‘The Fault In Our Stars’ Book Sales Lift Bertelsmann Results

John Green’s unstoppable young adult melodrama The Fault in Our Stars lifted the fortunes of German media giant Bertelsmann, which controls the book’s publisher Penguin Random House.

Sales of the The Fault in Our Stars novel spiked ahead of the release of Josh Boone’s feature film adaptation starring Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort. The book sold more than four million copies in print and e-book formats in North America and some 5.7 million worldwide in the first half of this year. Book tie-ins to Disney’s mega-hit Frozen also filled Bertelsmann coffers, with revenues at the group topping $10.3 billion (€7.85 billion) in the first six months of 2014, the highest level in seven years. Penguin Random House is publishing a Frozen chapter-book series aimed at young readers.

Bertelsmann is on a buying spree at the moment, having recently acquired Jersey Shore producer 495 Productions, music rights group Talpa — which controls song rights to EDM stars such as Afrojack and Tiesto — and online video marketer SpotXchange.

The German company also controls RTL Group, which owns American Idol producer FremantleMedia.

Twitter: @sroxborough