The ORF is currently working on many construction sites at the same time: On the one hand, the multimedia newsroom is currently being occupied – which does not arouse much enthusiasm among many employees. On the other hand, the quotas are falling compared to the previous year, which was rich in major sporting events. And finally, the high energy prices are also driving up costs at ORF. The group must save 30 million euros in 2023 to balance the budget.
15 million euros more
Nevertheless, the ORF wants to spend 15 million euros more on its program next year compared to the estimated budget. This was announced yesterday by program director Stefanie Groiss-Horowitz at the presentation of the program for 2023. You save in the structure, optimize workflows and leverage synergies to invest in in-house productions.
Alexander Hofer, ORF 2 channel manager, openly admitted that the money was not spent on bold program innovations: “A lot will remain the same on ORF 2.” In times of crisis, the ORF is an “anchor station” for information, background information and service. However, there are innovations in “Zeit im Bild”: At the end of the year, the new studio will be occupied directly in the newsroom. This results in expanded options for the program flow, and a smooth visual relaunch is also planned.
At ORF 1, Groiss-Horowitz wants to “put all his strength into the core zone”. So there should be a “dense, reliable, self-produced program” on the evening before, on the main evening and afterwards. Most of the formats that have already been introduced will be continued: “Soko Linz” is getting a second season despite devastating reviews, “Soko Donau” is entering its 18th round, the mini-series “Sisi” will be continued in December 2022, as will “Walking on Sunshine”. gets a fourth season. The “Vorstadtweiber” that ended this year will be followed by “Biester”. For the first time, Linz will also be the scene of a city comedy: In “Heribert”, Benedikt Kalcher stirs up the start-up scene. However, there is no broadcast date yet.
More structure for ORF 1
The two-part series “Weber und Breitfuss” about the legendary heroes of “MA 2412” could be broadcast as early as autumn. The Upper Austrian country thriller “Zu neu Ufern” with Maria Hofstätter is also in the starting blocks. The highlight from a sporting point of view is the men’s soccer world cup in Qatar (November 20 to December 18), followed by the women’s soccer world cup (July/August 2023 in Australia and New Zealand). ORF 1 will broadcast the World Ski Championships in Courchevel and Meribel in February, as will Formula 1 (alternating with Servus-TV).
Overall, the ORF 1 main evening should be more structured depending on the day of the week: Austrian series are on the program on Monday, (local) crime thrillers on Tuesday, reportage formats on Wednesday, sports on Thursday, entertainment with cabaret and comedy on Friday, entertainment on Saturday and blockbuster movies on Sundays. “Dancing Stars” is back at the shows in spring. A music show is planned for the fall. According to Groiss-Horowitz, it is unclear whether another season of “Starmania” or a new format will be implemented.
ORF 2 is to be further developed in 2023, primarily in the direction of information and service. In the fictional area, “Die Toten von Salzburg”, “Tatort” and “Vienna Blood” will be continued, there are also new editions of “Love Stories and Marriage Matters” and the show “9 Places – 9 Treasures”. On March 19th, a picture of Austria will be broadcast from Upper Austria on the subject of “25 years of the Kalkalpen National Park”. Alfons Haider presents the greatest musical successes from Austria in a series called “Mister Musical” (working title).
After the recently implemented “Sound” module originally planned for the ORF player, “Topos” will start in the digital sector in mid-November. It brings together the areas of culture, religion, science and society. All contributions should be available online for more than seven days, which the ORF is legally prohibited from doing with other digital offers.
Source: Nachrichten
