DER STANDARD

Pig Proposes Bad Bank and Partnerships for ORF

Clemens Pig, the incoming general director of Austria's public broadcaster ORF, outlined plans including a virtual "bad bank" to isolate legal cases and past scandals, potential headcount reductions, and a call to constitutionally secure the broadcasting fee. Pig also signalled a shift toward formal cooperation with platforms such as Joyn, proposing revenue-sharing and licence contracts so ORF content on third-party services is paid and legally anchored. Separately, the Vienna public prosecutor chose not to open criminal proceedings in the Pius Strobl pension case. Media-business moves reported include Kronen Zeitung managing director Gerhard Valeskini leaving at the end of September and Puls 4 and Joyn obtaining sublicensed rights to transmit 26 US Open matches under a media partnership with DOSB New Media GmbH and Sportdeutschland.TV.

ORF reshuffle, allegations and vice‑chair resignation

On 11 August 2026 Austria's public broadcaster ORF saw major governance moves: the supervisory council (Stiftungsrat) approved leadership candidates proposed by incoming General Director Clemens Pig despite FPÖ opposition. Vice‑chair Gregor Schütze announced his resignation from the council. Legal proceedings began at the Vienna labour court between ORF and former General Director Roland Weißmann, who contests his dismissal and seeks about €4 million; the case relates to allegations and published chat messages. ORF also announced it will legally challenge a planned federal budget cut of €93 million (effective from 2027), considering constitutional action and a complaint to media regulator KommAustria. Ingrid Thurnher and incoming finance director Silvia Lieb (currently CEO of Moser Holding) are involved in handling the financial and operational fallout.

Ukraine Targets Russia's 'Amazon' Wildberries

Since mid‑July 2026 repeated Ukrainian drone strikes have hit Wildberries distribution centers around Saint Petersburg, Tver and Samara, with early reports listing 11 sites and later accounts exceeding 20 attacks. Analysts estimate roughly 25–30% of the group's warehousing capacity was disabled or destroyed — early damage affected about 444,000 sqm — and total damages are assessed at roughly €2–3 billion. Wildberries, after a merger with outdoor‑advertising group Russ (operating via RWB/RVB), reported 2025 GMV of 6.1 trillion rubles, revenue of about €67 billion and net profit of roughly 175 billion rubles (~€2 billion). Kyiv alleges the platform facilitated sales of sanctioned drone components; some observers dispute the scale and note political motives. The strikes have left many (up to 400,000) small third‑party sellers largely uncompensated and, combined with a reported lack of terrorism insurance, raise credit and logistics risks for Russian e‑commerce.