ZDF, also known as Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen, is a state-owned company headquartered in Germany. Established in 1963, with approximately 3,130 employees, it reported $2.9B in revenue as of 2025. Functioning as a tier 1 media tech buyer, the company specializes in content rights, offering TV broadcasting services that include both live and on-demand content.
On July 2, 2026, Volleyball World announced its new multi-year media rights agreement with German public broadcaster ZDF aims to provide German fans with free access to extensive coverage of national team matches in prestigious international volleyball tournaments. This follows the June 26 agreement between Volleyball World, the commercial arm of the sport’s FIVB governing body, and ZDF for free-to-air coverage of Germany’s men’s and women’s national teams in the Volleyball Nations League (VNL), with the men's 2026 VNL running from June 11 to August 3. Previously, on June 8, Dr. Markus Schäfer secured an early contract extension to remain President and CEO of ZDF Studios until 2030. Schäfer has held this position at the commercial subsidiary of ZDF since July 1, 2022.
ZDF offers 5 products in the media and telecoms services industry. ZDF's product portfolio comprises of broadcast television and radio and media and TV services.
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ZDF's revenues were over $1B in 2025. Caretta Research has split ZDF's revenue into 2 different product categories, the largest of which is sports sublicensing. For full access to ZDF's revenue breakdown subscribe to Caretta Portal.
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ZDF currently holds 61 broadcasting rights for sports competitions including winter sports, athletics, ice hockey, triathlon, field hockey, ice skating, multi-sport, cycling, volleyball, biathlon, aquatics and swimming, handball, marathon, soccer | association football and rowing.
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