Five Monkeys Media

Five Monkeys Media (trading as the Five Monkeys Group) is a German publishing house founded in spring 2024 and headquartered in Frankfurt (Oder), with further locations in Haar near Munich, Cologne and Heidelberg. It positions itself as a publisher of established and tradition-rich magazine brands, arguing that well-made, precisely targeted quality journalism still has a future. The company describes itself as a modern media business standing for editorial excellence and substantive magazine journalism. The group's portfolio spans print magazines, e-papers, online platforms, communities and apps, live events, conferences and a test lab, with a focus on technology and entertainment. Its brands include connect, the CHIP Magazin, CHIP FOTO-VIDEO, fotocommunity, Mac Life, DigitalPhoto and AUDIO+stereoplay. The shareholders of Five Monkeys bring long-standing expertise in lifestyle, imaging and tech publishing, having previously been responsible for a range of (partly international) successful titles in the German-speaking market, including PLAYBOY Deutschland, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED Deutschland, PHOTO PRESSE and The Voyager. Five Monkeys Media has grown largely through acquisitions and partnerships. In April 2024 the newly founded FIVE MONKEYS MEDIA GmbH took over the publishing licences for the print editions of CHIP and CHIP FOTO-VIDEO from BurdaForward (Hubert Burda Media). In November 2024 the falkemedia Gruppe and Five Monkeys Media announced a strategic partnership for DigitalPHOTO and Mac Life. In May 2025 Five Monkeys Media took over fotocommunity from WEKA, and in October 2025 it acquired WEKA Media Publishing, uniting titles such as CHIP and connect under one roof. The company also reported that CHIP increased its circulation in both single-copy sales and subscriptions in IVW Q2/2024, growing by double digits for the second consecutive time. The management team consists of Myriam Karsch (spokesperson of the management board, Consumer Revenues & Operations), Wolfgang Heinen (Sales, Communities & Events), Andreas Laube (Consumer Revenues, Finance & Acquisitions) and Florian Schuster (Publishing, Sales, Test Lab & IT). Around 80 employees work for the Five Monkeys Group across Germany. The company has received backing from Bürgschaftsbank Brandenburg, which provided two decisive guarantees for the young publishing business from Frankfurt (Oder).

Five Monkeys Media was founded in spring 2024 as FIVE MONKEYS MEDIA GmbH, a new German publishing venture whose shareholders already had long experience in lifestyle, imaging and tech publishing. According to the company, its principals had for years been responsible for a range of successful, partly international titles in the German-speaking market, including PLAYBOY Deutschland, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED Deutschland, PHOTO PRESSE and The Voyager. The new company set out to be a publisher of established and tradition-rich magazine brands, built on the conviction that excellent, precisely targeted quality journalism still has a future. The first major step came in April 2024, when the newly founded FIVE MONKEYS MEDIA GmbH took over the publishing licences for the print editions of CHIP and CHIP FOTO-VIDEO from BurdaForward, part of Hubert Burda Media. This gave the young publisher two well-known technology and photography titles and an immediate foothold in the German magazine market. By August 2024 the company could point to positive circulation figures: in IVW Q2/2024, CHIP increased its circulation in both single-copy sales and subscriptions for the second consecutive time, growing by double digits. Growth continued through partnerships and acquisitions. On 8 November 2024 the falkemedia Gruppe and Five Monkeys Media announced a strategic partnership covering DigitalPHOTO and Mac Life, extending the group's reach in photography and Apple-related publishing. In May 2025 Five Monkeys Media took over fotocommunity from WEKA, adding a major German-language photography community to its portfolio. In the same month, subscription expert Michael Zgolik moved from Hubert Burda to Five Monkeys Media, signalling the company's ambition in paid-content and subscription business. The largest consolidation step followed on 2 October 2025, when Five Monkeys Media acquired WEKA Media Publishing. The deal united titles such as CHIP and connect under one roof and was widely reported in the German media trade press, including kress, MEEDIA and DWDL.de. The acquisition strengthened Five Monkeys' position in technology and consumer electronics publishing and made it the home of several long-established magazine brands. By 2026 the company, operating as the Five Monkeys Group, described itself as a publisher of successful and tradition-rich magazine brands with a portfolio spanning magazines and e-papers, digital platforms, communities and apps, events and conferences, and a test lab focused on tech and entertainment. Around 80 employees work across Germany, with fixed locations in Haar near Munich, Cologne, Heidelberg and Frankfurt (Oder). The group has received support from Bürgschaftsbank Brandenburg, which provided two decisive guarantees for the young publishing company from Frankfurt (Oder), as reported in March 2026. Management is led by Myriam Karsch as spokesperson, alongside Wolfgang Heinen, Andreas Laube and Florian Schuster.

• FIVE MONKEYS MEDIA GmbH founded; takes over publishing licences for CHIP and CHIP FOTO-VIDEO print editions from BurdaForward (Hubert Burda Media)

• IVW Q2/2024: CHIP increases circulation in single-copy sales and subscriptions for the second consecutive time, growing double digits

• falkemedia Gruppe and Five Monkeys Media announce strategic partnership for DigitalPHOTO and Mac Life

• FIVE MONKEYS MEDIA takes over fotocommunity from WEKA

• Subscription expert Michael Zgolik moves from Hubert Burda to FIVE MONKEYS MEDIA

• FIVE MONKEYS MEDIA takes over WEKA Media Publishing, uniting CHIP and connect

• Bürgschaftsbank Brandenburg provides two decisive guarantees for the young publishing company from Frankfurt/Oder

Publisher of established and tradition-rich magazine brands, focused on quality journalism, editorial excellence and passionate media brands in tech, imaging and lifestyle.

• CHIP Magazin

  Technology and consumer electronics magazine; print publishing licences taken over from BurdaForward in April 2024.

• CHIP FOTO-VIDEO

  Photography and video magazine; print publishing licences taken over from BurdaForward in April 2024.

• connect

  Telecommunications and technology magazine, brought into the group through the acquisition of WEKA Media Publishing in October 2025.

• fotocommunity

  German-language photography community and platform, taken over from WEKA in May 2025.

• Mac Life

  Apple and Mac-focused magazine, part of the strategic partnership with falkemedia Gruppe announced in November 2024.

• DigitalPhoto

  Digital photography magazine, part of the strategic partnership with falkemedia Gruppe announced in November 2024.

• AUDIO+stereoplay

  Hi-fi and audio magazine listed in the Five Monkeys Group portfolio.

1. 1FIVE MONKEYS GROUP – official website homepagefivemonkeysmedia.de
2. 2Über uns – Five Monkeys Groupfivemonkeysmedia.de
3. 3Wikidata entry Q136435514wikidata.org