Press Release | London, 07/13/2020

Bertelsmann Launches Content Alliance in the U.K.

• Fremantle, Penguin Random House, BMG, and DK announce joint podcast production business
• ‘Storyglass’ as first major part of Bertelsmann Content Alliance UK

Bertelsmann’s content businesses in the U.K. – Fremantle, Penguin Random House UK, BMG, and DK – today announced the launch of “Storyglass” as the first project of their Bertelsmann Content Alliance in the U.K.

Fremantle, Penguin Random House UK, BMG and DK are uniquely positioned to grow Storyglass as a leading player in the British podcast market. With access to talent across multiple genres, world-class production and editorial knowledge, Storyglass’ slate will benefit from the expertise of the four companies.

Their joint project “This is Spoke” is already a great success – it won the “Best Podcast” accolade at the 2020 Campaign Publishing Awards, and was a 2020 Webby Honoree in the Diversity and Inclusion category.

Baroness Gail Rebuck, Chair of the Bertelsmann Content Alliance UK, commented: “Creativity defines each of these businesses and I am excited to see what this collaboration can produce. Audio has always proved a really powerful tool to connect audiences with great stories, and we are confident that this alliance, as well as Storyglass, will put us in a position to deliver world-class series”

Andrea Scrosati, Group COO, Fremantle; Tom Weldon, CEO, Penguin Random House UK; Alistair Norbury, President, Marketing & Repertoire, BMG UK and DK CEO Carsten Coesfeld, who represent the Board of the Bertelsmann Content Alliance in the U.K., added: “Podcasting is a fantastic space to test new IP and discover talent. Individually, we have all had success in this space but by bringing our expertise together we are confident in our ambitions to establish Storyglass as a global leader in podcasting production.”

In Germany, the Bertelsmann Content Alliance, which has existed between Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland, RTL Radio Deutschland, the TV production company UFA, Verlagsgruppe Random House, Gruner + Jahr, and the music company BMG since February 2019, has gotten off to an excellent / a very successful start.

Julia Jäkel, Chair of the Bertelsmann Content Alliance in Germany, said: “We are very pleased about the launch of Storyglass. The success of the German Content Alliance shows the potential of creative collaborations: Within just one year, Audio Now has become Germany’s largest commercial podcast distribution platform, and the Audio Alliance the country’s largest private podcast producer, with 80 new podcast series with a total of 400 episodes. In addition, the Bertelsmann Content Alliance in Germany launched a number of joint projects which have gained power and momentum through the cross-divisional collaboration. We look forward to many exciting projects in the U.K. and Germany!”

 About the Bertelsmann Content Alliance
Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland, RTL Radio Deutschland, the TV production company UFA, the Verlagsgruppe Random House publishing group, Gruner + Jahr, and the music company BMG inspire millions of people in Germany with their creative content every day. Together, they comprise the Bertelsmann Content Alliance. With this alliance, Bertelsmann is creating new formats and unique marketing opportunities in Germany. This makes the Bertelsmann Content Alliance an innovative and powerful partner for all creative professionals. Bertelsmann invests about 6 billion euros a year in creative content, worldwide.

About Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann is a media, services and education company that operates in about 50 countries around the world. It includes the broadcaster RTL Group, the trade book publisher Penguin Random House, the magazine publisher Gruner + Jahr, the music company BMG, the service provider Arvato, the Bertelsmann Printing Group, the Bertelsmann Education Group and Bertelsmann Investments, an international network of funds. The company has 126,000 employees and generated revenues of €18.0 billion in the 2019 financial year. Bertelsmann stands for creativity and entrepreneurship. This combination promotes first-class media content and innovative service solutions that inspire customers around the world. Bertelsmann aspires to achieve climate neutrality by 2030.