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    Burda and Funke: approval received from Germany’s antitrust authority

    The Bundeskartellamt, Germany’s antitrust authority, has approved the registration by Hubert Burda Media and Funke Mediengruppe regarding a joint venture for marketing. In the future, BCN Brand Community Network (BCN) will be the head marketer for both media companies. Tobias Conrad will act as Managing Director of the joint venture. He had already taken over the management of BCN at the beginning of February.

    Innovative strength and staying power

    It’s a good thing that the Bundeskartellamt has now opened the door for publishing houses to cooperate in the advertising market. Cooperations and collaborative structures such as these are the only means for us to retain the strength to defend the independence of our content in the economic realities of the 21st century and live up to our journalistic responsibility. The road to this solution for both companies was long and often quite rocky. But now, together with Funke, we are shaping the BCN into an integrated organisation that can market across all media channels and defend itself in a market dominated by the tech giants from the U.S. This requires innovative strength and staying power – both of which we have.
    Philipp WelteBurda Management Board, speaking about the joint venture’s approval

    The road together into the future

    As a separate and independent marketing organisation, the BCN has continuously expanded its offering over the years and forged new partnerships. Burda has already been looking toward the future, having entered into an alliance with the Klambt Media Group back in 2020.

    The new BCN achieves a net reach of more than 62 million readers and users, which translates into a reach of more than 88 per cent of the population (aged 14 and older) in Germany.* The portfolio of strong brands serves all the different ways of life and offers nearly all touchpoints along the customer journey. As a central point of contact for around 300 media brands, the BCN offers customers and agencies efficient structures and a wide range of booking options.

    *Source: best for planning 2022 II (based on: German-speaking population aged 14 and older)