Quarter Media

What Quarter Media does

Quarter Media (QUARTER MEDIA GmbH) is a Hamburg-based digital advertising monetization specialist founded in 2001 that operates as a programmatic sales house and ad-tech intermediary between publishers and advertisers in the DACH region. The company was acquired by Nuremberg-based Olympia-Verlag in August 2021 and now operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary within the Verlagsgruppe N\u00fcrnberger Presse group, while retaining its Hamburg operating base and managing-directorship continuity under Tibor F. Gaddum and Oliver Lessing.

The company's core product is a Publisher Platform built on Google Ad Manager 360 with Multi Customer Management access, complemented by a proprietary Header Bidding stack based on PreBid integrating more than 20 demand partners, a Holistic Auction System unifying Open Auction, Private Deals, and Insertion Orders into a single highest-bidder-wins mechanism, the QMAX AdStack tag optimized for Google Core Web Vitals, and User Identity Solutions leveraging publisher first-party data and PPID for post-third-party-cookie targeting. The platform processes approximately 5 billion ad impressions per month reaching 23.5 million unique users, with named publisher clients including kicker.de, Duden.de, LiveScore (DACH exclusive from November 2025), Mediengruppe KLAMBT, FuPa.net, and several vertical sports portals (basketball-world.news, handball-world.news, football-world.news).

Quarter Media generates revenue by taking a share of advertising spend across programmatic Open Auction, Private Deals (achieving TKPs 4-5x higher than Open Auction), Preferred Deals, Programmatic Guaranteed, and direct Insertion Order campaigns booked through its sales team. The go-to-market is sales-led with long-standing agency relationships, supplemented by a channel partnership with Str\u00f6er for direct advertiser sales and a bundled Vermarktungs-Allianz (Publisher Alliance) reaching approximately 25% of the German population. The customer base spans enterprise publishers (kicker, Duden.de, LiveScore) and mid-market digital properties (FuPa.net, vertical sports portals), with custom quote-based pricing on multi-year contracts and a 13-person operating team.

Name

Quarter Media

Legal name

QUARTER MEDIA GmbH

Website

https://quartermedia.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Quarter Media is a Hamburg-based digital advertising sales house and ad-tech platform, founded in 2001 and owned by Olympia-Verlag since 2021, that monetizes publisher advertising inventory through programmatic header bidding, private deals, and direct sales for premium DACH-region publishers including kicker.de and Duden.de.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Advertising Monetization

NAICS

Media Buying Agencies (541830), Media Buying Agencies (54183), Media Representatives (541840)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital & Programmatic Media Buying (Display, Video, CTV, Audio) (BPAFABAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Media Planning, Buying & Optimization (BPAFAAAC)

Keywords

• Programmatic advertising
• Digital ad monetization
• Header bidding platform
• Publisher advertising
• Ad tech services

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Display Advertising: Traditional display advertising formats across publisher network
2. Programmatic Advertising: Real-time bidding and automated ad placement through header bidding, open bidding, and SSP integrations
3. Private Deals & Preferred Deals: Pre-negotiated programmatic deals with TKPs 4-5x higher than Open Auction
4. Insertion Order / Direct Campaigns: Direct sales campaigns through Sales team with Run Of Network, Channel bookings, and Single Site placements
5. Native Formats:
6. Outstream Video: Video advertising formats across the publisher network
7. Non-consented Traffic: Monetization of traffic from users who don't consent to tracking via acceptable ads or other methods

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Quarter Media operates a digital advertising monetization platform that helps publishers maximize revenue from their digital advertising inventory through programmatic advertising, header bidding, and SSP optimization. The company also provides advertisers with access to quality publisher portfolios across its network, processing approximately 5 billion ad impressions monthly and reaching 23.5 million unique users across Germany.

Product overview

QUARTER MEDIA is a digital advertising monetization platform combining proprietary technology infrastructure with sales execution to help publishers maximize revenue from their digital advertising inventory while providing advertisers with access to quality publisher portfolios. The core offering consists of a Publisher Platform for automated monetization with holistic auction systems, the QMAX Tag for ad delivery across all environments (desktop, mobile, apps, AMP, PWA, SPA), and a Header Bidding System based on PreBid with over 20 connected partners. Supplementary services include over 300 Private Deals, Preferred Deals & Programmatic Guaranteed, Programmatic Advertising with SSP optimization, Ad Quality Tool (Geoedge), Consent Management Platform, Reporting System with Google Data Studio integration, Smart Refresh Tool, Native Formats, and Outstream Video. For advertisers, QUARTER MEDIA offers access to a Publisher Alliance (Vermarktungs-Allianz) reaching 25% of the German population, Targeting Campaigns with audience and contextual options, and User Identity Solutions for post-cookie targeting. The platform integrates with Google Ad Manager 360, serves as an IAB-certified Vendor, and manages approximately 5 billion monthly Ad Impressions reaching 23.5 million Unique Users across a portfolio including kicker.de, Duden.de, FuPa.net, and specialized sports vertical portals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Publisher Platform Automated monetization platform for publishers enabling digital advertising space management with holistic auction systems, SSP optimization, header bidding, and comprehensive reporting dashboards. Targets website owners and digital publishers seeking to monetize digital advertising inventory.
• Programmatic Advertising Programmatic advertising service with sophisticated processes and targeted SSP optimization enabling real-time ad positioning and campaign performance optimization across publisher inventory.
• Display Advertising Classic display advertising forms along with innovative special formats for campaign delivery via Insertion Order or programmatic channels across publisher network.
• Header Bidding System Advanced client-side header bidding implementation based on PreBid with proprietary extensions and over 20 connected HB partners, supplemented by server-side Open Bidding for additional demand generation.
• Vermarktungs-Allianz (Publisher Alliance) Quality portfolio combining selected publishers' advertising spaces into a unified channel for advertisers, reaching 25% of the German population with exclusive and profile-strong targeting options. For brands and agencies seeking premium digital media placements.
• Private Deals Over 300 Private Deals with advertisers providing TKPs approximately 4-5x higher than Open Auction rates, set up by the sales team for publisher inventory.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5 billion ad impressions monetized per month, reaching 23.5 million unique users
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration19 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Olympia-VerlagcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2021In August 2021, Olympia-Verlag acquired all shares of Quarter Media. The Nuremberg-based media house (publisher of kicker and Alpin magazines) seeks to strengthen technological monetization of its media brands. Tibor Gaddum and Oliver Lessing remain as managing directors at Hamburg office.
• StröercoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOver 10-year partnership for direct customer sales in both client and agency segments. Combines programmatic and direct sales channels. Sales partnership continues post Olympia-Verlag acquisition.
• Google Ad Manager 360coreTechnology or IntegrationPremium version of Google Ad Manager with extended functionality. Quarter Media is Google Channel Partner with Multi Customer Management (MCM) model, providing publishers with dedicated login and full functionality access.
• Google AdExchangecoreTechnology or IntegrationHigh immediate demand through approximately 300 Private Deals available via Google AdExchange integration.
• SourcepointmajorTechnology or IntegrationConsent Management Platform provider for user consent for targeted advertising. Offered as part of Quarter Media's CMP solutions.
• GeoedgemajorTechnology or IntegrationAd quality and malware protection tool deployed as additional security layer despite blacklist maintenance.
• PreBid / Header Bidding PartnersmajorTechnology or IntegrationOver 20 Header Bidding partners integrated via PreBid server for optimized mobile and desktop inventory monetization.
• ConsentmanagermajorTechnology or IntegrationConsent Management Platform for GDPR-compliant user consent collection. Part of cookie consent infrastructure for publishers.
• IAB EuropemajorTechnology or IntegrationCertified IAB Vendor. Uses TCF (Transparency & Consent Framework) for GDPR-compliant consent management. Implemented TCF 2.0 ahead of August 2020 deadline.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• G+J e|ms (Gruner + Jahr): Digital ad sales unit of Gruner + Jahr monetizing premium magazine and news brands (Stern, Geo, etc.). Direct competitor for premium German publisher advertising budgets and programmatic monetization mandates.
• Ströer Digital Media: One of Germany's largest digital sales houses and a long-standing QM channel partner. Directly comparable as a programmatic + direct-sales hybrid monetizing premium German publisher inventory at national scale.
• IP Deutschland (Hubert Burda Media): Burda's national digital sales house covering Focus, Bunte, Playboy and lifestyle titles. Direct competitor in the German premium publisher monetization segment with comparable programmatic + direct-sales offerings.
• Yieldlab (Virtual Minds): European programmatic SSP/sales-house hybrid focused on premium European publishers. Direct competitor in the header bidding and managed-monetization space with similar publisher-tier focus.
• United Internet Media: Digital sales house of United Internet (GMX, Web.de, 1&1) selling premium German reach inventory through programmatic and direct channels. Closely matches QM's publisher-monetization focus on a comparable DACH scale.

Broad incumbents

• Magnite: Independent global SSP formed from the Rubicon Project / Telaria merger and a partner integrated into QM's own stack. Represents the global SSP disintermediation threat to QM's value-added layer.
• Adform: European-headquartered ad tech platform offering DSP, SSP, DMP, and creative tools. Provides competing programmatic infrastructure that publishers could substitute for QM's managed-service wrapper.
• Pubmatic: Global independent SSP with strong presence in European header bidding and one of QM's integrated demand partners. Comparable technology layer; larger scale and direct publisher relationships pose substitution risk.
• Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland (RTL AdAlliance): RTL Germany's cross-media sales house (formerly IP Deutschland's RTL counterpart) monetizing TV, streaming, and digital inventory at national scale. Comparable in offering but with substantially broader portfolio than QM's sports-anchored mix.
• SevenOne Media (ProSiebenSat.1): Sales house of ProSiebenSat.1, monetizing the group's digital video and entertainment inventory. Overlaps with QM on video programmatic but operates at substantially larger scale within a broader broadcast media portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/quarter-media-gmbh

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Quarter Media