Archive notice: This article was originally published on December 10, 2007. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
The ZDF Television Council has adopted a new procedure in Mainz for new or modified digital or telemedia offerings. The so-called three-stage test will thus be introduced on a trial basis before the 11th Interstate Treaty Amending the Interstate Broadcasting Treaty comes into force. “This is a piece of pioneering work to strengthen committee oversight. Following our talks with ARD, I assume that ARD will arrive at similar procedures,” said ZDF Television Council chairman Ruprecht Polenz after the meeting. The Television Council, which also monitors compliance with the provision, decides when a new or modified offering exists and must undergo the test.
Under the new procedure, the Director-General of ZDF will in future prepare a project description according to defined criteria for a new or modified offering or programme. On the one hand, this must make clear that the planned offering belongs to the public remit and contributes qualitatively to journalistic competition. On the other hand, the project description contains the costs of the offering as well as – thirdly – an assessment of the effects on the market.
After initially informing the Television Council about the key points of the new or modified offering, ZDF publishes the project description in its online offering and informs the press about it. This gives potentially affected market participants the opportunity to submit a statement.
These are incorporated into the deliberations in the Television Council. The committee may obtain external expert opinions or hear experts for this purpose. At the conclusion of the procedure, the project description approved by the Television Council is sent to the legal supervisory authority.
According to the wishes of the ZDF Television Council, the procedure is to be coordinated with ARD and laid down in guidelines. Furthermore, an agreement is to be reached with the responsible ARD committees on applying the test to the online offerings of the joint partner channels according to the so-called lead responsibility principle. Accordingly, the ZDF Television Council would be responsible for the online offerings of Phoenix and 3sat.
