In competition with the global Internet platforms will combine Bertelsmann’s media business in Germany. The media group RTL, the television production company Ufa, the book publishing group Random House, the music company, BMG and the publishing group Gruner + Jahr to of February in a “Content Alliance” common formats develop and market comprehensive services for Creative and artists, announced the media group on Tuesday in Gütersloh. Bertelsmann chief Thomas Rabe said the F. A. Z., “no other German media companies can or could make something comparable on the legs”.
Carsten Germis
economic correspondent in Hamburg.
F. A. Z.
The new “Content Alliance” of the Bertelsmann subsidiary company, had on Friday, their first joint session, according to Rabe’s especially Creative and talents. “You can expect from Bertelsmann offers is increased in all media categories, which will serve to distribute your content in the best possible way, to increase your reach and to lead them to success,” said the Bertelsmann chief. “This strengthens us in competition with the global platforms.” Bertelsmann invests every year around six billion euros in the creative industries, of which almost a third of them in Germany. These investments would be more efficient, “if we work together to develop content,” said the Bertelsmann chief.
in the past, the individual media companies in the Bertelsmann group worked together on the distribution of content. So the book publishers Penguin Random House with the TV production companies such as Fremantle or the Ufa concerning the use of the book rights for film adaptations cooperated. Recent examples of this are the Vox series “The Club of the red ribbons” based on a book by Albert Espinosa, or the Fremantle production of “Munich” that is based on the novel by Robert Harris. “We want to continue to expand and, through cooperation, make it more efficient,” said Raven.
International plans
As a model case for the new co-operation in the media group, he called only a few days ago, jointly by BMG and Gruner and year placed on the market Fan magazine about the musician Max Giesinger. “Now we want to systematize such and new forms of cooperation to coordinate and structure,” said Raven. In addition, would be created with the new Alliance with clear responsibilities and Central point of contact.
The responsibility for the creative and entrepreneurial implementation of the Alliance, but more at the individual companies, it said. Bertelsmann’ve only given the impulse for the founding of the new Alliance. Chairman of the Content Alliance, the Geschäftsführerinvon Gruner + Jahr, Julia Jäckel. Bernd Reichart of RTL Germany, Nico Hofmann of Ufa, Stephan Schmitter of RTL Radio Deutschland and Thomas Rathnow of the Random House publishing group, Stephan Schäfer of the Gruner and year, and Hartwig Masuch and Dominique Kulling of the BMG. “All take on their new tasks for the Bertelsmann Content Alliance in addition to its previous functions,” it said.
