ARD and ZDF, Germany’s public broadcasters, have initiated legal proceedings against ProSiebenSat.1. The dispute revolves around the unauthorized embedding of their media libraries within ProSiebenSat.1’s streaming service, Joyn. According to Cable!vision Europe, Joyn is embedding the libraries without the necessary approvals from ARD and ZDF. Access to ARD’s content is available via www.joyn.de/ard, while ZDF content is accessible at www.joyn.de/zdf.
This action follows agreements signed between ProSiebenSat.1 and the commercial subsidiaries of ARD and ZDF on January 30, 2025, to bolster Joyn’s content. Crucially, the public broadcasters' media libraries weren't mentioned in those announcements. A ProSiebenSat.1 spokesperson stated that the company launched a “preliminary beta test” on Joyn to assess “how we can best embed the ARD and ZDF media library content. We are in an intensive exchange with the public broadcasters on this.” However, they didn’t address whether approval was obtained.
The core issue for ARD and ZDF centers on the embedding method. An ARD spokesperson told DWDL: “There were talks about a collaboration around the ARD media library in which we explicitly excluded the model now implemented by Joyn. In our view, the form of integration (embedding) implemented by Joyn is legally inadmissible and not in line with the public service mandate. We have taken legal action.” ARD emphasizes its mandate to deliver an “editorially curated overall offering,” contrasting it with Joyn’s selection and curation of individual content, creating a separate “ARD media library” within its platform. Essential functions – accessibility, personalization, logins, children’s profiles, and recommendation logic – are absent. The spokesperson added, “In addition, embedding has consequences under copyright and media law because it affects the rights of producers, authors or sports rights providers, for example.”
ZDF echoes this sentiment. A ZDF spokesperson confirmed to DWDL: “ZDF has not agreed to the integration of the media library into the Joyn platform in this form. We are taking legal action against the unauthorised takeover of our content.” ZDF highlights its repeated offers to Joyn in recent months for “linking of the entire media library in line with market practice and under legally compliant conditions.”
Both ARD and ZDF remain open to talks with ProSiebenSat.1 to make their libraries available. Their libraries already feature on various third-party platforms in Germany, but unlike Joyn, they exist as independent apps, not under a streaming service’s branding or player.