Observed Signal · May 22, 2026 · Audience Measurement · Source: DWDL · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
New ZDF Film Loses to ARD 'Zürich-Krimi' in Ratings
A new ZDF TV film in the 'Merz gegen Merz' series, titled "Geständnisse," underperformed in linear broadcast on Thursday, drawing an average of 1.91 million viewers — about 600,000 fewer than the previous film in autumn 2024. The film achieved a 9.5% market share overall and 5.1% among 14–49-year-olds. A repeat of "Der Zürich-Krimi" on Das Erste won the evening with 4.17 million viewers and a 20.8% share (5.3% in 14–49). Late-evening public-broadcaster programming also performed well with 'Extra 3' and 'Markus Lanz' posting notable shares among younger demographics. Audience figures are sourced to AGF Videoforschung (AGF SCOPE); DWDL notes streaming/streaming-view data for the ZDF title were not available at time of reporting.
Provides recent linear TV audience measurement for major German broadcasters (ZDF, Das Erste), relevant for media planning, inventory valuation and advertiser decisions but not industry-shifting.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- ZDF aired the film "Merz gegen Merz: Geständnisse" which averaged 1.91 million linear viewers.
- The ZDF film's audience was roughly 600,000 fewer than the last Merz film shown in autumn 2024.
- The ZDF film achieved a 9.5% market share overall and 5.1% among 14–49-year-olds.
- A repeat of "Der Zürich-Krimi" on Das Erste averaged 4.17 million viewers and won the day with a 20.8% market share (5.3% in 14–49).
- AGF Videoforschung (AGF SCOPE) is cited as the source for the audience data in the article.
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'Merz gegen Merz' ratings improve, trail 'Amsterdam Krimi'
The ZDF comedy series 'Merz gegen Merz' recovered from a May low, averaging 2.34 million viewers and a 12.1% overall market share for its latest broadcast. A repeat of the 'Amsterdam-Krimi' on Das Erste led the evening with 3.94 million viewers and a 20.4% market share; the 'Tagesschau' earlier drew 4.87 million. In the 14–49 demo the crime repeat scored 7.2% versus 6.5% for 'Merz gegen Merz'. ZDF's 'heute-journal' later reached exactly three million viewers (16.6%), and subsequent ZDF talk shows (the new political talk hosted by Sarah Tacke and 'Markus Lanz') posted lower audiences around 1.33 million and 1.08 million respectively. Data source cited: AGF SCOPE 1.15 / AGF Videoforschung.
Old ARD Crime Drama Beats DFB-Pokal Ratings
Germany's primetime ratings featured two contrasting evenings. On Friday, 21 August 2026, Das Erste's repeat of 'Der Zürich-Krimi' won with 3.96 million viewers and a 20.9% share, beating ZDF's DFB-Pokal broadcast (2.64 million, 14.5%). The Tagesschau was the night's top program at 4.77 million (26.4%), and Das Erste led the daily market share with 12.8%. On a Tuesday, ZDF's 'Friesland' rerun edged out Das Erste's DFB-Pokal match (Osnabrück vs. Bayern) with 4.66 million (22.2%) to 4.40 million (22.0%), but the football dominated 14- to 49-year-olds with a 27.2% share versus 4.3% for 'Friesland'. ARD's 'Die Derbys' drew just 810,000 viewers, and ZDF's 'Die Lebensretter von Murnau' set a series low of 1.52 million. All data from AGF Videoforschung.
ZDF wins primetime with ORF crime film Acht
The ORF-produced crime film 'Acht', winner at this year’s German Television Crime Festival, made ZDF the market leader on Wednesday evening. The broadcast drew 3.24 million viewers and a 17.9% share across all ages but performed very weakly with 14–49s (about 60,000 viewers; 2.0% share). ZDF’s 'heute-journal' that followed reached 3.27 million viewers and improved ZDF’s 14–49 share to 8.3%. The ARD channel Das Erste aired a repeat of 'Geliefert' with Bjarne Mädel, attracting 1.72 million viewers (9.5% share overall; 6.4% in 14–49). Audience figures are reported by AGF (AGF SCOPE 1.15, preliminary weighted TV data).
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