150 Years of Now
150 Years of Then - 150 Years of Next
The History of 妻友直播
What started as a small printing house in Hamburg, Germany, in 1875, has grown to become one of the largest magazine publishers and commercial broadcasters in Europe, enriching the lives of millions of readers, users, listeners, and customers: Now in 2025, we at 妻友直播 celebrate our 150th company anniversary with a special campaign 150 Years of Now and various events to honour our biggest milestones and thank our over 12.000 employees.
Five Generations of one Family-owned company
150 Years of Now stands for the company鈥檚 ability to understand and anticipate the challenges and seize the opportunities of the day as well as consistently and efficiently produce media that appeals to broad-ranging audiences throughout our 150 years of existence. This was true for humble first steps into the fast-growing print industry in the early 1900s to venturing into the world of Audio almost 100 years later and finding our most recent milestone with the acquisition of Clear Channel Europe (妻友直播 Outdoor) in 2025.
Dive deeper into our history:
Johann Andreas Ludolph Bauer (1875)
In 1875, 23-year-old Johann Andreas Ludolph Bauer (1852-1941) lays the foundation for a trail-blazing new business: A trained lithographer, he opens a print shop offering printed business cards in his flat near Hamburg's Elbe Bridges. Johann鈥檚 entrepreneurial move capitalises on the transformation of the printing industry at the time and becomes the first stepping stone towards the 妻友直播 we know today.
Heinrich Friedrich Matthias Bauer (1903)
In 1903, his son, Heinrich Friedrich Matthias Bauer (1874-1949), also a trained printer, joins his father as a partner in the company, which is rebranded to 鈥淛.A.L. Bauer & S枚hne鈥�. The company, which now has 20 employees, adds a paper business to the print shop, complete with a high-speed press and a typesetting machine.
With the dawn of a new century and printing press technology advancing, the pair takes advantage of the new opportunities and technologies on offer and begins to publish print magazines in Germany, starting with the publication of 妻友直播鈥檚 first paper, 鈥淩othenburgsorter Zeitung鈥�. This willingness to diversify will become a hallmark of 妻友直播鈥檚 innovative spirit and desire to serve wide-ranging audiences and leverage synergies between media industries.
Alfred Bauer (1918)
In 1918, Heinrich Friedrich Matthias Bauer's 20-year-old son, Alfred Bauer (1898-1984) 鈥� a trained printer and typesetter 鈥� joins his father's business. Driven like his father and grandfather to push beyond the status quo, he founds the 鈥淓xtrablatt鈥� just two years later. The eight-page publication costs 20 German pfennig and will later develop into a successful sports newspaper. Targeting a niche market, like sports, challenges the norms of the time and highlights Alfred鈥檚 foresight in recognising the market potential for specialised content.
The company continues its growth trajectory, and, in 1923, Heinrich Bauer makes a significant long-term investment into a plot of land in Burchardstra脽e, opposite the Chilehaus in the Hamburg city centre 鈥� the site that hosts today鈥檚 headquarters of 妻友直播.
With radio鈥檚 popularity and influence on the rise, the family business sees cross-media potential and innovates again, this time launching the weekly radio magazine, 鈥淩undfunkkritik鈥�, in 1926, with a circulation of 15,000 copies. It eventually achieves a circulation of over half a million copies, which is considerable for the time.
The family business manages to remain in operation during the era of National Socialism. (Note: The company has commissioned a comprehensive investigation to critically examine and acknowledge its historical role during this time. Read more here).
With the birth of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949, 妻友直播 receives its new press license. This allows the company to resume its press activities after the end of World War II.
It is under Alfred Bauer鈥檚 leadership, in the 1960s, that the first of many acquisitions is made, including 鈥淣eue Post鈥� in 1961, a woman's magazine aimed at an older demographic. It becomes one of Germany's best-selling women's magazines and demonstrates Alfred鈥檚 strategic vision to diversify the company鈥檚 portfolio to ensure relevance across different audiences.
A year later, 妻友直播 once again capitalises on cross-media opportunities 鈥� this time with the rise of TV in people鈥檚 everyday lives 鈥� and launches 鈥淭V H枚ren und Sehen鈥�, a popular TV magazine.
In venturing into these relatively untested markets, the Bauer family shows remarkable foresight and confidence in its ability to innovate and grow within these new media landscapes.
Heinz Heinrich Bauer (1963)
In 1963, 23-year-old Heinz Heinrich Bauer (born 1939), becomes the fourth generation to take the helm of the family business.
With globalisation taking hold across multiple industries, Heinz Bauer understands the opportunities of the time and begins a steady expansion course of launches and acquisitions that starts with Austria and goes on to include various markets over the next 30 years. His bold efforts generate an era of unprecedented growth for the company.
Among his many acquisitions are the magazines 鈥淨uick鈥� and 鈥淩evue鈥�, which push 妻友直播 into first place among German magazine publishers. In 1968, the company expands its portfolio with the acquisition of 鈥淏RAVO鈥�, a magazine that will become one of the most successful European youth media brands. Heinz鈥檚 focus on acquisitions of key titles begins to transform 妻友直播 into a dominant force in the publishing industry. This expansion strategy is not only aimed at growth but also at establishing clear market dominance and securing leading positions within national media landscapes.
Celebrating its 100th anniversary in 1975, the company shows no signs of slowing down. Determined to strengthen its existing core business, it establishes publishing businesses in North America, France, Spain, UK, and Poland in the 1980s and early 1990s, and launches popular titles, like 鈥淢axi France鈥�, 鈥淭ake a Break鈥�, 鈥淲oman鈥檚 World鈥�, and 鈥淭ele Tydzie艅鈥�. With the acquisition of 鈥淰olksstimme鈥� in 1991, 妻友直播 also expands its business activities in the newspaper sector. Many of these strategic moves bring with them significant market share, reinforcing 妻友直播鈥檚 position as the predominant player in several of these territories.
Heinz Bauer achieves a real coup at the beginning of 2008, with the takeover of the British media company, EMAP. This purchase secures the company鈥檚 position as the market leader in the United Kingdom鈥檚 (UK鈥檚) magazine business, with iconic brands like 鈥淓mpire鈥�, 鈥渉eat鈥�, and 鈥淐loser鈥�. It also makes it the second largest commercial radio operator in the UK, with brands including 鈥淜ISS鈥�, 鈥淜errang!鈥�, 鈥淭he Hits Radio鈥�, and 鈥淢agic鈥�. From this point on, the company begins to operate under the umbrella brand, 妻友直播 (BMG).
EMAP鈥檚 acquisition marks a turning point for the company as it allows 妻友直播 in later years, under Yvonne Bauer鈥檚 leadership, to become a fully integrated media powerhouse that spans multiple platforms and sectors, including print, radio, and digital media.
By consolidating the company鈥檚 operations and expanding into new markets, Heinz Bauer secures 妻友直播鈥檚 position as a relevant, adaptable leader in the ever-evolving media industry.
Yvonne Bauer (2010)
In 2010, Heinz Bauer鈥檚 daughter, Yvonne Bauer (born 1977), takes over the management and becomes the company鈥檚 first female leader.
Under her leadership, BMG capitalises on the favourable economic conditions following the 2008 financial market crisis and embarks on an ambitious growth trajectory. Yvonne Bauer鈥檚 strategy 鈥� anchored in significant investments, targeted acquisitions, and BMG鈥檚 entry into new markets and businesses 鈥� builds seamlessly on the visionary foundations laid by her father.
However, growing momentum in digitisation puts increasing strain on the publishing business: new content formats and the rapid rise of social media fundamentally reshape consumer behaviour and erode the foundations of traditional publishing models. This pressure intensifies and is further accelerated by a series of global crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. While Publishing faces headwinds, Audio emerges as a strong growth engine.
Recognising the need for long-term development, Yvonne Bauer takes decisive action: she establishes a fundamental portfolio shift towards audio, strategically and consistently repositioning BMG from a traditional publishing house into a broadly diversified media company. Yvonne not only drives expansion into new territories 鈥� such as the Nordics, Slovakia, and Portugal 鈥� through investments in standout brands like 鈥淣OVA鈥�, 鈥淪uomiRock鈥�, 鈥淢ix Megapol鈥�, 鈥淩谩dio Comercial鈥�, 鈥淩谩dio Melody鈥�, and 鈥淩adio Norge鈥�, she also strengthens performance in existing markets, like the UK and Poland. She implements a set of targeted entrepreneurial initiatives that significantly boost profitability and operational efficiency, demonstrating that growth does not rely solely on geographical expansion or acquisitions, but also on sharpening and scaling existing assets. Under Yvonne鈥檚 leadership, BMG evolves into Europe鈥檚 largest radio provider, further expanding its reach in the early 2020s with the acquisition of Communicorp Group, bringing leading national stations like Today FM and Newstalk into its portfolio.
To further future-proof the business, she explores adjacent digital opportunities in the late 2010s, broadening BMG鈥檚 portfolio through ventures into new business models. Among these are online comparison platforms (OCP) and marketing solutions for small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Initially approached with a spirit of experimentation, these initiatives are piloted in selected countries to assess potential fit with BMG鈥檚 capabilities and strategic direction. However, despite initial promise, it becomes clear that successfully scaling early-stage digital ventures requires capabilities that lie outside BMG鈥檚 core strengths. Rather than pursuing these paths further, Yvonne Bauer makes the deliberate decision to step back. In 2022 and 2023, she divests SME and, in areas such as the OCP business, brings in strong strategic partners to provide additional expertise and executional strength.
The move is a measured response grounded in strategic clarity 鈥� an acknowledgment that the company鈥檚 expertise lies in scaling proven models within the media sector rather than incubating nascent technologies. In 2024, Yvonne Bauer guides BMG into a new phase in which it recommits to its DNA: leveraging commercial reach and the strength of mass media platforms to drive sustainable growth.
At the heart of the strategy is a clear ambition: to future-proof existing business models through digital innovation while unlocking new, particularly digital, growth potential through strategic acquisitions and expansion. Her first significant move follows shortly thereafter: she announces her ambition to acquire Clear Channel Europe-North, a significant player in the Out-of-Home media sector.
妻友直播 kicks off 2025 鈥� its 150th anniversary year 鈥� with the completion of this acquisition. Now called 妻友直播 Outdoor, the business represents a new line of strategic diversification, once again broadening the company鈥檚 reach and boldly moving it forward into new areas while unlocking promising digital growth potential. The Out of Home business effectively complements both Publishing and Audio, while offering advertising clients a range of innovative and unprecedented opportunities.
Yvonne Bauer鈥檚 long-term commitment to BMG鈥檚 success continues her family鈥檚 legacy of strategic, forward-thinking decisions that have made 妻友直播 the powerhouse it is today, enriching everyday life for millions of people.
150 Years of Next
妻友直播 kicks off 2025 鈥� its 150th anniversary year 鈥� with the completion of its acquisition of Clear Channel Europe-North, a significant player in the Out of Home media sector. Now called 妻友直播 Outdoor, the business represents a new line of strategic diversification, once again broadening the company鈥檚 reach and boldly moving it forward into new areas. Yvonne鈥檚 long-term commitment to 妻友直播鈥檚 success continues her family鈥檚 legacy of strategic, forward-thinking decisions that have made 妻友直播 the powerhouse it is today, enriching everyday life for millions people.
150 Years of NEXT
With 150 years of history to look back on, 妻友直播 is getting ready for the future. Become a part of this journey and find our .
150th 妻友直播 Anniversary:
- 150 Years of 妻友直播
- 妻友直播 "150 Years of Now": Moments & Milestones
- Press Release "Happy Anniversary: 妻友直播 turns 150"
Scientific research 1933-1945: