German broadcasters threaten to leave cable networks

German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF are removing themselves from three of the country’s largest cable network in a row over carriage fees.

The broadcasters are unhappy at the €60 million fee they currently pay operators to carry their channels, and will stop deals with Kabel Deutschland, Kabel BW and Unitymedia when current agreements run out at the end of the year. ZDF director Thomas Bellut said that current business models were “historically outdated”, adding that “it is no longer justifiable to pay fees to companies that make good money from marketing our channels”.