Annual Report 2019 Content News Media Entertainment Media Online Services Advertising Finance & Marketing 9 “Our destination 27 Radio and TV: the friend who comes 39 Online Services guide 65 “Growing digital reader revenue is quality” round when no one else does anymore conscious consumers offsets decline in print” 49 “Our customers' trust is key” 10 DPG Media is online 41 Mijnenergie 66 DPG Media in brief news leader breaks records Financial report 12 The explosion of 68 online regional news 14 Digitale Editie brings news to life 16 VTM NIEUWS brings order to chaos 17 De Volkskrant wants to be the biggest and best 28 18 Humo journalist gets clients of prostitutes talking This is how Qmusic's De Ochtendshow is made 50 19 Weekendavisen defies all laws of media Branded content: back to the brand story 30 Q is in the winning mood 20 3 journalistic 42 gems of 2019 “Viewers come out on top” 32 Independer spends 52 “We have to behave like 22 Rejuvenation puts B.T. holidays on the phone a marketing partner” on right track 33 Video breaks through with 1.3 billion views 54 “Marketeers are going back to the basics of the trade” 44 Unique joint venture in the 34 “Magazine producers are automotive sector more than print suppliers” 56 Berlingske Media looking digital growth 46 Tweakers informs more and for 36 Red Nose Day makes 423,335 more people about technology young people stronger 58 “Not just the last click, but the customer journey 47 Mobile Vikings taking up entire counts” challenger role again 60 “We're no longer taking the 24 scattershot approach—we know who we're targeting now” How journalism turned things around for 62 How do you convince thousands of parents readers digital isn't free? This is DPG Media The Netherlands Belgium Denmark Total TURNOVER TURNOVER TURNOVER TURNOVER 868 695 134 1.6 million € million € million € billion € EBITA EBITA EBITA EBITA 108 63 13 184 million € million € million € million € We are 2,971 1,453 499 4,923 DPG Media Number of Number of Number of Number of We enrich people’s lives with leading media collaborators collaborators collaborators collaborators (FTE’s) (FTE’s) (FTE’s) (FTE’s) that inform, inspire, and entertain… that’s our passion. We believe that well informed citizens, and strong communities, make for a better world… that’s our purpose. We’re determined to build a thriving media company with lasting success… that’s our ambition. Positive, creative and competitive… that’s our spirit. A markedly An intense year Berlingske breaks good 2019 well-concluded! through digitally ANTWERP AMSTERDAM In 2019, we continued work on our digital The slumping advertising market landed our In 2019, all our media broke through digitally. transformation, producing good results. The TV business in bad weather and caused it several Berlingske became the biggest digital premi- HILVERSUM reach of our news sites, the volume of digital setbacks. But we tightened our purse-strings, um news brand, B.T. is now leading in mobile, subscribers, and advertising revenue rocketed. and thankfully radio, magazines, news media, Weekendavisen grew digitally, and Euroinvestor VILVOORDE Online services are making headway too, even mobile, and online services did do well. launched a new website. DPG Media in DPG Media DPG Media though our recruitment activities remain Digitally, 2019 was a brilliant year. We managed The number of page views smashed all records. ROTTERDAM challenging. to really speed up our digital transformation. We drew more users, more digital subscriptions, Despite the focus on online, we keep making We grew 20 percent faster than the market, so and more digital ads. We invested in IT, mobile excellent newspapers. Thanks to well-targeted we could lay claim to the sought-after title of platforms, and digital skills. That has made the Netherlands Belgium Denmark marketing efforts, the print decrease was limi- “local champion”. Berlingske Media Denmark’s leading digital in in KOPENHAGEN ted to a few percentage points. The minimal All of that in a turbulent year. We merged De media company. drop in our print run and the strong increase Persgroep Publishing and Medialaan into a As we were setting records in digital, we re- in digital subscribers mean soaring growth for single company with a new name. We intro- mained the same sharp, conservative media our subscriber base and the related turnover. duced a new organisation and new operating group, fully in line with our 1948 publishing 1.04 That’s a highly promising development. principles. We moved to a new building in statement. That statement requires from us million listeners/day Qmusic made 2019 the best year it’s ever had. Antwerp and we’ve also radically transformed that we provide truthful information and fairly 1.28 Thanks to a fantastic Ochtendshow and clever the TV organisation. advise our users: two of the free press’s essen- million listeners/day TURNOVER TURNOVER TURNOVER afternoon programming, more and more liste- It was a very intense year, leaving many challen- tial contributions to democracy. Our digital 714,000 ners are tuning in to Qmusic. Advertisers are ges untackled, but with a result that feels good. successes and our loyalty to the publishing 2.55 readers/day realizing that too, making the year a financial statement were rewarded. We concluded 2019 Radio million viewers/day success as well. Kris Vervaet, with a profit (EBITA) of 13 million euros. The 868 Radio 695 134 In these coronavirus times, it feels like the CEO DPG Media België best result in many years. million € TV million € Print million € distant past, but 2019 was a markedly good 4.9 year. It’s ensured our company’s resilience. Anders Krab-Johansen Digital million unique 1.5 Print Our strategy is solid, and with the acquisition CEO and publisher of Berlingske Media, million of Sanoma, I feel confident the DPG Media of- a DPG Media Company Print browsers/day EBITA EBITA EBITA readers/day fices will be abuzz with activity again in 2020. (news brands) Digital Right now, I’m primarily grateful for the un- Digital precedented work our collaborators are getting 1.6 done from home. Onwards, with bravery! 108 63 million unique 13 million € million € million € 3.41 browsers/day Erik Roddenhof, million readers/day 2.45 (news brands) CEO DPG Media & CEO DPG Media Nederland million unique browsers/ day (news brands) 1 Annual Report 2019 • DPG Media Record year as a result of diversification It is with mixed feelings that I present to you, performance of our activities. The Board also on behalf of the DPG Media Board of Directors, appreciates that DPG Media's shareholders We've got all the the 2019 consolidated financial statements. indicated straightaway that they would prefer that the profits of the past financial year should On the one hand, satisfaction prevails with in their integrity be set aside for the company. regard to the past financial year, which set assets to accelerate new records financially: operating income Notwithstanding these exceptional circum- rose by 4 percent to 1,638 million euros, our stances, DPG Media has completed its most operational cash flow increased by 7 percent sizeable acquisition of the past few years: in our digital transition to 258 million euros, and net current earnings early December of 2019, an agreement was went up 2 percent, hitting 129 million euros. reached about the takeover of Sanoma Ned- erland, a transaction which the Netherlands Profitability grew in our three home markets Competition Authority ratified in April. This (the Netherlands, Belgium, and Denmark) and acquisition, too, is of great strategic importance is the result of the multimedia diversification for DPG Media in order to accelerate the group's “What a year! And what a lovely finish!" of the portfolio. The growth of online services, digital transformation. That was the title of our CFO Piet Vroman's mobile telephony, and radio generously made up for the downturn in TV and magazines. And, last but not least, I should like to extend my commentary on the financial results in thanks on behalf of the Board to Léon Seynave December 2019. And 2020 was off to a good On the other hand, there is great concern now and Eric Verbeeck, who, after almost 20 years that the global economy is groaning under the of valued contributions to the expansion of start as well, until the coronavirus changed lockdown measures adopted as a result of the DPG Media, resigned their board seats at the everything and brought the world to a standstill. COVID-19 pandemic. DPG Media had got off to end of last year. Having appointed Bernadette an excellent start in 2020, but in mid-March, de Bethune and Jeanine van der Vlist in their our growth was interrupted abruptly. While stead, however, the Board finds itself reinforced Since early March, nearly 95 In these exceptional times, we're consumer turnover remains very stable, ad- and ready to see DPG Media safely through the percent of our personnel has been more than ever finding out how vertising turnover is hurting badly what with current storm. working from home. In this annual important our media are. Every the economy almost brought to a standstill. report, we've devoted two pages day, we try to offer journalism Ludwig Criel, to how we deal with this crisis that's as reliable as possible, and To its satisfaction, the Board has found that the Chairman of the Board of Directors as a media company that's got to our readers, viewers, and listeners group's management, immediately after the start stay operational 24/7.