Archive notice: This article was originally published on July 7, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
This marked the third consecutive year in which the channel significantly increased its audience share. ZDF Director General Markus Schächter presented this assessment as the ZDF Television Council discussed a report on the status and development of Phoenix. Phoenix had become the “leading medium for opinion leaders,” the ZDF Director General said. The channel now exemplified information television.
Phoenix’s programming success is based on three pillars: live-event coverage, documentaries and talk programmes. Every programming element recorded gains in audience share. Documentaries achieved the largest increase, rising by 0.2 percentage points to a 1.1 percent audience share. Acceptance figures for Phoenix broadcasts from the German Bundestag declined further after an already weak result in 2006. Overall, they achieved a 0.5 percent audience share, a decrease of 0.1 percentage points. Despite the falling figures, Phoenix would retain this core programming mandate. Following the parliamentary summer recess, during weeks when the Bundestag is in session, the channel will show the government question session or current-affairs debate on Wednesdays and broadcast live from the Bundestag from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursdays. If Parliament sits longer, the broadcast will be extended until 8 p.m. Coverage of Bundestag and Bundesrat sessions on Fridays will continue at its previous level.
For viewers receiving Phoenix digitally by satellite or cable, the channel has been available on a new channel since April 19, 2008. The change became necessary because a new transponder was put into service in mid-March to improve the picture and sound quality of ARD’s digital programmes.
