The two major public broadcasters are relying on greater cooperation when it comes to streaming. There will be no merging of the media libraries into a single one.
ARD and ZDF are building a joint streaming network. The two previous media libraries will remain in place and will not be merged. This was announced by the major public broadcasters at a press conference in Mainz.
The ARD and ZDF media libraries, which are already and will continue to exist, will gradually offer more offers from the respective other stations, as ARD chairman Tom Buhrow and ZDF director Thomas Bellut explained. The independence and identity of the broadcasters will be preserved at the same time.
The closer cooperation is intended to strengthen the position of the public broadcasters with a view to global competition in the booming streaming market.
The existing apps remain for users. An overarching structure for the network with a new online media library and thus a merging of the previous media libraries is not planned. Users can access the offer via the access to the previous ARD and ZDF media libraries. According to the information, there will also not be a name for the streaming network or a logo.
In the future, there will be recommendations and playlists for users on the mixed offer. Users can register with an account on the media libraries, but do not have to. This should then apply to both platforms.
The network is to be built up gradually over the next few years. The whole thing starts immediately, they said. The broadcasters want to finance the project from the existing budget.
In addition to ARD and ZDF, there should also be the opportunity for other public service offers to participate – for example for Arte. The broadcasters are currently not considering a possible collaboration with private streaming providers, as it was said.
ARD and ZDF were moving closer together at a time when the federal states were working on reforming the mandate and structure of public service broadcasting in Germany. A large part of the debate revolves around the increasing importance of digital offers.
The use of streaming content has increased significantly in recent years. In addition to global competitors such as Netflix and Amazon, there are also streaming platforms in Germany from private broadcasting groups such as Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland and ProSiebenSat.1. In some cases, offers from public broadcasters can also be found there.
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