Radio NRW

Logo of Radio NRW

Radio NRW is the name for the framework or main program of Radio NRW GmbH, which is currently produced for 45 local radio stations in North Rhine-Westphalia. It is therefore not a separate station, but a provider of program content and technical services, such as broadcasting infrastructure. While these local stations also broadcast their own content, they obtain a large part of their daily program, such as news, traffic reports or weather reports, from Radio NRW. The main program is identical for all 45 local stations, but is received via the frequency of the respective local station. In measurements of listener shares, these 45 stations are always recorded together under the Radio NRW label. With around 3.9 million daily listeners on the various stations, Radio NRW's program is by far the radio program with the widest reach in Germany.
Among the shareholders of Radio NRW are several large media groups, for example Burda, Axel Springer and Bertelsmann (RTL). Until 2018, Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln, which is part of the public broadcasting service, held 24.9% of the shares in Radio NRW. However, for antitrust reasons, WDR had to give up these shares; they are now owned by radio NRW GmbH.

Key Facts

Audience Share5.2%
Ownership TypePrivate
Geographic CoverageLocal
Content TypeFree
Data Publicly Available
ownership data is easily available from other sources, e. g. public registries etc.

Ownership

Ownership StructureRadio NRW is the main program of the North Rhine-Westphalian local radio stations, which is produced by Radio NRW GmbH. Radio NRW GmbH is in turn owned by various publishers and media companies, which hold their shares through the Pressefunk Nordrhein-Westfalen GmbH & Co. KG as a group. The largest individual owner is the Funke family (13.68%), followed by the Mohn family, who hold 13.3% of the shares in Radio NRW through their shares in the Bertelsmann Group and RTL Deutschland.
For technical reasons, shares of less than one percent cannot be shown. However, due to their participation in several media companies, even small shares are important. The SPD's shares are therefore given as 0%, but amount to 0.06%.
Voting RightsThe articles of association of Radio NRW GmbH stipulate that one vote is granted for every €500 of share capital. In total, the GmbH has a share capital of €5,200,000, which corresponds to 10,400 votes. Of these, Pressefunk Nordrhein-Westfalen GmbH & Co. KG holds 6,136 votes (59%), RTL Radio Deutschland GmbH 1,674 votes (16.1%) and the company itself (own ownership) 2,589 votes (24.9%). Usually, the voting rights for own-owned shares (24.9%) are suspended, so that the relative voting shares for the other shareholders increase, as the total number of maximum votes cast falls to 7,811. Taking the own share into account, Pressefunk Nordrhein-Westfalen GmbH & Co. KG holds 78.6% of the votes and RTL Radio Deutschland GmbH 21.4%.
Individual Owner

Media Companies / Groups

Facts

Founding Year1989
Founder
  • Radio NRW GmbH
    Private broadcasting in North Rhine-Westphalia has only existed since 1987, when the state enacted the State Broadcasting Act, which stipulates a two-pillar model for local radio stations: a radio station only receives a licence if it can present a cooperation agreement between an operating company (BG) and a broadcasters' association (VG) in the form of a registered association. According to the State Media Act, the BG may not interfere in the design of the programme, but the VG is permitted to obtain a framework programme from third-party providers. One such third-party provider is Radio NRW. After the foundations for private broadcasting in NRW were laid in 1989, various publishers and media companies founded Radio NRW GmbH, which provides the framework programme for all local radio stations in North Rhine-Westphalia.
CEO
  • Marco Morocutti
    Managing Director of Radio NRW GmbH since January 2024. Previously, he was Managing Director of Audiowest, a marketing company for local radio stations in NRW. Until the end of 2023/beginning of 2024, Morocutti was temporarily Managing Director of seven operating companies of local radio stations. In addition to his position as Managing Director of Radio NRW GmbH, he is currently Managing Director of the subsidiary MS Medienbüro.
Editor-In-Chief
  • Udo Kreuer
    Program Director at Radio NRW since June 2023. He was previously Deputy Head of Programs and Head of Sports at Radio NRW.
ContactRADIO NRW GmbH
Essener Str. 55
46047
Germany
info@radionrw.de
+49 208 85 87-0
www.radionrw.de
RevenueMissing Data
Operating ProfitMissing Data
Advertising (in % of total funding)Missing Data
Market ShareMissing Data
Headlines
Meta DataSince Radio NRW is a framework program for 45 local radio stations, not a single station, it is not easy to show financial data. Radio NRW did not respond to a request, so information on financial data is listed as 'missing data'.
In the agma survey of audience figures, the local stations that get their framework program from Radio NRW are always shown together. For this reason, and because the framework program is broadcast identically on 45 local stations, they are treated as a unit within the framework of the MOM.
The audience figures come from the agma ma l/2024 survey and refer to the daily reach in percent and millions from Monday to Sunday.
Sources
Documents (PDF)
  • agma ma audio 2024/I (Pressetabelle)
    Link File
  • Liste der Geselllschafter der Radio NRW GmbH
    File
  • Gesellschaftervertrag der Radio NRW GmbH
    File
  • Aktueller Abdruck aus dem Handelsregister für die Radio NRW GmbH
    File
  • Landesmediengesetz des Landes NRW in nichtamtlicher Lesefassung
    File