ZDF content is heading to Joyn in German streaming pact

ZDF programming will appear on ProSiebenSat.1’s Joyn streaming service from the fourth quarter of 2026, as two familiar German media rivals team up against a tougher digital market.

The companies said the agreement will bring ZDF’s on-demand shows into Joyn, giving users access to public broadcaster content at no charge and without advertising.

The package will include ZDF news, documentaries, cultural programming, factual titles and entertainment, according to the companies. ZDF’s own streaming service will continue to be the main online home for its public broadcasting output.

German media rivals link arms

The pact puts one of Germany’s major public broadcasters inside Joyn, the streaming platform run by ProSiebenSat.1. The companies described the move as a response to an increasingly international streaming market and said the partnership is designed to improve access to journalism and cultural programming made in Germany.

Florian Kumb, ZDF’s director audience, said the broadcaster wants its content to reach the widest possible public.

“Our mission is to reach as many people as possible with our high-quality content,” Kumb said. “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, ProSiebenSat.1’s chief distribution and partnerships officer, said the deal shows how public and commercial media groups can work together as digital competition grows.

“This partnership demonstrates how public and private media can work together to find innovative responses to digital competition,” Agudo Berbel said. “In doing so, we’re sending a strong, forward-looking signal for the dual system and the media industry as a whole.”

Europe’s broadcasters are pairing up

The Joyn deal fits a wider pattern across European television, where domestic broadcasters are looking for ways to keep audiences close while global streaming and tech companies compete for viewing time.

Deadline reported that Channel 4 has been in talks with the BBC in the UK, another example of established European broadcasters considering partnerships rather than going it alone.

Global streaming companies have also been cutting deals with European broadcasters. Deadline reported that France’s TF1 recently brought its streaming service and channel lineup to Netflix, while France Télévisions has launched channels on Prime Video.

Disney+ has also struck content-sharing agreements over the past year with ITV, RTVE, M6 and ZDF, according to Deadline.

For Joyn, the agreement adds a broad range of public-service programming to its free offering. For ZDF, it puts its journalism and entertainment in front of viewers who may already be using a commercial streaming platform rather than starting from the broadcaster’s own app.

This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.