Archive notice: This article was originally published on December 28, 2007. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
“We have achieved our most important journalistic goals. 2007 was an interesting programming year between two major international sporting years.” Just behind ARD, ZDF would finish 2007 as a good runner-up with a market share of 12.9 percent.
Several programming innovations had succeeded immediately for ZDF, the ZDF Programme Director summed up at the end of the year. The reintroduction of political cabaret on ZDF ("Neues aus der Anstalt") with Urban Priol and Georg Schramm convinced critics and viewers alike. An average of 2.73 million people (12.9 percent market share) watched the ten cabaret programmes. With "Kriminaldauerdienst", ZDF succeeded in producing what was also, in the opinion of the German Television Award jury, the best series. With "2030 - Aufstand der Alten" or "2057 - Unser Leben in der Zukunft", the broadcaster had set standards for new forms of future-vision programming in the first half of the year. The offbeat television-play series "Ijon Tichy Raumpilot" attracted attention particularly in online communities and Internet forums with its creative and ironic trash borrowings. Extending television content onto the Internet had in any case become one of the most important topics of 2007. Bellut: "The relaunch of the ZDF Mediathek, and thus also seven-day availability, was one of the milestones for the digital television future in Germany."
ZDF's assessment of the role of science programmes had proved important and correct. Bellut: "There is an enormous need for knowledge television; viewer interest in high-quality, but also easily understandable and well-explained programmes from all scientific disciplines is still rising." This could also be seen in the performance of the Wednesday magazines "Abenteuer Wissen" and "Joachim Bublath" (2.15/2.13 million viewers, 9.9/9.8 percent market share) and "ZDF Expedition" on Sunday evening (3.5 million/12.6 percent).
ZDF also registered pleasingly rising viewer interest in its quality television films in 2007. On Monday evenings, an average of five million people (market share 15.6 percent) watched the "Television Film of the Week" (2006: 4.83 million/15.1 percent); on Sunday evenings, the Scandinavian and British crime dramas at 10.00 p.m. gained further friends (3.11 million viewers/14.5 percent; previous year 2.94 million/13.6 percent).
The assessment that popular music should in future be reserved for weekends and public holidays, while dispensing with music programmes during the week, had also proved correct. With 5.61 million viewers and 19.4 percent, "Willkommen bei Carmen Nebel" once again increased slightly at a high level.
"Even before the figures stands our ambition to set craftsmanship standards and be opinion leaders in the most important genres of modern quality television," said the ZDF Programme Director when announcing the figures. "Here, too, I am not worried with regard to the coming year. When it comes to socially critical reports, contemporary-history documentaries or up-to-the-minute magazines, there is no getting past ZDF. And 'Frontal 21' and 'heute-journal' will remain opinion and market leaders in 2008, as they have this year."
