action press gmbh & co. kg

What action press gmbh & co. kg does

action press international GmbH is a privately held German image agency founded in 1970 and headquartered in Hamburg, with a registered office in Frankfurt am Main. The company operates a digital image and video database of over 200 million images covering sports, entertainment, news, and feature photography, and self-describes as one of the ten largest image agencies worldwide. Its core product is the picturemaxx-powered image database, accessible via the Internet and media marketing platforms under credentialed login, organized into categories including Live Feed, FIS, Entertainment, News, Features, Sports, and Videos.

The business model combines three revenue streams: transaction-based single-use licensing of image material (with MFM rate card fallback), subscription/credentialed access to the image database for media buyers, and bespoke corporate production services including 360° video, VR experiences, event documentation, and Content Management System implementation. Customers span sports media, entertainment media, news organizations, and corporate clients, served through a global network of freelance photographers and distributed via the picturemaxx B2B marketplace as well as direct sales channels.

Management is held jointly by Ulli Michel and Prof. Moritz Hunzinger, with editorial leadership under Editor in Chief Bettina Geschwind and Deputy Christiane Quentin. No external investors, funding rounds, acquisitions, or public listing are disclosed. The technology stack is built on the third-party picturemaxx platform; no public API, SDK, or AI/ML capabilities are documented. The company operates without disclosed headcount, revenue figures, or formal partnerships in the source material.

Name

action press gmbh & co. kg

Legal name

action press international GmbH

Website

https://actionpress.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

action press international GmbH is a Hamburg-based image agency founded in 1970 that licenses over 200 million sports, entertainment, news, and feature images to global media buyers and offers corporate VR and photography production services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Stock Photography Services

NAICS

Commercial Photography (541922), Motion Picture and Video Distribution (512120), Motion Picture and Video Industries (5121)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330), Services-Allied To Motion Picture Distribution (7829)

akta.pro primary industry

Content Licensing (Film/TV, Clips, Stills) (MPADALAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Footage & Stock Media Licensing (Archival/Newsreel/Stock) (MPADALAD), Archive & Library Footage Licensing (News, Sports, Entertainment) (MPABANAC), Clip/Short-Form & Archive Footage Syndication (Libraries/Stock) (MPABAMAL)

Keywords

• Stock photo licensing
• Sports photography
• Entertainment photography
• Image database
• Photo agency

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Image Licensing / Usage Fees: action press provides image material in digital form and grants customers a simple (non-exclusive) right to use selected image material once for a contracted scope, in exchange for a usage fee. The fee must be agreed upon before use. If no separate agreement is made, MFM (Mittelstandsgemeinschaft Foto-Marketing) rates apply. Additional uses require new fees.
2. Image Database Subscription Access: Prior written agreement required for activation of access to the action press image database. Customers receive access credentials to the internet-based and media marketing platform-accessible image library.
3. Corporate Productions: 360° video, VR experiences, business photography, and video-documentation of events, fairs, congresses, and other corporate occasions. Custom content creation services including portraits, industry, reportage, real estate, events, and shops documentation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

action press licenses digital photographic and video content from an archive exceeding 200 million images spanning sports, entertainment, news, and feature categories, granted on a non-exclusive single-use basis via an internet-based image database powered by picturemaxx. The company additionally delivers bespoke corporate production services including 360-degree video, full VR experiences, event and congress documentation, business photography, and exclusive Content Management System implementations.

Product overview

action press is a digital image and video agency providing a comprehensive media database of sports, entertainment, news, and feature photography. The core offering is the image database accessible via the Internet and media marketing platforms, with over 200 million images in its archive. The product portfolio consists of distinct image categories (Live Feed, FIS, Entertainment, News, Features, Sports, Videos) covering real-time and archival content. Additional services include Corporate Productions offering 360° video, full VR experiences, business photography, event documentation, congress and fair coverage, and Content Management System implementation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Image Database (Sports, Entertainment, News, Features, FIS, Live Feed, Regio-Group)

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Pond5: Pond5 is a stock media marketplace for video, audio, and images serving filmmakers and content creators. It overlaps with action press in stock media licensing but emphasizes video and creator-economy distribution with contributor-based catalog model.
• Shutterstock: Shutterstock is a global stock content platform offering licensed photos, vectors, video, and music with AI generation tools. It competes with action press in stock and editorial-style imagery, but with broader creative stock focus, global enterprise API, and integrated Creative Cloud-style tooling.
• Getty Images: Getty Images is the world's largest commercial image licensing platform with editorial, creative, and archival content. It directly competes with action press in sports and entertainment photo licensing, but at significantly greater scale with global enterprise sales and integrated DAM technology.
• WireImage: WireImage is an entertainment-focused photo agency acquired by Getty Images, specializing in celebrity, red-carpet, and event photography. It is highly comparable to action press's entertainment vertical with strong overlap in premieres, awards, and celebrity event coverage.
• EPA (European Pressphoto Agency): EPA is a European cooperative photo agency providing news, sports, and entertainment imagery to media clients. It directly competes with action press in European editorial coverage with a similar regional, multi-publisher affiliation model.
• Ullstein Bild: Ullstein Bild is a German historical photo agency offering archival and contemporary editorial photography. It is a direct comparable to action press's archival and news verticals with strong German-market overlap and historical imagery focus.
• Imago Images: Imago is a Berlin-based sports photo agency formed by German newspaper publishers, specializing in Bundesliga and European sports coverage with a comparable editorial licensing model. It is one of action press's closest direct competitors in the German and European sports photography market.

Broad incumbents

• AP Images (Associated Press): AP Images is the photo licensing arm of the Associated Press wire service, distributing news, sports, and entertainment photography globally. It overlaps with action press in sports and news licensing but is part of a much broader news and content wire business.
• Adobe Stock: Adobe Stock is the stock imagery and video service bundled into Adobe Creative Cloud, serving professional designers and creative teams. It competes with action press in stock licensing but is part of Adobe's broader creative software platform with native integration into Creative workflows.
• Reuters Images: Reuters Pictures licenses news, sports, and entertainment photography from a global correspondent network to media clients worldwide. It is comparable to action press in editorial licensing but operates as part of the broader Reuters/LSEG information services platform.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/actionpress
• Facebookfacebook.com/action-press-123155757701434
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/action-press-gmbh-&-co.-kg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 action press gmbh & co. kg