ZDF Studios and Disney+ have signed a multi-year licensing agreement that will bring thousands of hours of German-produced TV series and films to Disney+.

From August 27th, this collaboration will bring Disney+ customers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland (DACH) a curated collection of content branded ‘ZDF Films and Series’, included in their subscription. By the end of the year, this collection will grow to over 3,000 episodes and films.

With this new collection, Disney+ expands its existing range of local content with selected ZDF programmes – licensed by ZDF Studios. The introduction of more German-language formats builds on an already successful set of locally produced originals on Disney+, such as The Interpreter of Silence (pictured), Sam – A Saxon and the upcoming series Call my Agent Berlin.

Karl Holmes, General Manager, Disney+, EMEA commented: “This deal marks an exciting new milestone built on our collaboration with leading European broadcasters. Disney+ has something for everyone, from global hits such as FX’s The Bear and blockbuster movies including Disney’s Lilo & Stitch to iconic franchises like Pixar and Star Wars. We’ve long admired the distinctive storytelling of ZDF’s films and series, and we’re delighted to bring even more local content to Disney+ customers in Germany, Switzerland and Austria, offering an even richer variety of stories to enjoy.”

The new package includes classic series and family formats such as the popular crime series SOKO with 149 episodes, A Crime in Munich (München Mord), Murder Up North (Nord Nord Mord), Marie Brand und … and Wilsberg as well as other established content for a wide audience. The content will be discoverable on Disney+ via the search function and is embedded in a recognizable ZDF branding.

In the future, some new seasons of select ZDF series will also be part of the collection only months after the linear TV broadcast – in addition to ZDF’s streaming platform. The programme selection will be updated regularly with titles such as The Old Fox (Der Alte), The Criminalist (Der Kriminalist), What a Team! (Ein starkes Team) and The Crimson Rivers (Die purpurnen Flüsse). For Disney+ customers, this means they will have direct access to a library of high quality ZDF content.

ZDF Studios and Disney+ have been working together since 2021 licensing popular series such as Mountain Medic (Der Bergdoktor) and Alpine Rescue (Die Bergretter). The new agreement brings  more local productions to Disney+ customers.

The deal follows a similar agreement recently made by Disney+ with ITV in the UK.

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Tags: Disney, Lilo & Stitch, the bear, ZDF