ZDF

Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (German pronunciation: [ˌtsvaɪ̯təs ˌdɔʏ̯tʃəs ˈfɛɐ̯nzeːən]; English: Second German Television), usually shortened to ZDF ([ˈtsɛtˈdeːɛf], stylized as 2DF), is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all federal states of Germany (Bundesländer). ZDF is financed by television licence fees and advertising revenues.

The broadcaster is well known for its famous programmes heute, a newscast established in 1963, and Wetten, dass..? an entertainment show that premiered in 1981, and ended in 2014. Thomas Bellut, ZDF's director general, was elected by the ZDF Television Council in 2011