The Koeser family

Logo of The Koeser family

The Köser family is a publishing family from Oldenburg and one of two principal shareholder families of Nordwest-Zeitung Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG. Family shares are held by Fritz-Hermann Köser (16.18%), Hartwig Köser (16.18%), and Margit Köser (1.49%).


Reinhard Köser, who is now deceased, was involved in the group's development over decades. Under his leadership, the group expanded particularly into private broadcasting, including stakes in Radio SAW in Saxony-Anhalt and the establishment of NWZ Funk und Fernsehen GmbH & Co. KG, which became one of Germany's largest radio holding companies.


The family holds interests in both regional daily newspapers and broadcasting. In addition to Nordwest-Zeitung, the group publishes Emder Zeitung, Sunday papers, and other local titles in northwest Lower Saxony. Through its radio stakes, the group operates in Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Hamburg, Berlin, and Schleswig-Holstein.
The family has also been subject to antitrust proceedings. In 2008, the Federal Cartel Office imposed fines totaling €2.5 million against Nordwest Mediengruppe and €200,000 against Reinhard Köser personally regarding undisclosed stakes in the Ostfriesland newspaper group. The family also holds investments in logistics and real estate.


In September 2025, it was announced that NWZ Mediengruppe would sell Nordwest-Zeitung to Madsack Media Group, with the transaction set to take effect in January 2026. The sale is still subject to approval by the Federal Cartel Office. The Köser family would therefore sell all its holdings in NWZ's print business.

Media Companies / Groups

Media Outlets

Facts

Other Media Outlets

Print

  • Nordwest-Zeitung
  • Emder Zeitung
  • Nordwest Sonntagsblätter
  • OM Wochenblatt
  • Anzeiger für Harlingerland
  • Friesländer Bote
  • Borkumer Zeitung
  • Ostfriesen-Zeitung
  • Ostfriesen Nachrichten
  • Wilhelshavener Zeitung
  • Die Wirtschaft (Oldenburg)
  • Der Sonntag (Oldenburg) 

TV

  • Radio 21 TV 

Radio

  • 80s80s Radio (national)
  • 80s80s Radio (Hamburg)
  • 80s80s Radio (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania)
  • 90s90s Radio
  • 90s90s Saxony
  • 917XFM
  • 94,3 rs2 Berlin-Brandenburg
  • Antenne Niedersachsen
  • Antenne Niedersachsen 80er
  • Antenne Niedersachsen 90er
  • Antenne Niedersachsen Charts
  • Antenne Niedersachsen Oldie
  •  
  • Antenne Niedersachsen Relax
  • Antenne Niedersachsen Rock
  • barba radio
  • Berliner Rundfunk 91.4
  • delta radio
  • Energy Bremen
  • Energy Bremen (national)
  • ENERGY Chemnitz
  • ENERGY Dresden
  • ENERGY Lausitz
  • ENERGY Leipzig
  • ENERGY Sachsen
  • ENERGY Zwickau
  • ffn Comedy
  • ffn digital
  • ffn jack
  • ffn young
  • Hamburg 2
  • KISS FM
  • KISS FM (Berlin)
  • LandesWelle Thüringen
  • NRW1
  • R.SA
  • R.SH Gold
  • R.SH Radio Schleswig-Holstein
  • RADIO 21
  • Radio 21 - Bester Rock'n Pop für Hamburg
  • Radio 21 - Bester Rock'n Pop für Schleswig-Holstein
  • Radio 21 - NRWs bester ROCK'N POP
  • Radio BOB!
  • Radio BOB! Schleswig-Holstein
  • Radio Bollerwagen (Saxony)
  • Radio Erzgebirge 107,7
  • radio ffn
  • Radio Hamburg
  • Radio PSR
  • Radio Roland
  • Radio Roland (national)
  • Radio SAW
  • Radio The WOLF Hamburg
  • Radio The WOLF Schleswig-Holstein
  • ROCK ANTENNE Hamburg
  • ROCKLAND (Sachsen)
  • Schlagerplanet Radio (national)
  • SchlagerPlanet Radio (Saxony)
  • sunshine live
  • SUNSHINE LIVE


Online

  • 80s80s.de
  • 90s90s.de
  • antenne.com
  • berliner-rundfunk.de
  • caravan.fm
  • deltaradio.de
  • emderzeitung.de
  • energy.de/bremen
  • energy.de/sachsen
  • ffn.de
  • friebo.de
  • fupa.net/region/nordwest
  • ga-online.de
  • hamburg-zwei.de
  • harlinger.de
  • jeversches-wochenblatt.de
  • kissfm.de
    landeswelle.de
  • laut.de
  • nordwest-sonntagsblatt.de
  • nrw1.de
  • nwzonline.de
  • om-online.de/wochenblatt
  • on-online.de
  • oz-online.de
  • prisma.de
  • radio21.de
  • radio21.de/nrw
  • radiobob.de
  • radiobollerwagen.de
  • radiohamburg.de
  • radiopsr.de
  • radioroland.de
  • radiosaw.de
  • rockantenne.de
  • rockantenne.hamburg
  • rockland.fm
  • rs2.de
  • rsa-sachsen.de
  • rsh.de
  • schlagerplanetradio.com
  • sunshine-live.de
  • the-wolf.de
  • wilhelmshavener-zeitung.de
Other Media Related Businesses

Logistics and Delivery Services

  • Citipost Nordwest Nordwest Boten 

Media services Medienmanagement 

  • Bremen-Nordwest (Missing Data )
  • Nordwest Media Vermarktungsgesellschaft (Missing Data)
  • Medien Hub Bremen-Nordwest (50.0%)
  • InnovateMedia (Missing Data) MSP (50.0%)
  • dpa GmbH (0.49%) 
  • Crossplan Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG (20.0%)
  • Clipkit GmbH i.L. (21.1%)
  • Uplink Digital (17.5%)
  • Laut AG (10.25%) 

Printing business

  • WE-Druck (100%)
Affiliated Interests Family & Friends
  • Reinhard Köser
    Reinhard Köser, who died in 2018 at age 80, was involved in the company's development and in its expansion into private broadcasting, including through involvement in radio SAW in Saxony-Anhalt. Under his leadership, NWZ Funk und Fernsehen GmbH & Co. KG was established, which is today among Germany's largest owners of radio interests.
  • Hartwig Köser
    Hartwig Köser is a lawyer and holds a 13.3% stake in Nordwest-Mediengruppe. He belongs to the Köser family, one of two shareholder families of Nordwest-Zeitung Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG.
  • Fritz-Hermann Köser
    Fritz-Hermann Köser is a member of the Köser publishing family and holds a 16.18% stake in Nordwest-Zeitung Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG. As a shareholder of Nordwest Mediengruppe, he is part of one of the two principal families controlling the regional media company.
Data Publicly Available
ownership data is easily available from other sources, e. g. public registries etc.
Headlines
Meta Data

The holdings and shares were obtained through research in commercial registers and publicly accessible data sets, such as the KEK online database on media concentration.

Any changes in the sale of the print shares of the NWZ Media Group are subject to change and require the approval of the Federal Cartel Office. Therefore, more precise statements cannot yet be made, and changes in the sale process may occur.

Sources
Documents (PDF)
  • Konzernabschluss 2023, Nordwest Medien Gruppe, HRA 3586
    File
  • Bericht des Bundeskartellamtes über seine Tätigkeit in den Jahren 2007/2008 sowie über die Lage und Entwicklung auf seinem Aufgabengebiet
    File
  • Wiedergabe des aktuellen Registerinhalts, Nordwest-Medien, HRA 3250
    File
  • Ausdruck Handelsregister, Nordwest-Medien, HRA 3250
    File
  • Historischer Abdruck, Nordwest-Medien, HRA 3250
    File