Roularta Media Group is a

publishing Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

and

broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution (business), distribution of sound, audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio ...

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

based in

Roeselare Roeselare (; french: Roulers, ; West Flemish: ''Roeseloare'') is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Roeselare proper and the towns of Beveren, Oekene and Rumbeke. The ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. Its operations were started in 1954.

History and profile

Roularta was established by lawyer Willy De Nolf in 1954. The group operates in the France, the Netherlands, and Portugal in addition to its native Belgium. The

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of the company is Rik de Nolf, who succeeded his father, Willy De Nolf, in the post in 1981. In the early years the group published and distributed

free newspapers Free newspapers are distributed free of charge, often in central places in cities and towns, on public transport, with other newspapers, or separately door-to-door. The revenues of such newspapers are based on advertising. They are published at d ...

in the Dutch-speaking regions of Belgium. The first publication of the company was a weekly

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

, '' De Weekbode''. The group has two main segments:

Print media Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets. Broadcast media transmit information e ...

and audiovisual media. The print media segment consists of free newspapers such as '' De Streekkrant'', '' De Zondag'' and '' Steps'' published in Belgium and magazines. Roularta publishes

Dutch language Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-Europea ...

and

French language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...

magazines in Belgium. The group was top magazine publishing company in Belgium in 2008 with a total

revenue In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods and services related to the primary operations of the business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some companies receive reven ...

of 101,062,000 €. The same year it owned 24.2% of the French language magazines and 10.6% of the Dutch language magazines in the country. The group is the sole owner of

news magazines A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published magazine, radio or television program, usually published weekly, consisting of articles about current events. News magazines generally discuss stories, in greater depth than do newspapers or ne ...

published in the country and has a monopoly in this sector. News magazines ''

Knack Knack or The Knack may refer to: Music and entertainment * The Knack, an American pop-rock band famous for their hit "My Sharona" * The Knack (1960s US band), an American garage rock band active in the 1960s * The Knack (UK band), a British freakb ...

'' and ''

Le Vif/L’Express ''Le Vif/L'Express'' is a French language weekly news magazine published in City of Brussels, Brussels, Belgium. It has been in circulation since 1963. History and profile The magazine was established under the name of ''Le Vif'' in 1983. Its na ...

'' are owned by it. The Belgian business magazine '' Trends'' is also part of the company. In addition, the group is the owner of some French magazines most of which it acquired in 2006. These include ''

L'Express ''L'Express'' () is a French weekly news magazine headquartered in Paris. The weekly stands at the political centre in the French media landscape, and has a lifestyle supplement, ''L'Express Styles'', and a job supplement, ''Réussir''. History ...

'', ''

L'Expansion ''L'Expansion'' was a French former monthly business magazine based in Paris, France, which existed between 1967 and 2017. History and profile ''L'Expansion'' was founded by Jean-Louis Servan-Schreiber and Jean Boissonnat in 1967. In 1994 the m ...

'', '' L'Etudiant'' and ''

Point de Vue Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Point ...

''. At the beginning of 2015 the group sold some of its French titles, namely ''L'Express'', ''L'Expansion'', '' Mieux Vivre Votre Argent'', '' Lire'', '' Classica'', '' Pianiste'' and ''

Studio Cine Live A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial d ...

'', to French businessman

Patrick Drahi Patrick Drahi ( he, פטריק דרהי; born 20 August 1963) is a French–Israeli billionaire, businessman telecoms, media tycoon, and investor, magnate. He has been living in Switzerland since 1999.. He is the founder and controlling shareho ...

. The group also owned the

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

magazine '' Vi over 60'' from 1999 to June 2008. The other segment includes co-ownership of

Medialaan DPG Media Group is a Belgian media company also active in the Netherlands and Denmark. It is owned by the Van Thillo family and employs some 6,000 people. Divisions The DPG Media Group operates through three national subsidiaries: * DPG Media ...

which includes TV and radio activities (Q-music, 4FM) and of the Regionale Media Maatschappij which owns two local TV channels, Focus TV and WTV. / which is a Belgian news and business channel is also part of the group. In addition, the group has internet properties such as lexpress.fr, knack.be and letudiant.fr. In 2004 the Roularta acquired the Press News, the Belgian publisher of ''Royals'', ''Dynasty'', ''Hors Serie'' and ''Ace'' magazines. In March 2012 the group started the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

edition of the news and

lifestyle magazine Lifestyle journalism is the field of journalism that provides news and opinion, often in an entertaining tone, regarding goods and services used by consumers in their everyday life. Lifestyle journalism covers travel, fashion, fitness, leisure, fo ...

''the Good Life'' in Belgium. Coface Services Belgium was bought by the group in March 2013. In September 2014 the group became the sole owner of the DSDW and Roularta Printing which had been partly owned by it.

Sale of Medialaan

In 2018

De Persgroep DPG Media Group is a Belgian media company also active in the Netherlands and Denmark. It is owned by the Van Thillo family and employs some 6,000 people. Divisions The DPG Media Group operates through three national subsidiaries: * DPG Media ...

acquired Roularta's 50 percent stake in

. Roularta received a 50 percent stake in

Mediafin Mediafin is a Belgian media group. The company was established in 2005 when it was bought by De Persgroep and Rossel. Its name was switched from Publisher Tijd to Mediafin. De Persgroep and Rossel hold a fifty percent stake in Mediafin. In 2018 ...

(publisher of the Belgian financial dailies ''

L'Echo ''L'Echo'' is a Belgian business newspaper, published by Mediafin and mainly distributed in Wallonia and Brussels. It is the French counterpart of the Flemish daily ''De Tijd'' which is its sister paper. History and profile ''L'Echo'' originat ...

'' and ''

De Tijd ''De Tijd'' (, ''The Times'') is a Belgian newspaper that mainly focuses on business and economics. It is printed on salmon pink paper since May 2009, following the example of its colleagues ''Financial Times'', ''Het Financieele Dagblad'', '' FT ...

'') and 217.5 million euros in cash. Roularta announced the deal fit well with its intention to refocus on local media and the publication of quality magazines and newspapers for a quality-seeking target audience.

Assets

Flanders (Belgium)

Local media *''De Krant van West-Vlaanderen'' *''Deze Week'' *''De Zondag'' *''Steps'' Newspapers *''

'' (50%, with Groupe Rossel) Magazines *''

'' and its supplements ''Knack Weekend'', ''Focus Knack'', ''Bodytalk'' and '' MO*'' *''Sport/Voetbalmagazine'' *'' Trends'' and its supplement ''Trends Style'' *''Plus Magazine'' *''Feeling'' *''Flair'' *''La Maison Victor'' Television *''Focus/WTV'' *''Kanaal Z''

Wallonia (Belgium)

Newspapers *''

'' (50%, with Groupe Rossel) Magazines *''

Le Vif/L'Express ''Le Vif/L'Express'' is a French language weekly news magazine published in Brussels, Belgium. It has been in circulation since 1963. History and profile The magazine was established under the name of ''Le Vif'' in 1983. Its name was changed to ...

'' and its supplements ''Le Vif Weekend'', ''Vif Focus'' and ''Bodytalk'' *''Sport/Foot Magazine''** *''Trends-Tendances'' and its supplement ''Trends Style'' *''Plus Magazine'' *''Flair'' *''La Maison Victor'' *''Télépro'' (with Bayard Presse) Television *''Canal Z''

International

The ''La Maison Victor'' magazine is not only published in both the Flemish and Walloon parts of

, but also in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The Walloon version is distributed and sold in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

as well. Roularta owns stakes in two publishing companies, one in the Netherlands and one in Germany. Both are joint ventures with the French press and publishing company

Bayard Presse Bayard Presse is one of the oldest press and publishing companies of France, being founded in 1870. The company has various media outlets both in its native France and abroad. As of 2019, it reports approximately two thousand employees, two hundred ...

. *SPN (Senior Publications Nederland) (Netherlands) **''Plus Magazine'' **''+Gezond'' **''Plus Puzzels'' **''G/Geschiedenis'' * (Germany)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roularta 1954 establishments in Belgium Companies based in West Flanders Magazine publishing companies Mass media companies of Belgium Newspaper companies Publishing companies of Belgium Publishing companies established in 1954 Roeselare