ZDF and ProSiebenSat.1 have reached an agreement to integrate the public broadcaster’s on-demand content into the media group’s streaming platform Joyn, marking a significant shift in relations following last year’s legal dispute over the unauthorised embedding of ARD and ZDF content.
The partnership will see ZDF’s on-demand catalogue become available on Joyn from the fourth quarter of 2026. The content will be offered free of charge and without advertising, while ZDF’s own streaming platform will remain the primary destination for its digital services.
For Joyn users, the agreement will expand access to ZDF’s news, documentaries, cultural programming, factual content and entertainment alongside the broadcaster’s live TV channels, which are already available on the platform.
The deal comes after a bitter legal battle between ProSiebenSat.1 and Germany’s public broadcasters. In February 2025, Joyn integrated ARD and ZDF media libraries into its platform without prior agreements, arguing that the embedding of freely available content was legally permissible under European case law. ARD and ZDF objected, claiming the move violated their editorial independence and distribution rights while depriving viewers of important features such as accessibility functions, personalisation and proper branding.
Regional courts in Cologne and Munich ruled in favour of the public broadcasters, finding that Joyn’s integration breached German media law. Joyn subsequently removed the embedded content, although the legal proceedings continued. The dispute unfolded as Germany prepared reforms to the State Media Treaty designed to encourage voluntary cooperation between public-service and commercial broadcasters.
The new agreement therefore represents a fundamental change in approach, replacing unilateral integration with a negotiated partnership.
“Our mission is to reach as many people as possible with our high-quality content,” said Dr Florian Kumb, Director Audience at ZDF. “By making ZDF streaming content available on Joyn in the future, we’re strengthening the visibility of public broadcasting journalism in the digital space.”
Nicole Agudo Berbel, Chief Distribution & Partnerships Officer at ProSiebenSat.1, added: “Our Joyn users will benefit from ZDF’s high-quality content, as they’ll be able to discover even more first-class on-demand content in the future. This partnership demonstrates how public and private media can work together to find innovative responses to digital competition. In doing so, we’re sending a strong, forward-looking signal for the dual system and the media industry as a whole.”
The cooperation implements the collaboration mandate contained in Germany’s revised State Media Treaty. While ZDF content will be technically integrated into the Joyn interface, editorial responsibility will remain entirely with the public broadcaster.
The agreement is intended to strengthen the visibility of German-produced journalistic and cultural content at a time when international streaming services continue to dominate the market. It also highlights a more cooperative relationship between public and commercial broadcasters after last year’s courtroom confrontation over digital distribution.
Meanwhile, fellow public broadcaster ARD remains open, but cautious towards a similar collaboration with Joyn. “We remain in constructive discussions with Joyn about a possible cooperation. We note the ZDF’s move with interest and will take a close look at how their collaboration develops,” an ARD spokesperson told Broadband TV News. “Our top priority remains the establishment of a public open space serving the common good, as called for in the Reform State Treaty. The ARD Mediathek is already the most widely used broadcaster platform in Germany. As ARD, our primary focus is therefore on retaining and engaging our users.”
