Wolfram Weimer, Minister of State for Culture, has sparked a new debate on the structure of public service broadcasting. According to reports from participants at a closed-door event organised by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, he raised, amongst other things, the possibility of privatising ZDF and further reducing the ARD to just a few broadcasters.

Reactions followed immediately. The Federal Government pointed out that responsibility for broadcasting regulations lies with the federal states. Criticism of Weimer’s proposals also came from the federal states and media associations. The German Cultural Council expressly opposed the privatisation of ZDF and the closure of smaller ARD broadcasters.

Alongside this debate, attention turned to the economic significance of ZDF for the production industry. Around 450 industry representatives gathered in Mainz for the twelfth „Producers“ Day’ on 17 September. According to the broadcaster, ZDF awards contracts worth more than 800 million euros annually to the creative industries and describes itself as the largest single client in the German film and television sector. Topics discussed included the economic situation of production companies, as well as commissioned and co-productions.

It remains to be seen what consequences a fundamental change to the public broadcasting structures would have for the production market. Weimer’s proposals have not yet triggered any concrete reform process. The reform treaty recently adopted by the federal states already provides for the dismantling of duplicate structures and closer cooperation between ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio.