Roularta Media Group is a

publishing Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

and

broadcasting Broadcasting is the data distribution, distribution of sound, audio audiovisual content to dispersed audiences via a electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), ...

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

based in

Roeselare Roeselare (; ; ) 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 name of the city is derived from two ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. 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 chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

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 ...

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

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

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

Print media Mass media include the diverse arrays of media that reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit information electronically via media such as films, radio, recorded music, or television. Digital media comprises b ...

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 languages, West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language and is the List of languages by total number of speak ...

and

French language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...

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 product (business), goods and services related to the primary operations of a business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some compan ...

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 newspapers or new ...

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 weekly news magazine published in City of Brussels, Brussels, Belgium. It has been in circulation since 1983. History and profile The magazine was established under the name of ''Le Vif'' in 1983. Its name was changed t ...

'' are owned by it. The Belgian business magazine ''

Trends A fad, trend, or craze is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation, or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse for a short time period. Fads are objects or behaviors that ...

'' 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 (, stylized in all caps) is a French weekly news magazine headquartered in Paris. The weekly stands at the political centre-right in the French media landscape, and has a lifestyle supplement, ''L'Express Styles'', and a job supplement, ''R� ...

'', ''

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''. At the beginning of 2015 the group sold some of its French titles, namely ''L'Express'', ''L'Expansion'', ''

Mieux Vivre Votre Argent ''Mieux Vivre Votre Argent'' (also known as ''MVVA'') is a monthly business magazine published in Paris, France. It has been in circulation since 1968. History and profile ''MVVA'' was founded in 1968. The magazine had been published by Hachette ...

'', '' Lire'', '' Classica'', '' Pianiste'' and ''

Studio Cine Live A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal. Types Art The studio of any artist, espe ...

'', to French businessman

Patrick Drahi Patrick Drahi (; ; ; born 20 August 1963) is a Moroccan–Israeli billionaire magnate and investor with interests in media and telecoms. He is the founder and controlling shareholder of the European-based telecom group Altice. He lives in Swit ...

. The group also owned the Norwegian magazine '' Vi over 60'' from 1999 to June 2008. The other segment includes co-ownership of

Medialaan DPG Media Group is a Belgian media group. It is active in Belgium and the Netherlands. The exact ownership structure is not clear; it is believed that the group is mainly owned by the Belgian Van Thillo family.

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 or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

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 readers in their everyday life. Lifestyle journalism covers travel, fashion, fitness, leisure, food ...

''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 group. It is active in Belgium and the Netherlands. The exact ownership structure is not clear; it is believed that the group is mainly owned by the Belgian Van Thillo family.

acquired Roularta's 50 percent stake in

. Roularta received a 50 percent stake in

Mediafin Mediafin is a Belgian media group A media conglomerate, media company, media group, or media institution is a company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises, such as music, television, radio, publishing, motion picture ...

(publisher of the Belgian financial dailies ''

L'Echo ''L'Echo'' is a Belgian daily newspaper that mainly focuses on business and economics. It is published by Mediafin and mainly distributed in Wallonia and Brussels. It is the French-language counterpart of the Flemish daily ''De Tijd'', which is ...

'' and ''

De Tijd ''De Tijd'' (; ) is a Belgian daily newspaper that mainly focuses on business and economics. It is published by Mediafin and mainly distributed in Flanders and Brussels. It is the Flemish counterpart of the French-language daily '' L'Echo'', wh ...

'') 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*'' *''

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

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

International

In the beginning of the 2000s Roularta had investments in Slovenia. As of 2010 the company was the owner of the Slovenian biweekly ''City Magazine''. The ''La Maison Victor'' magazine is not only published in both the Flemish and Walloon parts of

, but also in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The Walloon version is distributed and sold in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

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 a French press and publishing companies, 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 magazines with fi ...

. *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