WAZ
WAZ is a regional German newspaper brand under Funke Mediengruppe, providing hyper-local news, sports coverage, and digital content (E-Paper, podcasts, apps, interactive tools) to consumers and businesses across 16+ cities in the Ruhrgebiet region of North Rhine-Westphalia.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersEssen, Germany
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What WAZ does
WAZ (Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung) is a regional German newspaper brand founded in 1948, headquartered in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, and operated as a core brand under Funke Mediengruppe. The company serves readers across the Ruhrgebiet (Ruhr Valley) through hyper-local coverage of 16+ cities including Bochum, Dortmund, Duisburg, Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Mülheim, Oberhausen, and Witten, with dedicated subsections for each municipality and coverage of major regional sports clubs (BVB, Schalke 04, VfL Bochum, Rot-Weiss Essen, MSV Duisburg).
The core product is a digital news platform (waz.de) supplemented by a print edition, E-Paper, mobile applications (News App and E-Paper App), a portfolio of themed podcasts, a daily newsletter ("WAZ in 3 Minuten"), interactive tools (pension/rent calculators, weather, price comparisons, election polls), puzzle games, and ancillary services including a recipe section (Eat Club), reader shops, and travel offerings. Technology stack is described as standard digital publishing infrastructure with E-Paper capability, mobile apps, podcast hosting, and web-based interactive tools.
Revenue is generated through a multi-stream model: print and digital recurring subscriptions (home delivery, E-Paper, WAZ PLUS premium tier), B2B corporate subscriptions (annual billing), print and digital advertising (display, classifieds, sponsored content), and ancillary services (reader stores, classifieds/marketplace, travel, reader shops). Distribution combines physical home delivery, reader storefronts, web, and mobile apps, with a B2C-led sales motion supplemented by a B2B subscription portal for regional businesses.
WAZ firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- WAZ
- Legal name
- Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung
- Website
- https://waz.de
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- WAZ is a regional German newspaper brand under Funke Mediengruppe, providing hyper-local news, sports coverage, and digital content (E-Paper, podcasts, apps, interactive tools) to consumers and businesses across 16+ cities in the Ruhrgebiet region of North Rhine-Westphalia.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where WAZ is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Essen
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
WAZ business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Print Subscriptions: Physical newspaper delivery subscriptions for individual readers with various subscription tiers including home delivery
- Digital Subscriptions (E-Paper/PLUS): Digital access to newspaper content through E-paper platform and premium PLUS content offerings
- Print Advertising: Traditional newspaper advertising including display ads, classifieds (Anzeigen), and special advertising sections
- Digital Advertising: Online advertising on waz.de including banner ads, sponsored content, and advertorials
- B2B Corporate Subscriptions: Subscription packages for business customers (Abos für Firmenkunden)
- Service Offerings: Reader services including Leserläden (reader stores), Lesershop, Leserreisen (reader travel), and dating/job services
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Standard Print Subscription |
| Subscription | Monthly | Digital E-Paper Subscription |
| Subscription | Monthly | PLUS Premium Content |
| Subscription | Annual | B2B Corporate Subscription |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels5 records
WAZ product offering
Product offeringCore offering
WAZ (Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung) is a regional newspaper publisher serving the Ruhrgebiet area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It delivers daily local news, sports coverage, politics, business, and cultural content across 16+ cities through a printed newspaper, an online news portal (waz.de), a digital E-Paper, mobile applications, and a portfolio of podcasts. The company operates under Funke Mediengruppe and sells access to its content via individual and corporate subscriptions.
Product overview
WAZ (Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung) is a regional news publisher operating primarily as a digital news portal under the Funke Mediengruppe. The core offering is its online news platform providing regional coverage for cities across the Ruhr area (Bochum, Dortmund, Duisburg, Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Mülheim, Gladbeck, Hattingen, Herne, Moers, Oberhausen, Velbert, Witten, and others) alongside national and international news in politics, sports, economy, culture, and panorama. The product portfolio includes multiple complementary services: E-Paper (digital newspaper edition), WAZ Podcasts (portfolio of sports and news podcasts), mobile applications (News App and E-Paper App), interactive tools (calculators, data visualizations), WAZ Games (puzzles), Eat Club (recipes), and a daily newsletter (WAZ in 3 Minuten). Revenue is generated through subscription tiers including WAZ PLUS premium content, general subscriptions (Abo), and B2B corporate subscriptions, supplemented by classified advertising, job listings, and travel services.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- WAZ Online News Portal The primary digital news platform providing regional news coverage for cities in the Ruhr area (Bochum, Dortmund, Duisburg, Essen, Gelsenkirchen, etc.) along with national and international news in categories including politics, sport, economy, culture, and panorama.
- WAZ E-Paper
- WAZ Print Subscription (Abo)
- WAZ PLUS Premium Content
- WAZ Podcasts
- WAZ B2B Corporate Subscriptions
- Classifieds & Marketplace (Anzeigen)
- Reader Travel Services (Leserreisen)
- Interactive Tools
- WAZ Games
- Eat Club (Recipes & Cooking)
- WAZ Newsletter (WAZ in 3 Minuten)
Companies that use WAZ
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
WAZ technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
WAZ partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Funke MediengruppecoreWAZ is a brand owned and operated by Funke Mediengruppe (Funke Medien NRW), a major German media conglomerate. The partnership involves shared technology infrastructure, advertising sales (Funke MediaSales), digital platforms, and cross-brand content synergies. Funke provides centralized services including ad tech, digital tools, and corporate resources.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
WAZ competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Bild (Axel Springer): Germany's largest tabloid with massive digital reach; competes for advertising budgets and casual readers, including in the Ruhr region, though it lacks WAZ's local depth.
- Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ): National broadsheet with established digital subscription (FAZ+) and regional Hesse focus; serves as benchmark for premium digital subscription strategy in German newspaper market.
- Der Spiegel: Germany's leading national news magazine with strong digital subscription business; competes for premium digital subscribers and national advertising but is not focused on Ruhr regional coverage.
- Süddeutsche Zeitung: Germany's largest national quality daily with a successful digital subscription model; competes for digital readers and advertising nationally but does not specialize in Ruhr local coverage.
Direct peers
- Westfalenpost: Another Funke Mediengruppe regional newspaper in NRW covering the Westphalia area; same parent but operates as an overlapping regional subscription brand with similar product portfolio.
- Ruhrnachrichten: Direct regional newspaper competitor covering the Ruhr region including Dortmund, with print and digital editions serving overlapping audiences and advertisers.
- Westdeutsche Zeitung (WZ): Regional NRW newspaper with similar print and digital subscription model covering adjacent metropolitan areas, competing for the same regional advertising and reader base.
- Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger: NRW regional newspaper with print, E-Paper, and digital subscription products serving a comparable urban audience in an adjacent metro region.
- Westfälische Rundschau: Funke Mediengruppe sister brand covering overlapping Ruhr region cities; while same parent, it competes for overlapping readers and advertisers with WAZ.
- Rheinische Post: Major regional NRW daily newspaper with digital subscription model and local city coverage, directly comparable in product offering, audience, and business model.
Market position
Strengths2 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
WAZ social profiles
Digital presenceWAZ financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
WAZ leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
WAZ funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
WAZ M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about WAZ
What does WAZ do?
WAZ (Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung) is a regional newspaper publisher serving the Ruhrgebiet area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It delivers daily local news, sports coverage, politics, business, and cultural content across 16+ cities through a printed newspaper, an online news portal (waz.de), a digital E-Paper, mobile applications, and a portfolio of podcasts. The company operates under Funke Mediengruppe and sells access to its content via individual and corporate subscriptions.
Is WAZ a public or private company?
WAZ is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was WAZ founded?
WAZ was founded in -1. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is WAZ based?
WAZ is headquartered in Essen, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does WAZ make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Print Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are digital Subscriptions (E-Paper/PLUS), print Advertising, digital Advertising, B2B Corporate Subscriptions and service Offerings.
Who are WAZ's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Bild (Axel Springer), Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), Der Spiegel and Süddeutsche Zeitung. Direct peers are Westfalenpost, Ruhrnachrichten, Westdeutsche Zeitung (WZ), Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, Westfälische Rundschau and Rheinische Post.
Does WAZ have an API?
No public API is recorded for WAZ.