Observed Signal · Aug 6, 2026 · Audience Measurement · Source: DWDL · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
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).
Routine TV audience/rating report: useful for broadcasters, agencies and media planners but not industry-shifting; no major platform policy or product change.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- ORF-produced film 'Acht' drew 3.24 million viewers on ZDF.
- 'Acht' delivered a 17.9% market share across all viewers.
- 'Acht' reached approximately 60,000 viewers aged 14–49, a 2.0% share in that demo.
- ZDF's 'heute-journal' had 3.27 million viewers and an 8.3% share among 14–49s.
- Audience data source: AGF SCOPE 1.15 (AGF Videoforschung); preliminary weighted TV data.
Connected Companies & Entities
10 Entities mapped“Der in diesem Jahr mit dem Deutschen Fernsehkrimi-Preis ausgezeichnete ORF-Landkrimi "Acht" machte das ZDF am Mittwochabend zum Marktführer....”
“Der in diesem Jahr mit dem Deutschen Fernsehkrimi-Preis ausgezeichnete ORF-Landkrimi "Acht" machte das ZDF am Mittwochabend zum Marktführer....”
“Quelle der Daten für diesen Artikel: AGF Videoforschung...”
“Das Erste setzte um 20:15 Uhr auf die Wiederholung des Films "Geliefert" mit Bjarne Mädel als Paketboten und alleinerziehendem Vater und err...”
“Top 5 Marktanteile (alle Zuschauer) — 5,7 % Sat.1...”
“Das könnte Sie auch interessieren — P7S1-Geschäftszahlen© ProSiebenSat.1...”
“Top 5 Marktanteile (alle Zuschauer) — 3,9 % VOX...”
“URL zu diesem Artikel: https://www.dwdl.de/zahlenzentrale/107401/zdf_holt_primetimesieg_mit_orflandkrimi_acht/© DWDL.de GmbH, 2001-2026...”
“Top 5 Marktanteile (alle Zuschauer) — 7,5 % RTL...”
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Old ARD Crime Drama Beats DFB-Pokal Ratings
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ZDF Strong with Crime Dramas and ZDF Magazin Replay
DWDL reports that ZDF was the second-most-watched broadcaster on Friday (daily market share 14.0%), performing well against FIFA World Cup coverage thanks to crime-series programming and a repeat of ZDF Magazin Royale. AGF Videoforschung data show an old episode of Der Alte reached 3.93 million viewers (21.3% market share), while two SOKO Leipzig episodes drew 2.21 million (11.1%) and 1.99 million (11.0%). A replay of ZDF Magazin Royale after 23:15 had 700,000 viewers (6.4% overall) but performed better in the 14–49 demo (7.4%, ~190,000 viewers), giving ZDF the highest reach among broadcasters except Das Erste after 20:15 in that age group. Commercial broadcasters mainly aired repeats with weaker ratings; RTL’s Die ultimative Chartshow and Vox’s Goodbye Deutschland reached 4.6% and 4.5% in the core demo, while ProSieben’s Free-TV premiere Transformers One scored 1.7%. Data source: AGF SCOPE (preliminary, weighted).
ZDF crime drama draws 4.6M despite World Cup
A repeat broadcast of the ZDF crime drama "Nord Nord Mord - Sievers und das Geisterhaus" reached 4.59 million viewers on the evening of 22 June 2026, delivering a 20.7% market share in prime time despite concurrent World Cup coverage. Das Erste's live World Cup match (Argentina vs. Austria) remained the day's most-watched programme with about 7.27 million viewers. ZDF achieved a day market share of 15.5%, helped by additional daytime shows performing above 25% in share. Other commercial channels struggled in prime time: Sat.1 and ProSieben posted low audience figures (around 0.5 million and 420,000 respectively) and single-digit market shares in key demos. All audience figures are preliminary and sourced to AGF Videoforschung (AGF SCOPE).
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