DEL ice hockey team, providing game coverage and team photography.
• Grizzlys WolfsburgcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial photo agency for the DEL ice hockey team.
• PENNYcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPENNY is a sponsor and partner for the PENNY DEL (Deutsche Eishockey Liga). City-Press is the official photo agency for PENNY DEL games.
• 1. FC Union BerlinminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity-Press covers all home and away games for the Bundesliga football club.
• Füchse BerlinminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity-Press covers all home games for the professional handball team.
• Alba BerlinminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity-Press covers all home games for the professional basketball team.
• SAP GardenminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSAP Garden is a multi-purpose arena in Munich. City-Press photographers cover events at this venue as part of their Bayern coverage.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• sampics: Cologne-based sports photo agency covering 1. Bundesliga football and DEL ice hockey with archive and editorial licensing. Sampics competes with City-Press for DEL mandates and serves similar media clients in Germany.
• Imago Images: Major German-headquartered sports photo agency offering event photography and archive licensing to media clients across football, ice hockey, and other sports. Imago is the most direct comparable given its German roots, sports focus, and licensing-to-publishers business model.
• Witters Sportfoto: German sports photo agency providing official event coverage for Bundesliga, DEL, and other German sports leagues with archive licensing to newspapers. Directly competes with City-Press for league mandates and newspaper supply contracts.
• action press: Hamburg-based photo agency with significant sports and entertainment editorial coverage, including licensing to German newspapers and publishers. A longstanding specialist competitor in the German editorial sports photo market.
• Pressefoto Baumann: German sports photo agency providing Bundesliga and DEL coverage with newspaper licensing. Comparable to City-Press as a mid-sized specialized competitor in the same German sports photography segment.
• Augenklick: German sports photo agency providing official event photography for Bundesliga, DEL, and international sports. Directly comparable given shared customer base of German sports leagues, clubs, and editorial media clients.

Broad incumbents

• Getty Images: Global commercial photo agency with a significant sports editorial division covering major leagues worldwide. While far larger and broader in scope, Getty is the dominant incumbent that City-Press competes against for high-profile sports licensing deals.
• picture alliance (dpa subsidiary): German press photo agency owned by dpa, offering a broad stock and editorial photo catalog including sports. As a larger, generalist incumbent with deep newsroom relationships, it competes for archive licensing and editorial sports supply contracts.

Others

• Panini Group: Global leader in sports collectibles (trading cards, stickers) and the dominant player in the same adjacent market where City-Press operates its DEL collectibles line. While not a photo agency, Panini directly competes for licensed sports sticker and card programs.

Emerging players

• Camera4: German sports photo agency providing event coverage for football and other sports with digital archive delivery. Operates in the same niche as City-Press, often competing for club mandates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/citypress_gmbh
• Xx.com/photo
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/city-press-gmbh-bildagentur

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 City-Press