In 1959, the government of Konrad Adenauer began preparations to form a second nationwide television network with the intention of competing with ARD. History The ZDF administrative headquarters in Mainz The ZDF broadcasting centre in Mainz Historic logos Norbert Himmler, ZDF's director general, was elected by the ZDF Television Council in 2021. The broadcaster is well known for its famous programmes heute, a newscast established in 1963, and Wetten, dass.?, an entertainment show that premiered in 1981, with a suspension from 2014 to 2021. ZDF is financed by television licence fees and advertising revenues. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany ( Bundesländer). ZDF ( pronounced ⓘ), short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen ( pronounced ⓘ 'Second German Television'), is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate.
