Savings plans for public broadcasters: WDR wants to halve

epd | Westdeutscher Rundfunk wants to discontinue 76 program offerings by the end of 2027. These are offers “that do not reach their target group well enough or that are not part of WDR’s strategic priorities,” the broadcaster announced in Cologne on Friday. In addition to social media channels, newsletters and websites, six linear radio offerings such as “Satire am Sonntag” on WDR4 and “Ex & Pop” on WDR3 are also affected. In addition to “Frau TV”, “People hautnah”, “WDR Story” and four other formats are to be broadcast on linear television.

Director Katrin Vernau had already announced in April that WDR wanted to reduce its program portfolio from 600 to 300 offers by 2030. According to the broadcaster, 80 to 100 new formats will be created in the same period, so around 400 program offerings will have to be removed from the inventory. The reduction of the 76 offers is the first step towards a comprehensive program restructuring. Program offerings are not individual programs or contributions, but rather program series and formats as well as web presences of editorial teams in social networks or online platforms.

Vernau said: "Media usage is changing rapidly, our financing is uncertain, our costs are rising. At the same time, we need more funds for digital offerings - while a good three quarters of our resources are currently tied up in the classic linear program. That's why we have to act now and pick up the pace."

From 2027, WDR does not want to fill one in three positions after retirement. A total of 133 jobs are expected to be eliminated by 2030. In the two program directorates, 150 employees will retire, meaning that 50 jobs will be cut there in the coming years. Cuts in fees for freelancers are also planned. Around 4,000 permanent employees and 2,500 freelance workers work at WDR.

The service union Verdi criticized the planned cuts. It is incomprehensible that WDR has not yet dealt openly with the plans in the broadcasting council, said Christoph Schmitz-Dethlefsen, who is responsible for media on the Verdi federal board. The reduction means a loss of program diversity. The states would save the channels with their broadcasting policy.

In its television program, WDR wants to use its own resources to concentrate on a “core broadcast time” from 5 p.m. to 10:15 p.m. That's why the magazine "Here and Today" on WDR television will be shortened by one hour and will only start at 5 p.m.

The broadcaster announced that the linear broadcast slots for “People Up Close” and “WDR Story” will no longer exist in this form. The “Heimatflimmern” series will remain as a linear offer, but the accompanying Facebook channel will be discontinued. “Experience Earth” will be moved completely to digital, but the Instagram channel will be closed.

In the future, documentaries will primarily be produced for the media library, but can then be repeated on WDR television. WDR also wants to continue fulfilling its share of around 21 percent for documentary formats on Erste. When it comes to documentaries and entertainment programs, WDR wants to work more with external production companies and service providers in the future. Overall, there should be more program exchange with other ARD broadcasters.

In the first step, according to WDR, web presences in particular will fall victim to the cuts, including digital offerings such as “Studio M”, “Lisas Paarschnitt” and “Doc Esser”. The Instagram channels of “WDR Jeck” and the “Football Podcast with Sven Pistor” would also be terminated. All WDR editorial teams withdrew from Platform X, including “Hart aber fair”, “Maischberger” and “Quarks”.

At the same time, new offers will be created, said WDR. The series “Germany, I kiss your heart – with Tahsim Durgun” and the talk format “Outdoor Politics” with Louis Klamroth have already started. Further formats are being planned. The broadcaster wants to provide information about further measures at the beginning of 2027.