ZDF

ZDF
Logo used since 2001
CountryGermany
Broadcast areaGermany
HeadquartersMainz, Germany
Programming
Language(s)German
Picture format
Ownership
Key peopleNorbert Himmler (director)
Sister channels
History
Launched1 April 1963; 61 years ago (1963-04-01)
ReplacedARD 2 (1961–1963)
Links
Websitewww.zdf.de
Availability
Terrestrial
Digital terrestrial televisionVaries by location
Streaming media
ZDF.deWatch live (Germany only)
FilmOnWatch live
ZiggoGOZiggoGO.TV
Canaldigitaal Live AppWatch Live

ZDF (German: [ˌtsɛt.deːˈʔɛf] ), short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen[1] (German: [ˈtsvaɪtəs ˈdɔʏtʃəs ˈfɛʁnzeːn] ; lit.'Second German Television'), is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany (Bundesländer). ZDF is financed by television licence fees and advertising revenues.[2]

The broadcaster is well known for its famous programmes heute, a newscast established in 1963, and Wetten, dass..?, an entertainment show that premiered in 1981, with a suspension from 2014 to 2021.[3] Norbert Himmler, ZDF's director general, was elected by the ZDF Television Council in 2021.[3]

  1. ^ "Facts and figures about ZDF". www.zdf.de. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  2. ^ "European Benchmarking: Public Service Broadcasters in the Digital Era" (PDF). Circom Regional. May 2002. p. 46. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 October 2009. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
  3. ^ a b "unternehmen.zdf.de". www.zdf.de.