Public Service Television & Broadcasting · Publisher & Media Owner
UFA
German producer of scripted, entertainment, factual and documentary audiovisual content.
Available information varies by company and source.
Profile record updated:
Company facts
- Official name
- UFA GmbH
- Entity type
- COMPANY
- Founded
- 1917
- Headquarters
- Germany
- Company size
- 50–200
- Market cluster / sector
- Public Service Television & Broadcasting
- Market role
- Publisher & Media Owner
- Official website
- ufa.de
What UFA does
UFA operates a B2B content-production model. Its production units originate, develop and produce audiovisual programmes under commissions and production agreements with broadcasters, streaming services, cinema distributors and platform operators. Value is created through production execution, repeatable entertainment and serial-drama formats, and intellectual-property rights that can be licensed, adapted or distributed through the Fremantle network.
Category differentiation
UFA is a German audiovisual content producer, not a broadcaster, streaming service, advertising platform or software vendor. It sells production and rights services to professional commissioners rather than subscriptions directly to viewers.
Strategic context
AI-supported assessment from the existing company research; distinguish interpretation from sourced facts.
UFA GmbH is a Berlin-headquartered German audiovisual production company and a Fremantle subsidiary. It develops and produces scripted series, television films, feature films, daily and weekly serial drama, entertainment formats, factual programming and documentaries through specialised production units. Its direct customers are broadcasters, streaming services, cinema distributors, television commissioners and digital-platform operators. UFA generates revenue primarily through commissioned production projects, development agreements and the exploitation or licensing of programme and format rights. Its Fremantle affiliation connects German productions to an international production and distribution network.
Company news briefing
Briefing updated:
UFA is navigating shifting broadcasting economics with major production milestones and digital adaptations, highlighted by Prime Video setting a December premiere for UFA Fiction's hit series 'Maxton Hall' and RTL cancelling the long-running UFA Serial Drama soap 'Unter uns'. Concurrently, UFA Show & Factual is expanding into interactive live entertainment by piloting a Twitch quiz format, while parent group RTL evaluates broader production strategies amidst intensifying industry consolidation.
Business model & monetisation
UFA monetises through project-based commissions for scripted, entertainment, factual and documentary productions; development and production agreements; and exploitation or licensing of programme, format and underlying intellectual-property rights. Commercial terms are negotiated per production rather than offered through public subscription tiers or self-serve pricing. Fremantle provides wider opportunities for international rights distribution and format adaptation.
- Commissioned audiovisual productions
- Project-based production fees from broadcasters, streaming services and distributors
- Development agreements
- Contracted development and production arrangements
- Programme and format rights exploitation
- Licensing, adaptation and distribution of intellectual property
Products & capabilities
No products with linked sources are available in this view.
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TV production, rights distribution and digital video monetisation group.
Global entertainment group producing, licensing, distributing, and extending content IP.
Global TV production, distribution and IP licensing business.
Side-by-side comparisons
Recent recorded signals
Dates refer to the source publication. Older entries are historical context, not evidence of a new event.
Paramount+ relaunches 'Eating with my Ex' as VIP version
Streaming Content · Recorded impact score: 1/5
Paramount+ announced a new German VIP season of the dating reality show "Eating with my Ex" featuring celebrity ex-couples. Three episodes will premiere weekly starting November 3, 2026, available in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The format previously ran two seasons on Discovery+ in 2022 and 2023. UFA Show & Factual produces the German adaptation. The show features celebrity participants like Tommy Haas and Alessandra Meyer-Wölden, among others.
- Paramount+ announces 'Eating with my Ex VIP' with three episodes starting November 3, 2026.
- The show airs weekly in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
HBO Max announces new German original with Max Riemelt
Streaming & Content · Recorded impact score: 1/5
HBO Max has announced a new German original series titled "A Decent Man" (working title), starring Max Riemelt. The six-episode psychological thriller explores themes of toxic masculinity, guilt, and the destructive power of silence. The series is created by Dustin Loose and Florian Oeller, inspired by the Polish series "Porządny człowiek". Production is handled by UFA Fiction, with Nataly Kudiabor as producer. Cast includes Wanja Valentin Kube, Kristin Suckow, Nico Marischka, and Karin Hanczewski. Anke Greifeneder, GVP Local Original Production for HBO Max in Germany and France, emphasizes the series' deep exploration of generational male role models. A release date has not yet been announced.
- HBO Max announces new German original series "A Decent Man" starring Max Riemelt.
- The six-episode series is produced by UFA Fiction.
Apple TV Germany Head Departs, London Takes Over
Platform · Recorded impact score: 3/5
Franziska An der Gassen, Head of Original Content for Apple TV in Germany, is leaving the company at the end of September 2026, after nearly five years. She joined Apple in early 2022 as a Creative Executive and built the local originals business from Munich, reporting to Jay Hunt. Under her leadership, Apple TV produced its first German series, including 'Where's Wanda?' (2024) and the award-winning 'Krank Berlin'. A direct successor will not be appointed; instead, responsibility for German originals will move to London, continuing a trend of streamers reducing top-level local personnel in Germany. This structural change may reduce local autonomy, and while Apple TV will continue producing in Germany, future investment in local creativity is uncertain.
- Franziska An der Gassen leaves Apple TV at the end of September 2026.
- She was Head of Original Content for Apple TV Germany, based in Munich, joining in early 2022.
RTL to Stop Producing Daily Soap 'Unter uns'
Platform · Recorded impact score: 2/5
RTL has announced the cancellation of its long-running daily soap opera 'Unter uns' after 32 years, with production ceasing at the end of 2026 and final episodes airing on RTL and RTL+ until March 2027. The decision follows shifting economic conditions and declining linear TV ratings, with average viewership dropping from nearly 1 million in 2022 to just over 600,000 recently, and reach in the 14-49 demographic often falling below 100,000. Performance on RTL+ was also insufficient. Producer UFA Serial Drama will explore alternative distribution options and new partnerships to continue the brand. Meanwhile, RTL's collaboration with UFA on other soaps like 'Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten' remains unaffected, and 'Alles was zählt' celebrated its 20th anniversary with stable ratings.
- RTL will end production of 'Unter uns' at the end of 2026, with final episodes airing on RTL and RTL+ until March 2027.
- Average viewership of 'Unter uns' dropped from nearly 1 million in 2022 to just over 600,000 recently, with 14-49 reach often below 100,000.
Prime Video to Release Final Season of 'Maxton Hall' in December
Platform · Recorded impact score: 1/5
Amazon's Prime Video has officially announced that the third and final season of its hit German original series, 'Maxton Hall - Die Welt zwischen uns,' will premiere on December 9. Produced by UFA Fiction, the final season is based on 'Save Us,' the third novel in Mona Kasten's bestselling trilogy. The series stands as Prime Video's most successful international scripted original to date, with its previous season reaching the top spot on Prime Video charts in approximately 100 countries during its debut week, including Germany, the US, and the UK.
- Prime Video will premiere the third and final season of 'Maxton Hall' on December 9.
- The show is produced by UFA Fiction and is based on Mona Kasten's novel 'Save Us'.
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Questions about UFA
What is UFA?
UFA is a German Fremantle-owned production company that develops and produces films, series, serial drama, entertainment formats, documentaries and factual programming.
Who uses UFA?
Broadcasters, streaming services, cinema distributors, television commissioners and digital-platform operators commission UFA productions.
How does UFA make money?
UFA earns project-based production fees, development revenue and income from licensing or exploiting programme and format rights.
Sources & coverage
This profile uses public, official and technically observable information. Missing information does not prove that a product or relationship does not exist. The list below does not imply that every profile statement has been verified.
19 publicly documented primary sources and citations linked across the market graph.
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