Films: programme profiles, costs and contact persons
The ZDF television films are generally 90 minutes long and, according to ZDF, offer "entertainment and relaxation, but also stimulate reflection on important topics". The programmes on offer range from dramas and crime thrillers to comedies, thrillers, melodramas and action films.
In total, ZDF produces around 110 to 140 television films a year for the main evening TV film slots. The average cost per film is around 1.65 million euros. An average of 80 production companies are involved in the productions, which cover all regions of Germany.

German television and cinema films
TV film of the week
The "TV film of the week" on Mondays at 8.15 p.m. deals with the topics of the day in various genres and provides interesting and sophisticated entertainment with films by outstanding authors and directors. With around 45 programmes in this slot, there are around 30 to 35 premieres per year.

Comedies and thrillers
On Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8.15 pm, ZDF offers comedies and crime thrillers at irregular intervals. Some of the comedies are co-productions with German cinema partners. There are around 15 premieres per year.

Saturday thriller
The "Samstagskrimi" at 8.15 pm offers exciting and often light-hearted premium crime thrillers. In addition to established formats such as "Wilsberg", "Ein starkes Team" or "Friesland", each with one to four premieres per year, new titles are regularly introduced at this time in order to set new programme accents. A total of around 40 "Samstagskrimis" programmes are shown each year, including up to 30 premieres.

Heart cinema
On Sundays at 8.15 pm, ZDF offers a mixture of melodramas, romantic comedies and entertaining relationship stories under the label "Herzkino". The slot is characterised by successful brands such as "Inga Lindström" and "Frühling". According to ZDF, new series such as "Dr Nice", "Mit Herz und Holly" and "Familie Anders", in which the diversity of love and life plans is told in a more varied way, are also being established. Around 35 of the 45 to 50 programmes per year are premieres.

Multi-part and event films
According to ZDF, the channel's "multi-part" and "event films" are "a special form of television film", of which there are three to four per year. The major multi-part films usually have two or three episodes. These particularly elaborate productions are characterised by historical material or important contemporary topics as well as unusual genre or authorial pieces.
Multi-part programmes cost up to €3.0 million per episode, with historical material generally costing more than contemporary pieces. Some multi-part films are longer than 90 minutes.

The short television play
The renowned "Kleine Fernsehspiel" is intensively dedicated to young talent. The editorial team produces documentaries, television and cinema films by young authors and directors with a wide range of narrative and content. According to ZDF, the focus is on "current topics and themes". At least 25 premieres are broadcast each year. The costs average around €115 thousand for documentary films and up to €440 thousand for fictional productions.

Children's and youth films
ZDF produces films for a younger audience that can be watched by the whole family. The children's and youth films are produced in the main editorial department for children and youth, occasionally in cooperation with the ZDF main programme or the children's channel KiKA. Well-known stories such as Sleeping Beauty are retold in a modern guise in a fantasy fairytale world. ZDF is also part of the "Der besondere Kinderfilm" initiative and regularly produces original material for young cinema audiences. Around three feature films are produced in this segment each year.

Cinema co-productions
ZDF is co-producer of numerous German cinema films ranging from dramas and comedies to ambitious German experimental films. Participation in major German films regularly amounts to around 1.0 million euros.

International licensed feature films and co-productions
International feature films are co-produced with partners from other countries or are acquired by ZDF under licence. As a provider of modern cinema entertainment, ZDF focuses on various slots for young audiences and the ZDFmediathek. The central slot for high-quality, modern feature films on ZDF is Monday cinema at 10:15 pm, which offers a broad mix of genres from crime thrillers to thrillers, action (comedies) and science fiction. There are selected and often current international feature films as well as individual series in co-production or as licences with around 45 ZDF first-run programmes per year. In addition, several times a year and in prime time there are outstanding international comedies as well as special feature films in the late-night programme and on public holidays. ZDFneo also offers feature films for a young audience on Saturday evenings (comedies, thrillers and action films) and European thrillers on Mondays.
According to ZDF, the costs per feature film licence vary greatly depending on the market, ranging from € 200 thousand to the seven-figure range, depending on the contractual constellation (scope of licence, number of broadcasting rights, licence period, production year). Co-production costs also vary greatly depending on the number of financing partners and production costs.
The 3sat feature film programme includes European arthouse cinema, international film classics, crime thrillers, thrillers, dramas, comedies and westerns in weekly slots. The costs per film vary depending on the market, depending on the scope and duration of the licence and the number of broadcasts, and are in the lower five-figure range.

All other Information on the individual programme slots and All contact persons for German television and cinema films on ZDF there is here .

Source: ZDF