Sales 2023: €2.564 billion

Overview

ZDF is the second public television broadcaster in Germany. It began regular broadcasting on April 1, 1963, and is now the fifth-largest public television broadcaster in the world, after ARD, BBC, NHK, and France Télévisions. In terms of media policy, the broadcaster, based in the Mainz suburb of Lerchenberg, aligns itself with the British BBC and promotes an online presence. Yet, retaining younger audiences for the traditional ZDF brand remains a challenge.

General Information

Headquarters
ZDF-Straße 1
55127 Mainz
Germany
Telephone: 0049 6131 70-1
Internet: http://www.unternehmen.zdf.de

Branches of trade: Television, online offerings
Legal form: unincorporated, public-law working group
Financial year: 01.01.-31.12.
Founding year: 1961

Basic economic data (operating budget; in million €)

	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018
Income	2.564	2.473	2.397	2.231	2.230	2.234
Operating result	127,4	19,2	-152	-84	-63	-192

Executives and Directors

Management:

• Dr. Norbert Himmler, director
• Karin Brieden, Administrative Director and Deputy Director
• Dr. Nadine Bilke, program director
• Bettina Schausten, Editor-in-Chief
• Dr. Florian Kumb, Director Audience
• Dr. Martin Rombach, Production Director
• Peter Weber, Legal Counsel

Television Council:  The Television Council oversees programming, approves the budget approved by the Board of Directors, and elects the Director-General (by secret ballot for a five-year term). The council consists of 60 members appointed "by various social groups" and representing "the interests of the general public."

Board of Directors: The Administrative Board oversees ZDF's finances and investments. It approves the budget and annual financial statements presented by the Director-General and submits both to the Television Council for approval. It consists of 12 members: four representatives of the federal states and eight members elected by the Television Council, "appointed for a term of five years." The 13th term of office began on July 1, 2022, and ends in the summer of 2027. The current chair of the ZDF Administrative Board is Malu Dreyer (SPD), Minister-President of Rhineland-Palatinate. The first deputy chair of the board is Peter Heesen (Honorary Chairman of the dbb Beamtenbund und tarifunion), and the second deputy chair is communications scientist Prof. Dr. Barbara Thomaß (University of Bochum).

History

The founding of ZDF resulted from turbulent media policy disputes at the end of the Adenauer era, when the German government planned a second, more state-affiliated broadcaster alongside ARD. After the introduction of ITV, "Independent Television," in Great Britain in 1955 as a privately organized, advertising-financed alternative to the public broadcaster BBC, the German government and business interest groups wanted a commercial, yet federally controlled, television program in Germany as well. Konrad Adenauer desired a counterweight to the NWDR (a founding member of ARD, which evolved into the two independent broadcasters NDR and WDR), which was viewed as left-leaning.

This resulted in a structure consisting of a federal and state holding company and the commercial operating company "Freies Fernsehen GmbH" (FFG). However, Chancellor Adenauer's (CDU) attempts to convince the states to support this model through negotiations and pressure failed. Even Rhineland-Palatinate's Minister-President Peter Altmeier (CDU) opposed the Chancellor on this issue. In August 1960, several SPD-led states filed a lawsuit against "Adenauer Television," believing their sovereign rights in broadcasting matters had been violated. The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe halted the FFG's broadcasting plans, which were already well advanced in operational terms, with an interim injunction. And on February 28, 1961, it ruled, citing the Basic Law, that the federal government was responsible only for telecommunications, not for broadcasting. Adenauer's TV project thus failed.

On June 6, 1961, the states subsequently concluded a state treaty establishing a "non-profit public corporation named Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen." The new broadcaster then took over the programming and political legacy of "Adenauer Television" and became a public broadcaster competing with the ARD, founded in 1950 (which, unlike ZDF, also broadcasts radio). Because Rhineland-Palatinate still lacked its own state broadcasting corporation, the state capital of Mainz was soon chosen as the headquarters of the new broadcaster. And on March 12, 1962, Adenauer's confidant, former war correspondent during World War II, philosophy professor, and journalist Karl Holzamer (1906-2007) was elected as the founding director of ZDF; he remained station head until March 1977.

Initially, ZDF used the existing studio facility in Wiesbaden-Eschborn (in Hesse), which had been built by "Freies Fernsehen": an old farm as a broadcasting center, a barn as a studio, old stables as archives, and nearby workshops and editing rooms. The rather dilapidated ensemble of the "Eschborn Barracks" or the provisional ZDF headquarters, which was soon contemptuously dubbed "Telesibirsk." After a few test broadcasts in the second half of March, broadcasting began at 7:30 p.m. on April 1, 1963, with 1,800 employees in 400 offices. The financial basis: of the 5 DM television license fee, ARD received 3.60 DM and ZDF 1.10 DM (the remainder went to the post office). This was in addition to the revenue from initially twelve minutes, soon twenty minutes of advertising per day.

From the very beginning, ZDF was considered more conservative than ARD, symbolized in the information sector by Gerhard Löwenthal's controversial "ZDF-Magazin." This, however, did not preclude the early import of US series, experimental programming, and alternative youth programs. Thanks in part to the "Mainzelmännchen" characters in its advertising program, the station, with its Catholic and moderately conservative foundation, which also likes to call itself "Das Zweite" ("With the second one you see better"), was able to become one of Germany's strongest media brands.

Director Karl Holzamer's programming philosophy was particularly suited to the major television shows with which ZDF distinguished itself in the 1960s and 1970s. Mass-appealing programs were intended to bring the whole family together in front of the screen. ZDF's key showmasters during this period were Peter Frankenfeld ("Forget-me-not"), Lou van Burg ("The Golden Shot"), Hans Rosenthal ("Dalli-Dalli"), and Wim Thoelke ("3×9," "The Grand Prix"). These shows were often linked to a charitable cause, such as a lottery for the "Aktion Sorgenkind" (later "Aktion Mensch") charity.

From 1969 (until 1972), ZDF made a name for itself with the Saturday evening show "Wünsch Dir was" (Make a Wish), presented by Dietmar Schönherr and Vivi Bach. In this show, which was modern for its time (a co-production with ORF and SRG), families competed against each other and had to prove themselves in various tests, including social behavior. The appearance of a young contestant in a transparent blouse in November 1970 caused a stir on public television. ZDF also gained international recognition through television-cinema co-productions (for example, with Ingmar Bergman) and strong non-fiction departments.

In 1982, Dieter Stolte became the third ZDF director general, following Günther von Hase (1917-2021, ZDF director general from 1977 to 1982). Stolte had previously been Holzamer's personal assistant and, among other things, program director at Südwestfunk in Baden-Baden. His twenty-year tenure saw the founding of 3Sat in 1984 and arte in 1992. Starting in 1984, ZDF broadcast from the Lerchenberg district of Mainz; the modern building complex there had been under construction over twenty years.

ZDF also shaped what was known as "commissioned production," i.e., the outsourcing of television program production to formally independent production companies. For example, the "Christmas miniseries" by producer Walter Ullbrich (TeleMünchen) was a co-production between ZDF, ORTF (France), and Romanian film studios. These TV epics, often based on stories by Jack London ("The Sea Wolf," "The Call of Gold"), were blockbusters. ZDF maintained close ties with film rights dealer Leo Kirch for decades, marked by important cross-personal relationships and long-standing friendships within the management of both broadcasters. ZDF's programming strengths included television crime dramas such as "Der Kommissar," "Derrick," and "Der Alte" (all written by Herbert Reinecker), the Monday "Fernsehfilm der Woche" (TV Movie of the Week), and lighter entertainment ("Schwarzwaldklinik," "Das Traumschiff").

ZDF's most successful show, "Wetten, dass...?", created and hosted by Frank Elstner, began on February 14, 1981. The episode with the highest ratings of all time aired on February 9, 1985, with 23.42 million viewers, even before the fall of the Berlin Wall. When Elstner retired in 1987, Thomas Gottschalk took over the show. Gottschalk became one of the most recognizable television faces in Germany and ZDF's most popular. As recently as 2008, "Wetten, dass...?" reached more than ten million viewers at times. At the beginning of 2011, Thomas Gottschalk announced his departure as presenter after being forced to cut short a show in December 2010 due to a serious accident (the contestant Samuel Koch suffered severe injuries while attempting to "jump over a moving car with springs on his feet"). In the following year, in which Gottschalk repeatedly achieved market shares of over 40 percent with his (not a few) farewell shows, speculation about successor presenters raged. Markus Lanz was finally announced as his successor in 2012. Under his leadership, however, the show became a ratings disaster and was canceled in 2014 after 33 years. Thomas Gottschalk returned once more in November 2021, but in November 2023, it was over again, for good, until further notice.

Among the well-known new programming brands of the 2000s were the political talk show "Maybrit Illner," the magazine program "Frontal 21," documentary series ("ZDF Expedition," history documentaries by "ZDF historian" Professor Guido Knopp), and the entertainment talk show with Johannes B. Kerner (who joined ZDF from Sat.1 in 1998, but returned to Sat.1 in 2009). With Rosamunde Pilcher adaptations and similar material, the Mainz-based broadcaster competed (and continues to compete) with ARD's harder-hitting crime dramas on Sundays. Experimental and younger programming was shown in the "Kleines Fernsehspiel" (Little Television Play) on Mondays around midnight.

The question of who should succeed Dieter Stolte as ZDF Director General was the subject of lengthy debate within the ZDF Television Council, which was split into two political camps. Stolte himself described the dispute as "inappropriate and damaging." It was only in the fifth round of voting that a candidate achieved the required majority: Markus Schächter became the fourth ZDF Director General in March 2002. Schächter, who had prevailed over ARD Program Director Günter Struve, among others, had previously worked in almost every department at ZDF, most recently as Program Director. Compared to his sometimes autocratic predecessor Stolte, Schächter was considered a team player. He was then re-elected early for a second five-year term (from March 15, 2007).

In 2008, a former ZDF employee garnered some attention: Literary critic Marcel Reich-Ranicki, who hosted "The Literary Quartet" for many years on ZDF, declined the lifetime achievement award at the German Television Awards ceremony, which ZDF regularly hosts. The reason: the poor quality of the television. ZDF responded by allowing Reich-Ranicki and Thomas Gottschalk to discuss the topic "for good reason."

The so-called "Brender Affair" caused a great stir in 2009/10. In March 2009, when CDU/CSU politicians on the ZDF administrative board, particularly the then Minister-President of Hesse, Roland Koch, sought to prevent Markus Schächter's proposed contract extension for editor-in-chief Nikolaus Brender, discussions arose about the strong influence of the parties on public broadcasting (e.g., Frank Schirrmacher in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: "Attack on ZDF"). Despite an open letter from 35 constitutional lawyers and an online appeal for broadcasting freedom signed by almost 39,000 people, the administrative board decided on November 27, 2009, not to extend Brender's contract. Director-General Schächter stated: "I cannot understand why even my attempt, coordinated with Nikolaus Brender, to resolve the deadlock through a compromise—namely, a shortened contract until January 2012—failed to gain a majority." Nevertheless, he made another personnel suggestion to the board, which the committee approved: Peter Frey, head of the ZDF capital studio, became ZDF's new editor-in-chief on April 1, 2010. He was succeeded by Bettina Schausten, head of the main editorial department for domestic, social, and educational policy. Frey was considered more left-liberal, Schausten as close to the CDU; the party-political balance typical of ZDF was maintained. However, the appearance of distance from the state, which the broadcaster (as well as the ARD broadcasters) often cultivated, has since been tarnished.

At the beginning of 2011, Markus Schächter announced that he would not run for re-election. In June 2011, the election of the fifth ZDF director general went smoothly: On March 15, 2012, ZDF program director Thomas Bellut (born 1955), Schächter's preferred candidate, became his successor. Bellut managed to place Norbert Himmler, head of ZDFneo (the most successful digital broadcaster), in the influential program director position. This was seen as a sign that the new director general was serious about his announcement that he wanted to "increasingly reach younger viewers with our programming."

In spring 2014, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled in a ruling on the ZDF State Treaty that the ZDF Television Council was staffed with too many party members. In 2011, the Minister-President of Rhineland-Palatinate, Kurt Beck (SPD), filed a petition for judicial review of the treaty, seeking clarification at the highest court and "in the interest of public broadcasting" as to whether "the ZDF committees are too heavily dominated by representatives of politics and the state" – a late reverberation of the Brender affair. In a statement submitted to the Constitutional Court, ZDF itself demanded that the social groups represented on its supervisory bodies should in future appoint their representatives without state approval, thus reducing state influence.

management

The influence of ZDF's supervisory bodies (Television Council, Administrative Board), which are comprised of high-ranking political figures, is considered strong. Equally typical of the public broadcaster is the formative role of long-serving directors. ZDF's leadership is characterized by continuity; in the broadcaster's entire history since 1961, there have been only six directors.

"The crown prince rule applies at Mainz's Lerchenberg," wrote "Spiegel" in early July 2021. "And will continue to do so. At ZDF headquarters, after the director general's orderly departure, the incumbent program director will assume the reign. This has been the case for many years, and it is the case again today. Thomas Bellut, program director in Mainz from 2002 to 2012 and director general there from 2012 to 2022, will be succeeded by Norbert Himmler, program director at the broadcasting center in the Rhine-Hesse region since 2012."

Dr. Norbert Himmler (born 1971 in Mainz) has been ZDF Director General since March 2022. He previously served as ZDF Program Director for ten years (2012-2022), and before that, since 2009, as head of the digital program ZDFneo (the channel designed to appeal increasingly to younger viewers). This was a time before Netflix, which has been available in Germany since September 2014, and before other streaming providers. A time when a specialty channel like ZDFneo (under "ZDF product" Norbert Himmler) could still afford a great US series like Mad Men was able to secure exclusively.

Norbert Himmler's successor as program director is Dr. Nadine Bilke, born in 1976 in Recklinghausen, who also previously served as head of ZDFneo (2018-2022). The current ZDF editor-in-chief since October 1, 2022, is Bettina Schausten (born 1965), who was also considered for the position of program director for a time.

Business segments

The ZDF (ZDF), the ARD (German Broadcasting Corporation), and Deutschlandradio (German Radio) comprise Germany's public broadcasting network. Unlike ARD, ZDF does not broadcast radio programs. Instead, it operates the digital specialty channels ZDFneo (formerly ZDFdokukanal, "documentaries and reports") and ZDFinfo (formerly ZDFinfokanal, "entertainment, service and documentaries") in addition to ZDF's main channel.

ZDF holds stakes in the following channels: 3Sat (32.5 percent), Phoenix (50 percent), Arte (50 percent in Arte Deutschland, 25 percent in Arte GEIE), and KiKA (50 percent). ZDF also operates the subsidiaries ZDF Werbefernsehen and ZDF Studios (formerly ZDF Enterprises): "program acquisition, distribution, and co-productions," with holdings in 19 production companies that primarily serve ZDF programming (including Network Movie, doc.station, and Gruppe 5 Filmproduktions GmbH). In addition, ZDF Enterprises acquired a 49 percent stake in Bavaria Fernsehproduktion GmbH (renamed Bavaria Fiction GmbH in 2017) for approximately eight million euros in 2007.

Current developments

At the beginning of 2024, it was reported: "Expert council urges far-reaching restructuring of public broadcasters (ARD, ZDF, Deutschlandradio)" or: "More efficient, leaner, more digital. An influential committee of the federal states has presented a far-reaching master plan for the restructuring of public broadcasters." The experts planned the following: The current structure of three independent broadcasters should remain, as should the structure of nine ARD broadcasters (which should "focus more strongly on regional issues and also seek proximity to the citizens"). The council proposed a new umbrella organization for the ARD that would manage central tasks and the central program – which should reduce duplication of structures in the nine ARD broadcasters. A "contemporary management culture" should also be promoted at ZDF.

Quote from "Spiegel" from January 18, 2024: "The chairwoman of the Council for the Future Development of Public Broadcasting (Zukunftsrat), Julia Jäkel, spoke of a "major effort" by the states that was necessary. Historically evolved structures would have to be adapted. Asked when, from the Council's perspective, the ideas needed to be implemented, Jäkel said: 'It's urgent, as quickly as possible.' Currently, public broadcasters are in a downward spiral."

Further details were announced at the end of October 2024. After years of discussions, the state premiers agreed "that a fundamental reform of public broadcasting is necessary." The goal was to "make ARD, ZDF, and Deutschlandradio more digital, lean, and modern, and to strengthen their acceptance among citizens." Cuts were also planned for the special interest channels: two of the four current information channels were to be eliminated, and Arte and 3Sat, as well as ZDFneo and One (ARD's special interest channel), would cooperate more closely. Spending on sports rights was to be capped. However, the state leaders could not agree on an increase in the broadcasting fee. Saxony-Anhalt and Bavaria, for example, did not want an increase – saying reforms must first take place. Other states favored an increase in the fee, also with a view to the long-term effects of reforms and inflation.