The salaries of the ZDF stars are strictly confidential. Research by Welt am Sonntag now shows the scope of the moderators’ fees. You can find out here who receives millions in money from ZDF and is one of the top earners in the industry.
Fee list revealed: This is how much the top stars earn at ZDF
We all thought that the ZDF stars were very well paid for their work. But very few people expected that some people’s annual salaries would be so high. Because a list of ZDF’s previously confidential fee agreements, which is available to Welt am Sonntag, reveals the millions in salaries of Markus Lanz, Horst Lichter and Co. According to the list, the salaries of the ZDF stars are as follows (as of March 2023):
- Markus Lanz: 1.9 million euros this year. Next year around 2 million euros
- Horst Lichter: Around 1.7 million euros per year until 2025
- Oliver Welke: 1.18 million euros annually (until last year)
- Johannes Kerner: 630,000 euros
- Maybrit Illner: 480,000 euros
- Andrea Kiewel: 400,000 Euros
- Mai Thi Leiendecker: 349,000 euros
- Giovanni Zarella: 300,000 Euros
- Christian Sievers: 350.000 Euro
- Rudi Cerne: 382,000 Euros
- Marietta Slomka: 393,750 Euro
“Welt am Sonntag” reports that ZDF refused to comment on the individual contracts. The broadcaster stated that it could not provide any information about “freelance employees” for data protection reasons.
Citizens should know what the broadcasting fee is used for
Public broadcasting is repeatedly criticized for being more digital and efficient. The monthly broadcasting fee in German households currently amounts to 18.36 euros – still. The KEF Finance Commission recommends increasing the contribution to 18.94 euros per month.
Although the federal states must strictly adhere to the Finance Commission’s recommendation, some ministers are against increasing the broadcasting fee. There is a possibility that the case will ultimately end up before the Federal Constitutional Court.
With regard to the high salaries, Christiane Schenderlein, the Saxon CDU member of the Bundestag and spokeswoman for the Union parliamentary group for culture and media, argued in an interview with Welt am Sonntag that the details of contracts over 250,000 euros should be made public. She emphasizes: “Contributors must know what their fees are used for.”
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