ZDF

Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (German pronunciation: [ˌtsvaɪ̯təs ˌdɔʏ̯tʃəs ˈfɛɐ̯nzeːən]; English: Second German Television), usually shortened to ZDF, is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all federal states of Germany (Bundesländer). ZDF is financed by television licence fees and advertising revenues. The ZDF is well known for its famous TV formats heute (newscast; established in 1963) and Wetten, dass..? (entertainment show; premiered in 1981, ended in 2014). Thomas Bellut, the current director general, was elected by the ZDF Television Council in 2011.

History