SWR director Kai Gniffke is open to far-reaching cooperation between the ARD broadcasters for the third television programmes. He could also well imagine a joint cover program with “the highest possible regional shares”, said Gniffke in an interview with the newspapers of the VRM Group published online on Saturday. This idea should be intensively discussed within the ARD.
Gniffke rejected the idea of abolishing ZDF or the “First”. “I don’t want to imagine that one day we’ll only have ‘Tagesschau’ or ‘Today,'” he said. “Just as I would not like to imagine that we would only have one strong national newspaper in Germany.” The competition from ARD and ZDF has a positive effect on the entire range.
The SWR director also rejected demands that the public broadcasters should forgo expensive entertainment programs. Entertainment is part of the program mission. This area should not be left to private broadcasters alone: ”I see big differences between ‘Understand fun’ and ‘Jungle camp’.”
Gniffke also promised that he would also defend folk music programs “tooth and nail” because they were in demand by older people who had rebuilt Germany after the Second World War. Personal taste doesn’t matter.