Germany: Internet growth cut for broadcasters

BERLIN — In a major setback for ARD and ZDF, Germany’s state leaders have agreed to restrict the pubcasters’ expanding Internet activities as a result of mounting pressure from the EU Commission.

The premiers of Germany’s 16 federal states discussed the pubcasters’ online activities in Berlin Thursday, and concluded that ARD and ZDF may not operate what they called an independent “electronic press.”

The EU Commission has long criticized ARD and ZDF’s online expansion and demanded that the German government place limits on the pubcasters’ Internet activities.

Commercial broadcasters and newspapers in Germany also have taken ARD and ZDF to task for their online news operations and have warned they could lead to the formation of an electronic press independent of the pubcasters’ TV news programs.

As part of an overhaul of the country’s broadcasting regulations, the state premiers drew up a list of Internet content they deemed unacceptable from the pubcasters, including commercial links — for example, a website to a TV cooking show may list recipes, but may not include a link to purchase cookbooks.

Entertainment programming produced for the Internet was also targeted.

The state leaders plan to limit ARD and ZDF’s Internet content to TV program-related sites, although a final decision will be made in the fall following consultation with the EU Commission and media regulators.

The move follows a contentious panel at the Medienforum NRW media confab in Cologne on Monday in which commercial broadcasting execs lambasted ARD and ZDF’s online strategy.

Monika Piel, head of WDR, ARD’s biggest regional affiliate, countered that the pubcaster would continue with its activities and announced plans to start online ventures with outside publishing groups, projects which may now be at risk.

In accordance with German law, the state-level governments regulate public broadcasting. 

–By Ed Meza

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