ARD
Source Passport
DE-M-00018-5
Issued and maintained by MJRC
- Legal name
- Arbeitsgemeinschaft der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (ARD)
- Country
- Germany
- Type
- Multi-platform group
- Founded
- 1950
- Editor-in-chief
- Florian Hager (ARD-Vorsitzender / ARD chair, Intendant of Hessischer Rundfunk; chair since 1 January 2025)
- Claim
- Not claimed by the organisation
- Last verified
- Not yet
0 of 6 layers verified
Transparency
Partial
4 of 6 key disclosures on record, 0 of them checked by our researchers.
- Legal name and registration number not disclosed
- Owners with influence on record, not yet checked
- Beneficial owners (the people behind the companies) not applicable
- State or public-body ownership stated on record, not yet checked
- State advertising or revenue mix on record, not yet checked
- Public contact address not disclosed
- Official websites and accounts on record, not yet checked
- State-owned
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Who is it?
Origin
Not yet verified
EMFA Art. 6(1)(a)
- Brand names Pending check
- ARD
- ARD Mediathek
- funk (joint offer with ZDF)
- Company registration number
- Not disclosed
- Registered address
- Not disclosed
- Public contact email
- Not disclosed
4 sources
- bpb, '75 Jahre öffentlich-rechtlicher Rundfunk - von der Gründung der ARD bis heute', 10.06.2025, read 2026-10-20 (ARD founded 9 June 1950 by the Landesrundfunkanstalten; ZDF founded by the Länder in 1961; MDR began 1 January 1992; ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio mainly financed by the Rundfunkbeitrag; DW tax-financed)
- ARD-Staatsvertrag, Fassung der Bekanntmachung vom 9. Januar 2001, last amended by Art. 2 of the Staatsvertrag of 26 March 2025, version valid from 1 December 2025, REVOSax Sachsen, read 2026-10-20 (§ 1: the Landesrundfunkanstalten joined in the 'Arbeitsgemeinschaft der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (ARD)' jointly provide television programmes and telemedia as a federal media network; § 6 rotating ARD chair)
- hessenschau.de (Hessischer Rundfunk), 'Hager folgt auf Gniffke: Hessischer Rundfunk übernimmt ARD-Vorsitz', 01.01.2025, read 2026-10-20 (Florian Hager, Intendant of hr, ARD chair from 1 January 2025, succeeding Kai Gniffke (SWR), who becomes deputy; ARD = nine broadcasters BR, hr, mdr, WDR, NDR, rbb, SR, SWR, Radio Bremen plus Deutsche Welle)
- ZDF Impressum (zdf.de), read 2026-10-20 (provider list incl. the nine ARD Landesrundfunkanstalten in the ARD-ZDF streaming network: legal name 'Anstalt des öffentlichen Rechts', address, legal representative, email, USt-IdNr; ZDF's own details, social accounts and brands)
Who stands behind it?
Control
Not yet verified
EMFA Art. 6(1)(b) and (c)
- Owners with influence Pending check
Owner Holding Owner type Bayerischer Rundfunk (member broadcaster) Direct Other Hessischer Rundfunk (member broadcaster) Direct Other Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (member broadcaster) Direct Other Norddeutscher Rundfunk (member broadcaster) Direct Other Radio Bremen (member broadcaster) Direct Other Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (member broadcaster) Direct Other Saarländischer Rundfunk (member broadcaster) Direct Other Südwestrundfunk (member broadcaster) Direct Other Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln (member broadcaster) Direct Other Deutsche Welle (member broadcaster) Direct Other - Beneficial owners
- Not disclosed
- State or public-body ownership Pending check
- Fully state-owned
- Parent group Pending check
- none (Arbeitsgemeinschaft of the nine public-law Landesrundfunkanstalten and Deutsche Welle; joint programmes and telemedia governed by the ARD-Staatsvertrag)
3 sources
- hessenschau.de (Hessischer Rundfunk), 'Hager folgt auf Gniffke: Hessischer Rundfunk übernimmt ARD-Vorsitz', 01.01.2025, read 2026-10-20 (Florian Hager, Intendant of hr, ARD chair from 1 January 2025, succeeding Kai Gniffke (SWR), who becomes deputy; ARD = nine broadcasters BR, hr, mdr, WDR, NDR, rbb, SR, SWR, Radio Bremen plus Deutsche Welle)
- Landtag von Baden-Württemberg, Drucksache 18/163 of 19.6.2026 (ARD: 'Information der Landesparlamente über die wirtschaftliche und finanzielle Lage der Landesrundfunkanstalten der ARD', June 2026), read 2026-10-20 (heads, seats and web addresses of the nine Landesrundfunkanstalten)
- ARD-Staatsvertrag, Fassung der Bekanntmachung vom 9. Januar 2001, last amended by Art. 2 of the Staatsvertrag of 26 March 2025, version valid from 1 December 2025, REVOSax Sachsen, read 2026-10-20 (§ 1: the Landesrundfunkanstalten joined in the 'Arbeitsgemeinschaft der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (ARD)' jointly provide television programmes and telemedia as a federal media network; § 6 rotating ARD chair)
Who pays?
Money
Not yet verified
EMFA Art. 6(1)(d), plus revenue mix
- State advertising and third-country public revenue
- Not disclosed
- Revenue mix Pending check
Source Share of revenue Public funding Over 50% - Named funders Pending check
Funder Type Note Rundfunkbeitrag (statutory household broadcasting contribution, collected by the ARD ZDF Deutschlandradio Beitragsservice) Other 2025 Gesamterträge EUR 6,073,591,386.21 excluding and EUR 6,238,102,212.13 including the Landesmedienanstalten shares passed on (Beitragsservice Jahresbericht 2025, p. 10) (ARD gesamt, sum of the nine Landesrundfunkanstalten)
3 sources
- ARD ZDF Deutschlandradio Beitragsservice, Jahresbericht 2025, p. 10 table 'Gesamterträge 2025', read 2026-10-20 (Rundfunkbeitrag income 2025 per broadcaster, with and without Landesmedienanstalten shares; fee EUR 18.36 per month)
- KEF, 25. KEF-Bericht (handed over 20 February 2026), Tab. 1 p. 15 'Festgestellter Finanzbedarf von ARD, ZDF und Deutschlandradio 2025 bis 2028', read 2026-10-20 (angemeldete Erträge 2025-2028 and Erträge aus Rundfunkbeiträgen: ARD 28,423.7 / 25,137.6, ZDF 10,636.0 / 9,179.5, Deutschlandradio 1,087.7 / 1,013.5 Mio. EUR)
- bpb, '75 Jahre öffentlich-rechtlicher Rundfunk - von der Gründung der ARD bis heute', 10.06.2025, read 2026-10-20 (ARD founded 9 June 1950 by the Landesrundfunkanstalten; ZDF founded by the Länder in 1961; MDR began 1 January 1992; ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio mainly financed by the Rundfunkbeitrag; DW tax-financed)
Where does it appear?
Channels
Not yet verified
- Official websites Pending check
- Official social accounts
- Not disclosed
How does it travel?
Distribution
Nothing disclosed
- Distribution partners
- Not disclosed
Who is connected?
Networks
Not yet verified
- Sister outlets in the same group Pending check
- Deutschlandradio (Körperschaft des öffentlichen Rechts whose members are the ARD Landesrundfunkanstalten and ZDF)
- Documented public-office or party roles
- Not disclosed
Change history
| Version | Date | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 November 2026 | First published |
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