List of Media Companies in Germany

Last updated 3 November 2026

There are 17,512 media companies in Germany, one in every 388 German companies. Most of them are small: half work as sole traders, and only 415 firms employ 50 people or more. One in four media firms is based in Berlin, Hamburg, München, Köln and Frankfurt am Main. Below you find the largest media firms in Germany, the cities where they cluster, how many started this year and which are the oldest. The full list with addresses, phone numbers and email is in our German company database or through the Handelsregister API.

17,512 companies indexed · Data counted on 3 November 2026

Companies17,5121 in388 German companiesCities3,173Largest cityBerlin 1,802Sole traders52%Employees1-4 (85%)Revenue$100-500K (66%)Email51%Phone63%Website65%

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A live view of all 17,512 media firms, sorted by revenue. Narrow it by region, city, employee size, revenue, legal form or founding year, or search a firm by name.

Prosiebensat.1 Media SEProsiebensat.1 Media SE

	Company Name	Country	City	Address 1	State/Province	Postal Code	Website	Founding Year	Yearly Revenue in U.S. Dollars	Employees Total	Business Legal Type - Description	Number of Companies in Group	Company Registration Number
1	Prosiebensat.1 Media SE	Germany	Unterföhring	Medienallee 7	München	85774	*****.com	2025	$4,259,795,400	7,065	Corporation	311	80333B219439
2	Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen Anstalt Des Öffentlichen Rechts	Germany	Mainz	Zdf-str. 1	Mainz, Kreisfreie Stadt	55127	*****.de	1961	$2,688,699,415	776		41	DE149065327
3	Axel Springer SE	Germany	Berlin	Axel-springer-str. 65	Berlin, Stadt	10969	*****.com	1954	$2,535,481,181	17,026	Corporation	153	10623B154517B
4	Springer Nature AG & CO. Kgaa	Germany	Berlin	Heidelberger Platz 3	Berlin, Stadt	14197	*****.com	2024	$2,232,944,179	9,327	Corporation	271	10623B195463B
5	Norddeutscher Rundfunk	Germany	Hamburg	Rothenbaumchaussee 132	Hamburg, Freie Und Hansestadt	20149	*****.de	1951	$1,788,448,389	4,895		85	DE118509776
6	Sutton Verlag GMBH	Germany	München	Infanteriestr. 11a	München	80797	*****.com	2014	$1,654,819,500	4	Corporation	12	80333B300191
7	Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln	Germany	Köln	Appellhofplatz 1	Köln, Stadt	50667	*****.de	1955	$1,478,078,932	3,724		23	DE122790169
8	Rtl Television GMBH	Germany	Köln	Picasso-platz 1	Köln, Stadt	50679	*****.de	2022	$1,470,116,517	776	Corporation	1059	50670B29332
9	Sudwestrundfunk Anstalt Des Öffentlichen Rechts	Germany	Stuttgart	Neckarstr. 230	Stuttgart	70190	*****.de	1945	$1,340,086,125	3,556		38	DE812481116
10	Bayerischer Rundfunk	Germany	München	Rundfunkplatz 1	München	80335	*****.de	1928	$1,134,256,384	3,427		21	DE129523494
11	Suddeutscher Verlag GMBH	Germany	München	Hultschiner Str. 8	München	81677	*****.de	2015	$1,067,890,551	6,769	Corporation	107	80333B7685
12	Verlagsgruppe Weltbild GMBH	Germany	Augsburg	Steinerne Furt 68-72	Augsburg	86167	*****.de	1948	$1,055,632,851	2,379	Corporation	N/A	86150B6035
13	Verlagsgesellschaft Madsack GMBH & CO. KG	Germany	Hannover	August-madsack-str. 1	Region Hannover	30559	*****.de	1892	$959,472,690	5,057	Corporation	306	30175A23210
14	Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk	Germany	Leipzig	Kantstr. 71-73	Leipzig, Stadt	04275	*****.de	1924	$747,023,687	2,221		22	DE141510836
15	Medien Union GMBH Ludwigshafen	Germany	Ludwigshafen am Rhein	Amtsstr. 5-11	Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Kreisfreie Stadt	67059	*****.de	2026	$724,955,603	3,611	Corporation	177	67061B1215
16	Funke Medien Nrw GMBH	Germany	Essen	Jakob-funke-platz 1	Essen, Stadt	45127	*****.de	2024	$661,927,800	6,000	Corporation	211	45130B26063
17	Rudolf Haufe Verlag GMBH & CO KG	Germany	Freiburg Im Breisgau	Munzinger Str. 9	Freiburg Im Breisgau	79111	*****.de	1933	$581,130,353	2,467	Corporation	26	79098A1519
18	Hessischer Rundfunk Anstalt Des Öffentlichen Rechts	Germany	Frankfurt am Main	Bertramstr. 8	Frankfurt am Main, Stadt	60320	*****.de	1948	$563,133,238	1,749		9	DE114110440
19	Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (rbb)	Germany	Berlin	Masurenallee 8-14	Berlin, Stadt	14057	*****.de	2003	$543,969,789	1,839		11	DE228847705
20	G.S. Vertriebs GMBH	Germany	Weil der Stadt	Josef-beyerle-str. 2	Böblingen	71263	*****.de	2000	$524,908,745	3,965	Corporation	N/A	70190B252880
21	Deutsche Welle (dw)	Germany	Bonn	Kurt-schumacher-str. 3	Bonn, Stadt	53113	*****.com	1953	$499,755,489	1,767		6	DE123052407
22	Rheinische Post Mediengruppe GMBH	Germany	Düsseldorf	Zulpicher Str. 10	Düsseldorf, Stadt	40549	*****.de	1994	$494,965,562	2,792	Corporation	208	40227B31858
23	Presse-Druck- Und Verlags-Gmbh	Germany	Augsburg	Curt-frenzel-str. 2	Augsburg	86167	*****.de	1945	$489,515,852	3,717	Corporation	133	86150B6034
24	Dumont Mediengruppe GMBH & Co.kg	Germany	Köln	Amsterdamer Str. 192	Köln, Stadt	50735	*****.de	1974	$477,189,283	1,918	Corporation	95	50670A8851
25	Suddeutsche Zeitung GMBH	Germany	München	Hultschiner Str. 8	München	81677	*****.de	2009	$436,398,270	1,200	Corporation	107	80333B73315

Showing 25 of 17,512 companies

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Media firms in Berlin

Berlin has 1,802 media companies and media firms, 0.5% of all 360,869 Berlin companies and 94% above the national share. Four in five Berlin firms have fewer than five people; 24 have 50 or more. 37 new firms were entered in 2026, 109 date from before 1990.

Size

1-4 staff: 1,441 · 84%
5-9: 148 · 9%
10-19: 62 · 4%
20-49: 48 · 3%
50+: 24 · 1%

Legal form

Sole traders: 777 · 43%
Partnerships: 96 · 5%
GmbH and AG: 741 · 41%
Other or none: 188 · 10%

Of the German total: 10.3%
Of all Berlin companies: 0.5%
Against the national share: 1.9×

New

Entered 2026 so far: 37
Entered 2025: 58
Of Germany's 2026 entries: 20.8%

Old

Before 1990: 109 · 6%
1990 or later: 1,693 · 94%
Of Germany's pre-1990 firms: 5.8%

Reachable

Email: 876 · 49%
Phone: 968 · 54%
Website: 1,080 · 60%

Revenue (USD)

Under $100K: 198 · 12%
$100K-$500K: 1,067 · 65%
$500K-$1M: 219 · 13%
$1M and more: 155 · 9%

Largest

11,839
2776
3771
4682
5475

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Firm sizes in Germany

Of the 16,187 German media firms with a known headcount, 13,722 (85%) have one to four people, 1,027 have five to nine, 1,023 have ten to 49 and 415 have 50 or more. Most firms turn over between $100,000 and $500,000 a year (10,247, 66%).

EU size bands · the grey line shows all German companies

Micro under 1014,749 91%
Small 10 to 491,023 6%
Medium 50 to 249379 2%
Large 250+36 0.2%

Grey line: the share among all German companies (92% have under ten staff).

567

firms turn over more than $5 million a year; 370 more than $10 million.

178

firms were entered in 2026.

Largest media firms in Germany

The biggest firms by staff and by revenue, the largest in Berlin, the biggest newcomers of 2026 and the oldest firms. Click a name for the record.

Funke Medien NRW is the largest media firm in Germany by headcount. 415 firms employ 50 people or more; 218 employ 100 or more.

1Essen6,000 staff
2Erfurt4,039 staff
3Weil der Stadt3,965 staff
4Köln3,724 staff
5Stuttgart · public body3,556 staff
6München3,427 staff
7Augsburg2,379 staff
8Leipzig2,221 staff
9Berlin1,839 staff
10Bonn1,767 staff

By employee size · 16,187 firms with a known headcount

Employees	Firms	%
1-4	13,722	85%
5-9	1,027	6%
10-19	564	3%
20-49	459	3%
50-99	197	1%
100-199	114	0.7%
200-499	68	0.4%
500-999	18	0.1%
1,000+	18	0.1%

85% have 1 to 4 people; 459 have 20 to 49; 415 have 50 or more.

By yearly revenue (USD)

Revenue	Firms	%
< $100K	2,015	13%
$100K-$500K	10,247	66%
$500K-$1M	1,637	11%
$1M-$5M	979	6%
$5M-$10M	197	1%
$10M-$50M	255	2%
$50M-$100M	52	0.3%
$100M-$500M	43	0.3%
$500M+	20	0.1%

66% between $100,000 and $500,000; 979 between $1M and $5M; 567 above $5M.

How many media companies are there in Germany?

Media companies and media firms in Germany

17,512

3 November 2026

There are 17,512 media companies and media firms in Germany in our data (3 November 2026). That is one in every 388 German companies. About one new firm is entered in the register every working day this year (178 so far in 2026).

Structure

Single-site firms: 14,221 81%
Head offices: 1,231
Branch offices: 2,060

Classification

WZ 2008 codes 5811, 5813, 5914, 6010 and 6020, identical to NACE Rev. 2 5811, 5813, 5914, 6010 and 6020. Our platform filter is SIC 2711, 2721, 2731, 4832 and 2 more.

5,213 of the 17,512 are GmbH and AG (30%); 9,065 are sole traders. They come from the Handelsregister and our German register data, through the Handelsregister API.

Where in Germany?

Berlin has the most media companies in Germany (1,802), ahead of Hamburg (1,005), München (924), Köln (559) and Frankfurt am Main (359). Together the five hold one in four of them. Relative to their size, Freiburg im Breisgau, Bonn and Köln have the most: 2.1 to 2.3 times the national share.

Cities by number of firms

3,173 German cities have at least one media firm; 220 have ten or more; 1,564 have exactly one. Click a city to set the lens.

Only here

Where they cluster

Media firms per 100 companies, in cities with at least 100 of them. The national share is 0.26. Freiburg im Breisgau has 2.3 times the national share.

2.3×
2.3×
2.1×
2.1×
1.9×
1.8×
1.8×
1.7×
1.6×
1.6×
1.2×
1.2×
1.2×
1.2×

Dashed line: the national share. A filled dot is twice the national share or more.

By district 316 districts

District	Firms	%
München	1,123	6%
Region Hannover	275	2%
Stuttgart	269	2%
Karlsruhe	163	0.9%
Nürnberg	132	0.8%
Freiburg im Breisgau	131	0.7%
Rhein-Sieg-Kreis	125	0.7%
Esslingen	116	0.7%
Augsburg	112	0.6%
Rhein-Neckar-Kreis	107	0.6%

Show all 316

Newcomers in Germany in 2026

178 media firms were entered in the German register so far in 2026, about one per working day, after 296 in 2025. Germany as a whole saw 121,844 new companies in 2026, so this industry takes 0.1% of the inflow.

3112022
2392023
2452024
2962025
1782026 so far

155 of this year's 178 are GmbH and AG.

The biggest newcomers of 2026

The year is the register entry; an established firm that changes legal form appears as new.

1Ludwigshafen am Rhein410 staff
2Baden-Baden250 staff
3Offenbach am Main209 staff
4Stuttgart200 staff
5Stuttgart152 staff

Sole traders or GmbH: how they are organised

Half German media firms work as sole traders, against 46% of all German companies. Three in ten are GmbH and AG.

Sole traders (Einzelunternehmen)9,06552%
Partnerships (OHG and KG)8435%
GmbH and AG5,21330%
No form on record or other2,39114%

Single-site: 81%
Head offices: 1,231
Branches: 2,060

All German companies: 46% sole traders, 6% partnerships, 29% GmbH and AG.

How reachable are they?

Media firms are easier to reach than the average German company: 63% list a phone number and 65% a website.

Email8,970 51%
Phone11,099 63%
Website11,310 65%

Grey line: all German companies (email 52%, phone 63%, website 61%).

The full list with these fields is in our German company database.

The oldest firms in Germany

Our data holds 74 German media firms from before 1900, 253 from before 1950 and 1,874 from before 1990.

1807
1. Leipzig
1809
1. Solingen
1810
1. Bremen
1816
1. Bad Orb
1816
1. Lahr
1817
1. Celle

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1990

1,874

German media firms date from before 1990

231

were entered in 1990

How they compare

In other countries

Country	Firms	Per 1,000 cos.
Brazil	104,245	3.6
India	103,227	2.7
The USA	86,938	1.4
The UK	22,643	2.6
Germany	17,512	2.6

More countries →

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Frequently asked questions

How many media companies are there in Germany?

There are 17,512 media companies and media firms in Germany in our data, counted on 3 November 2026. That is one in every 388 German companies.

Which is the largest media firm in Germany?

Funke Medien NRW in Essen, with 6,000 staff. By revenue Prosiebensat.1 Media in Unterföhring leads with $4.3 billion a year.

Which German city has the most media companies?

Berlin, with 1,802, ahead of Hamburg (1,005), München (924), Köln (559) and Frankfurt am Main (359). Relative to its size, Freiburg im Breisgau has the most: 2.3 times the national share.

How many media firms are there in Berlin?

1,802, which is 0.5% of all 360,869 Berlin companies and 94% above the national share.

How big is a typical media firm?

Small. 85% of the 16,187 firms with a known headcount have one to four people; 415 have 50 or more. Most turn over between $100,000 and $500,000 a year.

Are German media companies sole traders or companies?

Half (9,065) are sole traders, 5% are partnerships and 30% (5,213) are GmbH and AG.

How many media firms started in 2026?

178 were entered in the German register so far in 2026, after 296 in 2025. 155 of them are GmbH and AG.

What is the oldest media firm in Germany?

Friedrich Hofmeister Musikverlag Leipzig in Leipzig, 1807, followed by B. Boll Verlag des Solinger Tageblattes GmbH & Co in Solingen (1809) and Carl Ed. Schunemann K.G. in Bremen (1810). 74 firms date from before 1900.

Which industry code covers media companies?

German media companies are classified under WZ 2008 codes 5811, 5813, 5914 and 2 more, identical to NACE Rev. 2 codes 5811, 5813, 5914 and 2 more. Our platform filters them on SIC 2711 (newspapers: publishing, or publishing and printing), 2721 (periodicals: publishing, or publishing and printing), 2731 (books: publishing, or publishing and printing) and 4832 (radio broadcasting stations) and 2 more.

Can I download the full list?

Yes. All 17,512 firms with address, phone, email, legal form, employees, revenue and founding year, as Excel, CSV or through the API.

Discover more: related industries, by city, in other countries

The lists closest to this one. Every industry and city in Germany is on the Germany page.

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