The world is at the beginning of a new technological age. Following the internet (1989) and the smartphone (2007), generative artificial intelligence marks the third major stage of the digital transformation. Since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, AI is no longer a vision – it is a reality for the masses. And it is profoundly changing industries, science, and society. The media industry is – once again – particularly affected by this profound upheaval.

Ringier has been facing change with a willingness to shape it for 192 years. In 2024, the technological and data-based foundations were consistently expanded and optimally coordinated in all three business areas: Media, Sports Media, and Digital Marketplaces. The goal is to create scalable innovations, trustworthy content, and better services for customers and users.

Despite significant investments in technology and data, the Ringier Group recorded a significant increase in operating profit in the 2024 financial year: EBITDA rose by 12.6% to CHF 118.8 million (2023: CHF 105.5 million). This is the second-best result in ten years. Revenue amounted to CHF 800.6 million (2023: CHF 918.9 million), reflecting the strategic streamlining of the portfolio, in particular the sale of the e-commerce platform DeinDeal and the discontinuation of the large printing plant Swissprinters. For Ringier, this marks the end of an era: printing newspapers and magazines had been at the heart of the family business since 1833.

The associated significant improvement in the EBITDA margin to 14.8% (2023: 11.5%) is particularly noteworthy. With a constant digital EBITDA share of 82%, the company, which employs 6,048 people in 20 countries (2023: 6,571 employees), not only underscores its strategic focus but also ranks among the European leaders in the media industry.

“The Ringier Group has once again achieved higher operating profit. This is thanks to the consistent digital transformation that began over 15 years ago and investments in new digital businesses such as marketplaces for jobs, real estate, and cars, or ticketing. The media business remains under pressure, both in terms of subscriptions and the advertising market. Over the past few years, several hundred million in traditional media revenue have been lost. The 2024 financial year marks the beginning of a new phase for Ringier: we are harmonizing our technological infrastructure and data ontologies, we are working group-wide with leading software and data company Palantir, and we are consistently applying artificial intelligence at all levels and in all areas of the company.”

The digital marketplace platforms continued to develop into a key pillar of the company’s success in 2024: The JobCloud Group in Switzerland asserted itself in a challenging market environment in 2024 with an EBITDA margin of over 52%. Despite declining revenues due to economic caution in the job market, the JobCloud Group’s platforms recorded record numbers of new registrations and applications. It further strengthened its market position through targeted investments. In Austria, the environment at Karriere.at (JobCloud share: 49%) remained challenging. Nevertheless, the EBITDA margin remains at a high level at over 50%.

The smg Swiss Marketplace Group achieved a strong result based on the positive development of all four business segments: Real Estate, Automotive, General Marketplaces, and Finance and Insurance. Revenue, operating profit, and the EBITDA margin (40%) increased significantly. In the real estate segment, Homegate and ImmoScout24 drove their growth through two main factors: firstly, by merging their offerings for brokers and property managers into a single platform and, secondly, by expanding value creation. The successful acquisition and integration of Flatfox also contributed to growth. Ricardo celebrated its 25th anniversary and can look back on a total of 110 million items sold.

Ticketcorner grew again and maintained its market leadership with record sales of 11.9 million tickets and over 17,000 events – including 90,000 tickets sold within minutes for Taylor Swift. By acquiring international rights for major events such as the ESC, UEFA Women’s EURO and IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, Ticketcorner is further expanding its relevance in Switzerland.

Internationally, Ringier’s digital marketplace platforms also achieved strong results: Imobiliare.ro celebrated 25 years of successful market presence in Romania and switched to the Cube technology developed by the in-house technology hub Ringier South Africa.

Market share was expanded in Poland, Slovakia, and Africa, and platforms were strengthened through AI and digital services – as was the case,for example, at The African Talent Company (TATC) in collaboration with the Mastercard Foundation.

With 20 leading media titles and 4.6 million readers, Ringier Media Switzerland (RMS) strengthened its market position. Blick celebrated its 65th anniversary and invested in a comprehensive redesign and new technological applications such as vertical videos, known as “Blick Bites,” which combine the social media experience of users with strong journalistic content. In digital subscriptions, Blick reached the 25,000 mark two years after launch. Bilanz increased its readership by 10.1%, while LandLiebe remains Switzerland’s most-read magazine. Technologically, RMS is focusing on the future: Beobachter launched a chatbot for advice, and the AI chatbot for Blick, developed in collaboration with Google Cloud, is in the testing phase.

Admeira expanded its portfolio through a partnership with CANAL+ Switzerland and achieved record revenues, partly due to major sporting events. The Energy Group maintained its position as Switzerland’s leading private radio station with 678,000 daily listeners.

In Central and Eastern Europe, the transformation of media titles was accelerated with a focus on digital excellence, AI integration, and sustainable growth. The Ringier Digital Media Playbook provided the strategic framework for digital publishing, and efficiency in the editorial department was increased with the help of AI-supported platforms such as Palantir and automated content generation. To improve content strategy, editorial teams in CEE countries and Africa have adopted Ringier’s User Needs Model, enabling more targeted audience engagement.

Further success stories: Aktuality.sk (Slovakia) recorded a 75% increase in subscriptions, while Libertatea became Romania’s most-read news site. Ringier Axel Springer Polska reaffirmed its market-leading position: Onet became the most visited news website in the EU in September 2024 and was named Poland’s most trusted online media outlet by the Reuters Institute for the seventh time in a row. In Africa, Pulse consolidated its position as the leading social media brand with 65 million users and 12.3 million TikTok followers. Initiatives such as the Pulse Influencer Awards and Pulse Picks promoted user engagement, while reporting on relevant topics strengthened the brand’s credibility.

The Ringier School of Journalism (“JouSchu”) celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2024. The school, the first of its kind in Switzerland, has helped shape journalism in the country. In 1974, the founding of the Ringier School of Journalism was a bold, forward-looking educational initiative by publisher Hans Ringier.

Ringier’s youngest strategic segment, Sports Media, also continued its upward trend: Since its founding in 2022, the Ringier Sports Media Group (RSMG) has developed into a leading provider in the digital sports media sector. With a presence in eight countries and a monthly reach of over 25 million users, RSMG shows strong growth.

GSP.ro (Gazeta Sporturilor) in Romania celebrated its 100th anniversary. The implemented digital-first strategy led to a 10 percent performance increase compared to the previous year – resulting in the best performance in the title’s history. A Bola, Portugal’s leading sports media brand, surpassed the 5 million monthly user mark. Sportnieuws.nl in the Netherlands doubled its reach. Sportal.rs in Serbia and Sport.sk in Slovakia maintained their market leadership, while Sportal.bg in Bulgaria once again delivered an outstanding result and an EBITDA margin of over 50%.

RSMG also focused on technological innovation by introducing AI-powered translation and content adaptation for multilingual publications and launching new mobile apps in various countries. For 2025, the group plans to further advance AI integration and implement innovative product developments to increase efficiency and enhance the user experience. This strategy underscores RSMG’s commitment to remaining at the forefront of digital sports media. The goal is to continuously inspire audiences with high-quality content and offer an even better user experience through innovative technologies.

“By deepening its long-standing, group-wide partnership with Palantir and introducing its Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP), Ringier significantly expanded its AI competence in 2024. AI opens up enormous opportunities for us. We use this technology to create data-driven added value in media, marketplaces, and sports media.”

The OneLog initiative of major Swiss media houses exceeded the mark of 3.5 million verified accounts in 2024. The introduction of OneID set new standards in data protection-compliant targeting for the advertising market. In October 2024, OneLog fell victim to an act of sabotage, which resulted in the service being temporarily unavailable. After close cooperation with authorities and security experts, operations were quickly restored. The investigation found no evidence of data theft.

“The results for 2024 demonstrate our ability to master change, seize opportunities, and set new standards in the industry. For 2025, the focus of investment will be on artificial intelligence, data ontologies, and scalable technologies. The aim is to leverage synergies even more effectively, further increase efficiency, and continue to expand our digital services in media, sports media, marketplaces, and ticketing.”

The Ringier Art Annual Report 2024 continues the 28-year tradition of combining the annual report with contemporary art. Renowned photographer Heji Shin was commissioned for this edition. Her images, taken during her solo exhibition in the US, show powerful shots of a rocket launch in Cape Canaveral. These symbolize progress and expansion, but also represent a departure from Shin’s earlier, often controversial work.

In addition to the annual report, this year’s art product includes a randomly selected rocket poster and a QR code for downloading a video of a rocket launch documented by Heji Shin. With the 2024 Art Annual Report Ringier offers an innovative view of art as a mirror of change.

“Our 2024 Art Annual Report reflects the essence of Ringier: tradition and innovation, journalism and technology. Like Heji Shin’s art, we want to surprise, ask questions and provoke thought. In times when ‘guided thinking’ and superficial provocation are on the rise, we are committed to high-quality journalism. We offer research, ideas, and reading pleasure – without lecturing or shocking. Despite growing challenges in financing, we see the increasing demand for good journalism as an opportunity. Thanks to our dedicated employees, Ringier remains a thoughtful, ambitious, and successful company.”

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The Ringier Annual Report 2024 is available for download as a PDF in English, German and French here.

Ringier is a leading European media company headquartered in Switzerland with a history spanning more than 190 years. With around 6,000 employees, the group operates over 130 companies in 20 European and African countries. The Ringier portfolio comprises three main business areas: leading media brands, sports media platforms, and digital marketplaces. With a digital EBITDA share of 82 percent, Ringier is one of Europe’s leading media companies. The group remains majority family-owned to this day. More at: ringier.com

Its best-known media brands include Blick, Bilanz, LandLiebe, L’illustré and Schweizer Illustrierte in Switzerland, Blikk in Hungary, Blic in Serbia, and Onet, Fakt, Forbes, and Business Insider in Poland. In the sports media sector, Ringier is present with platforms such as A Bola in Portugal, GSP.ro in Romania, Sportal.bg in Bulgaria, and Sportal.rs in Serbia. The digital marketplaces are led by flagships such as JobCloud and smg Swiss Marketplace Group in Switzerland, eJobs and imobiliare in Romania, CV Keskus in the Baltic states, and Profession in Hungary.