With millions of viewers daily, ARD and ZDF are two of the biggest television broadcasters in Germany – and the public service channels share a somewhat symbiotic relationship when it comes to the news.
ZDF’s nightly prime-time news offering Heute Journal airs at 7pm while Tagesschau on ARD airs one hour later at 8pm, in order to avoid splitting their audience. Of the two, ARD has been more successful in gaining viewers in recent years, with some two million more viewers than ZDF.
But between them, their news anchors’ salaries have skyrocketed as viewership has increased.
For instance, leading anchor for ZDF Claus Kleber earns €480,000 a year, while his co-anchor Marietta Slomka, is said to make €280,000 annually.
ARD’s lead presenter Jan Hofer has not yet published his earnings, as there is nothing forcing him to do so. But that’s not so surprising in a country where it is considered quite rude to talk or even boast about one’s earnings, except with family or very close friends.
