ARD and ZDF are planning joint technology for media libraries

ARD and ZDF want to work more closely together in media libraries and are developing joint technology for this purpose. They say they want to cover costs from inventory.

ARD and ZDF are working together to develop technology for their media libraries. They want to avoid duplication of work and create more personalized offers for users. This was announced by ZDF Director Norbert Himmler and ARD Chairman Kai Gnefke in a joint interview with the German Press Agency. It should start in the first quarter of 2025. Meanwhile, the two media libraries remain independent offerings.

“One of the largest open source initiatives in Germany”

There are further collaborations planned: general media companies also want to make the software available to other organizations or media companies. The technical term is open source. This refers to software for which the copyright holder also grants other users the right to use its open source code in exchange for a license. In the future, public broadcasters can imagine a larger platform of diverse actors directed toward the public good.

“We have started one of the largest open source initiatives in Germany, and the technology that represents the building blocks of media libraries will be publicly available,” said Director Himmler. “We are giving something back to the community that they paid us for,” the ZDF president added.

ARD and ZDF have media libraries with their own brand names and offerings, which is how it should continue. Homes have also reached out in recent years: in the ARD media library, users can also find ZDF programs and vice versa. Now there is a common technological basis. When it came to the issue of costs, it was said that they wanted to do it from stock. This should be achieved through reallocation.

“Not everyone will continue to work with their player and recommendation logic,” said ARD president Gniffke, who is also director of Südwestrundfunk (SWR). “Everyone is responsible for the pre-defined components of the media library, which are then exchanged and installed in the other system,” explained ZDF director Himmler.

The headquarters of the Joint Coordination Office for Strategic Content Control (led by ZDF) and of the new joint subsidiary, e.g. for Procurement and Operations (led by ARD), will be located in Mainz. The ZDF's headquarters are located in the capital of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate anyway. SWR, whose broadcast area extends across Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Württemberg, has a large position there as well.

ARD and ZDF have big plans

Cooperation between ARD and ZDF will now be strengthened, Gnefke said. “But if other institutions – it could be cultural institutions but also other media companies that compete with us – use the software, you can imagine it as the nucleus of a big German-language platform. A platform that is oriented towards the common good – it works according to certain rules that everyone can see and that ensures diversity and not polarization.”

“The first step will be the inner circle,” Himmler added. “We invite German-speaking public broadcasters to participate.” “And if it’s compelling, I’m sure other nonprofit players will also join in and work on it.”

Why more cooperation now?

ARD and ZDF compete in the broadcasting sector with providers such as Netflix, apple And Disney Access to the two private German broadcast groups RTL Deutschland and ProSiebenSat.1. It's a competition for attention. Behind this are increasingly sophisticated systems for individual series and movie recommendations for the relevant user, based on their viewing habits. The aesthetics of the platforms also play a role.

Media politicians from the federal states had already called for greater technological cooperation between ARD and ZDF in the past. Independent experts (“Future Council”) also developed ideas on behalf of the states. They proposed a unified technical infrastructure for all digital platforms of ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio, with the houses remaining independent in terms of content.

In an interview with the German news agency, Himmler, when asked why the technological merger between ARD and ZDF was taking place only now, said: “There is also another policy requirement: cooperation between ARD and ZDF must be legally permissible. We must be allowed to work together, and this is not the case.” This is the case everywhere at the moment.”