MANAGEMENT REPORT
I. FUNDAMENTALS OF THE COMPANY
The purpose of the company is the collection, processing and distribution of news, images, audio, graphics and videos of all kinds. To this end, a close-knit network of editorial offices and correspondents’ bureaus in Germany and around the world guarantees that news is gathered impartially and independently of ideological, economic, financial or governmental influences. This is stipulated in the articles of association of dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH.
dpa supplies all types of media with this material: newspapers, magazines, broadcasters and online services. Institutions, organisations and companies are also among the customers of Germany’s largest news agency and represent important sources of revenue, alongside the media.
With its services, the company operates mainly in Germany. The approximately 170 shareholders of dpa also come from the domestic customer base. In addition, dpa services are offered and distributed in more than 100 countries, in German, as well as in Arabic, English, Spanish, French, Serbian and Russian. In this way, dpa helps to disseminate German topics and the German perspective abroad, as well as promote the important values of press freedom and independence.
1. Overall economic and sector-related conditions
As in the previous year, 2024 was marked by economic challenges. Germany’s price-adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 0.2% compared to 2023, meaning that the economic downturn continued. The German economy suffered from a combination of cyclical and structural pressures, including high energy costs, persistently high interest rates and uncertain economic prospects. On the other hand, the information and communications sector continued its growth trajectory with an increase of 2.5%. Despite the difficult economic situation, the labour market reached a new high in 2024. 46.1 million people were in employment, representing an increase of 72,000 (+0.2%) compared with the previous year. However, job creation was limited to the service sectors.
The media industry continues to undergo profound change, bringing with it both economic and social challenges. Traditional daily newspapers are under particular pressure as the digital transformation is increasingly affecting their reach and significance. Nevertheless, they remain an indispensable part of everyday life for many people. Overall, the picture that emerges is of an industry under pressure, both economically and socially. Traditional daily newspapers are continuing to struggle with the effects of digital transformation. Although, according to the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Media-Analyse (agma), almost half of the German population still reads newspapers every day, the total reach continued to decline compared to the previous year, as agma 2024 shows. Newspapers reached a total of 33.7 million people over the age of 14, which corresponds to a readership of 47.7% of the German-speaking population (previous year: 34.6 million/49.4%).
Regional subscription newspapers remain by far the strongest group, but with 28.1 million readers per day, they have a slightly lower reach than in the previous year (28.6 million). Newsstand newspapers also recorded a decline, reaching 6.9 million readers per day (previous year: 7.7 million). National subscription newspapers reached 3.6 million readers per day (previous year: 3.8 million).
Digital editions of newspapers are an integral part of everyday life for many readers. According to the German Association of Digital Publishers and Newspaper Publishers (BDZV), digital newspaper circulation rose by 9.12% in the third quarter of 2024 compared to the same period last year, to 2.93 million copies per publication day. This means that the growth trend for digital newspapers continues unabated..
More than 1.83 million digital editions – over 62% of digital newspaper circulation – are purchased through regular subscriptions. This represents an increase of around 11% compared to the previous year. Local and regional subscription newspapers dominate the market with 1.6 million digital editions sold daily. National newspapers account for 330,254 digital sales, while newsstand newspapers sell 210,589 copies.
The results of the ARD/ZDF Media Study 2024 show that media usage is increasingly shifting towards non-linear and digital content. People in Germany spend an average of 384 minutes (just under six and a half hours) per day consuming media – 28 minutes less than in the previous year. This decline is primarily due to the declining use of linear media such as television and radio.
Internet usage remains at a high level: daily consumption of video content on the internet remains stable at 51%. Television broadcasters’ media libraries in particular are establishing themselves as a fixture in media consumption and are evenly distributed across all age groups. For example, 44% of those aged 14 to 29 and 45% of those aged 30 to 49 access media libraries at least once a week.
The trend is similar in the audio sector: linear radio usage is declining (down 4 percentage points to 78% weekly usage), while podcasts and music streaming services are stagnating.