Observed Signal · Jun 25, 2026 · Audience Measurement / Ranking Update · Source: DWDL · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Positive
World Cup Drives Streaming Record for ZDF
During calendar week 25 of 2026 the ZDF recorded a new all-time high in the AGF program-brand streaming ranking with a net streaming reach of 7.88 million people, driven in part by Germany’s second group match. The ARD reached 4.23 million streaming viewers in the same week despite not broadcasting a German match. The ranking (streaming-only net reach) lists other top brands and formats including RTL/ntv, Tagesschau, ZDFheute, Sport1 and several Amazon Prime Video titles. The article explains the 'Programmmarke' metric introduced by AGF in 2024 and notes the previous record had been held by the 2025 Olympic Games when the ranking first exceeded seven million.
Record streaming reach signals increased streaming inventory and audience concentration around major live sports (World Cup), relevant for advertisers and publishers but not an industry‑shifting policy or platform change.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- ZDF achieved a streaming net reach of 7.88 million people in calendar week (KW) 25, a new all-time high in the AGF ‘Programmmarken’ ranking.
- ARD reached a streaming net reach of 4.23 million people in the same week without broadcasting a German match.
- The previous all-time best in the Programmmarken streaming ranking had been held by the 2025 Olympic Games, when the ranking first exceeded seven million.
- Top weekly streaming-only net reach rankings (KW 25) included ntv/RTL (1.64M), Tagesschau/ARD (1.16M), ZDFheute/ZDF (1.11M), and Sport1 News/Sport1 (0.43M).
- AGF’s 2024-introduced 'Programmmarken' metric counts how many people encountered a broadcaster’s video content across linear, mediatheks or websites, and the streaming-only view excludes YouTube and social networks.
Connected Companies & Entities
9 Entities mapped“With a streaming net reach of 7.88 million people in calendar week 25, ZDF clearly took the top position in the Programmmarken streaming ran...”
“ARD reached a streaming net reach of 4.23 million people in the referenced calendar week, despite not broadcasting a German match....”
“Axel Springer reached the eighth rank in the streaming-only Programmmarken list with 'Welt News' (0.73M)....”
“Amazon Prime Video titles appeared in the list, e.g., 'Every Year After' with 0.59M streaming net reach and 'LOL: Last One Laughing Germany'...”
“Sport1 reached 0.43M streaming net reach for 'Sport1 News', aided by interest around the World Cup....”
“ProSiebenSat.1 did not place any format in the top 20 streaming-only Programmmarken for the week referenced....”
“On Joyn the reality show 'Match my Ex' was the most successful format that week with 0.29M streaming reach....”
“The article explains that the AGF introduced the 'Programmmarken' disclosure in 2024 to report how many people encountered a broadcaster’s v...”
“RTL appeared in the weekly streaming rankings with formats such as 'ntv Nachrichten' (1.64M) and the soap 'Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten' (1...”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
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Streaming Record for World Cup; Strong Wimbledon Streaming
DWDL reports that streaming viewership records were set in calendar week 27: ZDF's World Cup coverage reached a net streaming reach of 8.436 million, the highest weekly value since the program-brand ranking began. ARD's World Cup coverage reached 5.597 million in streaming. Prime Video—reporting live-event streaming data for the first time—saw its Wimbledon broadcasts reach 2.262 million viewers in the first tournament week. The article also notes other top streaming program brands and explains AGF's 2024-introduced 'program brand' reach metric, which measures net reach on broadcasters' own platforms (excluding YouTube and social networks).
DAZN Nears Streaming Reach Records; GZSZ Tops Million
AGF Videoforschung data for calendar week 16 (13–19 April 2026) show DAZN achieving near-record streaming reach for live football: the UEFA Champions League stream reached a net streaming reach of 1.658 million (second overall among streaming-only program brands) while Bundesliga streaming reached 1.230 million (fifth). ZDFheute led the streaming-only ranking with 2.019 million. In fiction, ARD's „Praxis mit Meerblick“ (1.113 million) and ARD's „Tatort“ (1.139 million) were strong performers, and RTL's soap Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten (GZSZ) exceeded one million streaming viewers on RTL+ (1.084 million) — a first for that service. The figures and rankings come from AGF SCOPE 1.10 (package number 17527) and were reported by DWDL.de on 2026-04-28.
AGF Data Compares World Cup Linear TV and Streaming
MEEDIA reports that new weekly 'Programmmarken' data published by AGF for the week of 8–14 June 2026 (including the first four days of the World Cup) enables the first independent comparison of linear-TV and streaming audiences for ARD and ZDF. For ARD’s 'Sportschau Fußball-WM' brand the AGF measures a linear net reach of 43.540 million and 5.862 million via streaming, with a combined net reach of 45.945 million — meaning 2.405 million people consumed ARD’s World Cup coverage exclusively by streaming. For ZDF the linear net reach was 32.497 million, streaming 4.594 million and combined net reach 35.114 million, with 2.617 million exclusive streaming-only viewers. The article notes Programmmarken counts anyone with at least one second of exposure and that third-party platforms (e.g., YouTube) are not included in these AGF figures.
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