Deutsche Welle
Source Passport
DE-M-00021-9
Issued and maintained by MJRC
- Legal name
- Deutsche Welle (gemeinnützige Anstalt des öffentlichen Rechts für den Auslandsrundfunk; Rundfunkanstalt des Bundesrechts under the Deutsche-Welle-Gesetz of 16 December 1997)
- Country
- Germany
- Type
- Multi-platform group
- Founded
- Not disclosed
- Editor-in-chief
- Barbara Massing (Intendantin, since 1 October 2025)
- Claim
- Not claimed by the organisation
- Last verified
- Not yet
0 of 6 layers verified
Transparency
Limited
2 of 6 key disclosures on record, 0 of them checked by our researchers.
- Legal name and registration number not disclosed
- Owners with influence not disclosed
- Beneficial owners (the people behind the companies) not applicable
- State or public-body ownership stated on record, not yet checked
- State advertising or revenue mix on record, not yet checked
- Public contact address not disclosed
- Official websites and accounts not disclosed
- State-owned
- Owners not disclosed
Represent this organisation? Add legal name and registration number, owners with influence, public contact address, official websites and accounts and the level moves up. Claim and complete
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Needs update: this passport has not been fully verified yet.
Who is it?
Origin
Not yet verified
EMFA Art. 6(1)(a)
- Brand names Pending check
- Deutsche Welle
- DW
- DW Akademie
- Company registration number
- Not disclosed
- Registered address Pending check
- Bonn (seat of the Intendant and legal venue; second seat Berlin, § 2 DWG); street address not verified
- Public contact email
- Not disclosed
4 sources
- Deutsche-Welle-Gesetz (DWG) of 16 December 1997, last amended by Art. 15 G v. 6.5.2024, gesetze-im-internet.de (Bundesamt für Justiz), read 2026-10-20 (§ 1 gemeinnützige Anstalt des öffentlichen Rechts für den Auslandsrundfunk; § 2 seats Bonn and Berlin; § 3 radio, television and digital services; § 45 financed by the annual federal grant set by the federal budget law; § 40 Intendant elected by the Rundfunkrat for six years; § 62 Rechtsaufsicht by the Bundesregierung)
- Bundesregierung, Pressemitteilung 130 of 20.06.2025 'Barbara Massing wird neue Intendantin der Deutschen Welle', read 2026-10-20 (elected by the DW Rundfunkrat on 20 June 2025, in office from 1 October 2025, succeeding Peter Limbourg; 32 languages; funded from the federal culture and media budget with more than EUR 400 million in 2025)
- Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (bpb), chart 'Landesrundfunkanstalten' (undated; cites Chill/Meyn 2000), read 2026-10-20 (founding years and seats of the ARD broadcasters; DW founded 1960, ARD member since 1962; SWR merger of SDR and SWF; rbb merger of SFB and ORB)
- Deutscher Bundestag, Drucksache 21/6350 of 04.06.2026 (Unterrichtung durch die Bundesregierung on the DW Aufgabenplanung 2026-2029, Drs. 21/5500), read 2026-10-20 (federal grant from the BKM budget; project funding for DW and DW Akademie from the Auswärtiges Amt, the BMZ and the EU, p. 5)
Who stands behind it?
Control
Not yet verified
EMFA Art. 6(1)(b) and (c)
- Owners with influence
- Not disclosed
- Beneficial owners
- Not disclosed
- State or public-body ownership Pending check
- Fully state-owned
- Parent group Pending check
- none (Rundfunkanstalt des Bundesrechts under the Deutsche-Welle-Gesetz; legal supervision by the Bundesregierung, § 62 DWG; financed through the BKM budget; member of the ARD)
2 sources
- Deutsche-Welle-Gesetz (DWG) of 16 December 1997, last amended by Art. 15 G v. 6.5.2024, gesetze-im-internet.de (Bundesamt für Justiz), read 2026-10-20 (§ 1 gemeinnützige Anstalt des öffentlichen Rechts für den Auslandsrundfunk; § 2 seats Bonn and Berlin; § 3 radio, television and digital services; § 45 financed by the annual federal grant set by the federal budget law; § 40 Intendant elected by the Rundfunkrat for six years; § 62 Rechtsaufsicht by the Bundesregierung)
- Bundesregierung, 'Deutschlands Stimme für die Welt' (cabinet statement on the DW Aufgabenplanung 2026-2029), 03.06.2026, read 2026-10-20 (DW financed almost entirely from the budget of the BKM; federal grant about EUR 415 million in 2026; grant rose by nearly EUR 100 million 2018-2025)
Who pays?
Money
Not yet verified
EMFA Art. 6(1)(d), plus revenue mix
- State advertising and third-country public revenue
- Not disclosed
- Revenue mix Pending check
Source Share of revenue Public funding Over 50% - Named funders Pending check
Funder Type Note Bundesrepublik Deutschland - Beauftragter der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien (BKM) Government or public body annual federal grant set by the federal budget law (§ 45 DWG): more than EUR 400 million in 2025, about EUR 415 million in 2026 Auswärtiges Amt, Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ) and European Union Government or public body project funding for DW and DW Akademie (Drs. 21/6350, p. 5; amounts not stated)
4 sources
- Deutsche-Welle-Gesetz (DWG) of 16 December 1997, last amended by Art. 15 G v. 6.5.2024, gesetze-im-internet.de (Bundesamt für Justiz), read 2026-10-20 (§ 1 gemeinnützige Anstalt des öffentlichen Rechts für den Auslandsrundfunk; § 2 seats Bonn and Berlin; § 3 radio, television and digital services; § 45 financed by the annual federal grant set by the federal budget law; § 40 Intendant elected by the Rundfunkrat for six years; § 62 Rechtsaufsicht by the Bundesregierung)
- Bundesregierung, 'Deutschlands Stimme für die Welt' (cabinet statement on the DW Aufgabenplanung 2026-2029), 03.06.2026, read 2026-10-20 (DW financed almost entirely from the budget of the BKM; federal grant about EUR 415 million in 2026; grant rose by nearly EUR 100 million 2018-2025)
- Bundesregierung, Pressemitteilung 130 of 20.06.2025 'Barbara Massing wird neue Intendantin der Deutschen Welle', read 2026-10-20 (elected by the DW Rundfunkrat on 20 June 2025, in office from 1 October 2025, succeeding Peter Limbourg; 32 languages; funded from the federal culture and media budget with more than EUR 400 million in 2025)
- Deutscher Bundestag, Drucksache 21/6350 of 04.06.2026 (Unterrichtung durch die Bundesregierung on the DW Aufgabenplanung 2026-2029, Drs. 21/5500), read 2026-10-20 (federal grant from the BKM budget; project funding for DW and DW Akademie from the Auswärtiges Amt, the BMZ and the EU, p. 5)
Where does it appear?
Channels
Nothing disclosed
- Official websites
- Not disclosed
- Official social accounts
- Not disclosed
How does it travel?
Distribution
Nothing disclosed
- Distribution partners
- Not disclosed
Who is connected?
Networks
Not yet verified
- Sister outlets in the same group Pending check
- ARD (DW is a member of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft, since 1962 per bpb)
- Documented public-office or party roles
- Not disclosed
2 sources
- hessenschau.de (Hessischer Rundfunk), 'Hager folgt auf Gniffke: Hessischer Rundfunk übernimmt ARD-Vorsitz', 01.01.2025, read 2026-10-20 (Florian Hager, Intendant of hr, ARD chair from 1 January 2025, succeeding Kai Gniffke (SWR), who becomes deputy; ARD = nine broadcasters BR, hr, mdr, WDR, NDR, rbb, SR, SWR, Radio Bremen plus Deutsche Welle)
- Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (bpb), chart 'Landesrundfunkanstalten' (undated; cites Chill/Meyn 2000), read 2026-10-20 (founding years and seats of the ARD broadcasters; DW founded 1960, ARD member since 1962; SWR merger of SDR and SWF; rbb merger of SFB and ORB)
Change history
| Version | Date | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 November 2026 | First published |
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