FORUM – Das Wochenmagazin

What FORUM – Das Wochenmagazin does

FORUM – Das Wochenmagazin is a privately held German weekly magazine published by FORUM Agentur für Verlagswesen, Werfung, Marketing und PR GmbH, headquartered at Malstatter Markt 11-13 in Saarbrücken. The publication serves German-speaking general-interest readers across Germany with two parallel regional weekly editions — Saarland and Berlin — covering politics, business, science, technology, environment, leisure, style, culture, lifestyle, and sports. Its signature editorial format, "Thema der Woche" (Topic of the Week), anchors each issue with a feature interview, supported by section-based reporting across ten editorial pillars. The product surface is print-led: annual subscriptions priced at 148 EUR per year (3.30 EUR per issue) and 4-week Schnupper-Abo trial subscriptions priced at 10 EUR, with regional premium gifts and referral incentives. Branded extensions include the GO GREEN CO2-neutral shipping initiative (via Deutsche Post GOGREEN), recurring Sonderbeilagen thematic supplements in health, sports, travel, culture, style, hiking and theatre (delivered as downloadable PDFs), and "Victor's Themen der Woche," a recurring supplement tied to Victor's Unternehmensgruppe senior residences. The business operates with roughly 17 editorial staff plus managing directors Susanne Kleehaas (V.i.S.d.P.) and Dr. Bernd Coen (Verlagsleitung), making it an exceptionally lean publisher.

The underlying technology stack is described as a "Standard magazine publishing platform with digital content delivery" — there are no proprietary platforms, APIs, SDKs, AI/ML modalities, or mobile apps evidenced. Subscriptions are fulfilled via Zenit Pressevertrieb GmbH (Stuttgart), which handles billing and SEPA direct debit, and home delivery is routed through Deutsche Post GOGREEN for CO2-neutral shipping. The go-to-market is exclusively subscription-recurring, distributed as physical weekly home delivery valid only within Germany ("Das Angebot gilt nur in Deutschland"), with no social media presence, no app distribution, and no disclosed advertising or programmatic revenue streams beyond the magazine's Anzeigen (advertising) contact channel. Customer segmentation is geographic, split between Saarland and Berlin reader bases, with no enterprise, agency, or B2B customer accounts named. The company is registered as a GmbH (private limited company) at Amtsgericht Saarbrücken under HRB10504, with no external investors, no funding rounds, and no parent-subsidiary structure disclosed, though its data protection officer is shared with Victor's Unternehmensgruppe, indicating an operational rather than ownership-level relationship.

Name

FORUM – Das Wochenmagazin

Legal name

FORUM Agentur für Verlagswesen, Werbung, Marketing und PR GmbH

Website

https://magazin-forum.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

FORUM – Das Wochenmagazin is a privately held German weekly general-interest magazine publishing parallel regional editions for Saarland and Berlin, sold via 148 EUR annual and 10 EUR trial print subscriptions delivered across Germany.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Weekly News Magazine

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120), Periodical Publishers (51312)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

News, Politics & Current Affairs Magazines (MPAJAEAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Alternative/Independent Newsweeklies & Opinion Press (MPAJADAH)

Keywords

• Weekly news magazine
• Magazine subscription
• Regional editions
• Print publishing
• Editorial journalism

Headquarters

HQ city

Saarbrücken

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Magazine Subscriptions: Annual and trial magazine subscriptions with weekly home delivery in Germany. Revenue from subscription fees for regional editions (Saarland and Berlin).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

FORUM – Das Wochenmagazin is a German weekly print news magazine published in two regional editions (Saarland and Berlin) covering politics, business, science, technology, environment, leisure, style, culture, life, and sports. The magazine is sold primarily through annual subscriptions (148 EUR/year) and 4-week trial subscriptions (Schnupper-Abo, 10 EUR) with weekly home delivery restricted to Germany, and is supported by themed special supplements (Sonderbeilagen), a sports section (FORUM Plus), and a senior living partner supplement (Victor's Themen der Woche).

Product overview

FORUM – Das Wochenmagazin is a weekly German magazine published in regional editions (Saarland and Berlin) as a print publication available by subscription. The product portfolio consists of annual and trial (4-week) subscriptions for two regional editions (Saarland and Berlin), each priced at 148 EUR annually or 10 EUR for a trial period. Supporting offerings include themed special supplements (Sonderbeilagen) covering topics like health, sports events, travel, culture, fashion, hiking, and theatre performances. An environmental initiative called GO GREEN ensures CO2-neutral delivery through Deutsche Post DHL partnership. Victor's Themen der Woche is a supplementary publication featuring senior residence content. The magazine content is organized into editorial sections: Politik, Wirtschaft, Freizeit, Stil, Umwelt, Technik, Wissen, Kultur, Leben, and Sport.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FORUM Plus: Sports section featuring football coverage including 1. FC Saarbrücken team reporting
• Victor's Themen der Woche
• GO GREEN

Products and services

• FORUM Jahresabo Saarland (Annual Subscription – Saarland Edition) Annual subscription delivering the FORUM weekly magazine's Saarland regional edition to subscribers' homes in Germany for 148 EUR per year (~3.30 EUR per issue), targeting German readers seeking regional Saarland news and features.
• FORUM Jahresabo Berlin (Annual Subscription – Berlin Edition) Annual subscription delivering the FORUM weekly magazine's Berlin regional edition to subscribers' homes in Germany for 148 EUR per year (~3.30 EUR per issue), targeting German readers seeking regional Berlin news and features.
• FORUM Schnupperabo Saarland (4-Week Trial Subscription – Saarland Edition) 4-week trial subscription delivering the FORUM weekly magazine's Saarland regional edition to subscribers' homes in Germany for 10 EUR, expiring automatically after 4 weeks. Designed for prospective annual subscribers to evaluate the Saarland edition.
• FORUM Schnupperabo Berlin (4-Week Trial Subscription – Berlin Edition) 4-week trial subscription delivering the FORUM weekly magazine's Berlin regional edition to subscribers' homes in Germany for 10 EUR, expiring automatically after 4 weeks. Designed for prospective annual subscribers to evaluate the Berlin edition.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Deutsche Post GOGREENcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFORUM participates in Deutsche Post's GOGREEN program, which ensures CO2-neutral shipping of magazines. FORUM pays a surcharge for each magazine shipped to offset emissions from transport, funding global renewable energy projects.
• ZENIT Pressevertrieb GmbHcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorZenit Pressevertrieb GmbH, based in Stuttgart, handles subscription management and payment processing for FORUM magazine, including SEPA direct debit collection and billing services.
• Victor's UnternehmensgruppecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent company of FORUM. Datenschutzbeauftragter (Data Protection Officer) is Konzernbeauftragter für den Datenschutz of Victor's Unternehmensgruppe located at Malstatter Markt 11-13. Victor's is a senior living and care services provider.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Stern: Stern is a German weekly magazine covering news, politics, lifestyle, and culture. It is directly comparable to FORUM as a Wochenmagazin with broad general-interest editorial coverage in the German market.
• Der Spiegel: Der Spiegel is Germany's flagship weekly news magazine. It competes directly with FORUM in the German weekly news magazine category, covering politics, business, and culture, but at national scale with significantly larger editorial resources.
• Focus: Focus is a major German weekly news magazine. It is a direct peer to FORUM as a German-language Wochenmagazin with weekly print cadence covering politics, business, and lifestyle, although it operates nationally and at much larger scale.
• Die Zeit: Die Zeit is a major German weekly newspaper/magazine covering politics, economics, culture, and lifestyle. Comparable to FORUM as a subscription-based weekly publication serving German-speaking general-interest readers.
• Super Illu: Super Illu is a German weekly magazine focused on regional news, entertainment, and lifestyle. It is comparable to FORUM as a regional-leaning weekly magazine in Germany with similar subscription mechanics.

Regional players

• Freie Presse: Freie Presse is a regional German newspaper serving Saxony. Comparable to FORUM as a regional subscription-based print publication delivering local news coverage to a defined German geographic market.
• Berliner Zeitung: Berliner Zeitung is a Berlin-based daily newspaper. It is comparable to FORUM as a regional media outlet serving the Berlin market that FORUM specifically targets with one of its two regional editions.
• Saarbrücker Zeitung: Saarbrücker Zeitung is the leading regional daily newspaper for the Saarland region. It is a regional peer to FORUM, which publishes a dedicated Saarland edition from its Saarbrücken headquarters, both serving the same local news market.
• Rheinpfalz: Rheinpfalz is a regional newspaper covering the Rhineland-Palatinate area adjacent to Saarland. It is comparable to FORUM as a regional German news outlet targeting similar local reader demographics.

Emerging players

• Landfunk: Landfunk is a smaller German regional lifestyle/consumer magazine. It is comparable to FORUM as a smaller-scale German subscription magazine covering lifestyle, regional, and consumer topics with a similar go-to-market motion.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/forum-%E2%80%93-das-wochenmagazin

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 FORUM – Das Wochenmagazin