DWDL.de vs NOZ/mh:n MEDIEN

Real Innovation in TV Entertainment Has Become Rare

In an interview, German Television Award jury member and DWDL.de editor Alexander Krei discusses trends in non-fictional television entertainment. He notes that rising budget pressures across broadcasting houses have made genuine innovation rare, particularly on major show stages. However, exceptions exist, such as Sat.1's reality format 'Villa der Versuchung' and public broadcasting's 'Die Werwölfe'. Krei also observes a shift in comedy, where establishing new TV formats has become increasingly difficult due to competition from niche platforms like TikTok, prompting a strategic focus on evolving existing established brands like 'TV total' and 'Die Anstalt'.

• Alexander Krei, a jury member for the German Television Award, notes that budget pressures are stifling television show innovation.
• Sat.1 introduced 'Villa der Versuchung,' a German-developed reality format focusing on financial elements.
• Public broadcasters in Germany successfully experimented with reality TV through the format 'Die Werwölfe'.

Giovanni Zarrella Achieves Highest Market Share Since Early 2024

ZDF's first open-air edition of The Giovanni Zarrella Show, recorded at the ZDF-Fernsehgarten, attracted about 2.9 million viewers on Saturday evening and achieved a 16.8% overall market share — the highest for the program in roughly two and a half years. The show logged 9.1% among 14–49 year‑olds and 10.5% among 14–59 year‑olds. The late news program heute-journal that followed reached 2.14 million viewers and a 17.1% market share, while Aktuelle Sportstudio drew 1.35 million viewers (16.2% overall, 8.4% in 14–49). Daily market shares for Das Erste and ZDF were each 13.1%. AGF Videoforschung / AGF SCOPE 1.15 is cited as the data source for the ratings.

• ZDF broadcast the first open-air edition of The Giovanni Zarrella Show, recorded at the ZDF-Fernsehgarten.
• The Giovanni Zarrella Show drew approximately 2.9 million viewers and a 16.8% overall market share.
• Demographic ratings: 9.1% market share (age 14–49) and 10.5% (age 14–59) for the show.

ProSieben Reshuffles Monday Sitcom Lineup

ProSieben will change its Monday evening sitcom schedule effective 14 September after three weeks of weak ratings. The broadcaster will air four consecutive Germany-premiere episodes of Georgie & Mandy, pushing Ted roughly 55 minutes later to about 22:05 (with a new-season episode followed by a season-1 repeat). St. Denis Medical will move to a later 23:15 slot with back-to-back episodes airing as Free-TV premieres. The changes follow disappointing audience figures since the August 10 schedule rollout: Georgie & Mandy averaged 6.6% in the key 14–49 demo (with wide fluctuation), Ted’s new episodes peaked at 4.3%, and St. Denis Medical averaged just above 2%, hitting a low of 0.5% (approx. 60,000 total viewers) in the demo.

• ProSieben will restructure its Monday evening schedule effective 2026-09-14.
• Four episodes of the sitcom 'Georgie & Mandy' will air back-to-back as Germany premieres.
• The show 'Ted' will be delayed by about 55 minutes to a ~22:05 start and will present a new second-season episode followed by a season-1 repeat.

Generationswechsel und neue Doppelspitze bei den Verlagen der NOZ/mh:n-Gruppe im nördlichen Niedersachsen

NOZ/mh:n-Gruppe has announced a leadership transition across its publishing locations in northern Lower Saxony effective November 1, 2026. Helmut Loerts-Sabin retired at age 70 from operational business at BruneMettcker in Wilhelmshaven, with Thorsten Schulze and Falk Lindemann stepping in as co-managing directors. The duo will bundle management responsibilities across sites in Norden, Weener, and Wilhelmshaven to leverage group-wide synergies and technological modernization.

• Helmut Loerts-Sabin retired from operational management at publisher BruneMettcker at age 70.
• Effective November 1, 2026, Thorsten Schulze and Falk Lindemann took over as co-managing directors at Medienhaus Brune Mettcker GmbH.
• Thorsten Schulze additionally joined management at H. Risius Verlag GmbH & Co. KG in Weener alongside Falk Lindemann.

NOZ/mh:n Cleared to Acquire Zeitungsgruppe Ostfriesland

The German Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt) has approved the planned acquisition of the regional newspaper group Zeitungsgruppe Ostfriesland (ZGO) by the media group NOZ/mh:n from Osnabrück. This is part of NOZ/mh:n's strategy to strengthen its position in the German media market. The article is largely paywalled, with only the headline and lead paragraph available. The approval marks a significant consolidation in the regional newspaper sector, potentially affecting advertising markets in the Ostfriesland region.

NOZ/mh:n-Gruppe verdoppelt wöchentliche Digital-Abo-Bestellungen

By optimizing user guidance on its dynamic paywall, German regional publishing group NOZ/mh:n-Gruppe doubled its weekly digital subscription orders to around 600 within eight weeks. The growth was driven by doubling the click-through rate while maintaining a constant conversion rate through reduced paywall complexity and ad suppression. For the coming year, the publisher aims to increase Plus growth from 12% to 19% and nearly double paid content revenue over the next five years.

• Weekly digital subscription orders doubled to approximately 600 within an eight-week optimization period.
• Around 90% of all new subscriptions are generated via local editorial content, with 2,500 sales across 1,400 distinct articles in August alone.
• Paywall optimizations included shifting focus to an annual subscription, adjusting the first-month entry price to one euro, and suppressing all ads when the paywall is active.