BIG Media, a leading factual production company and channel provider, has renewed its output deal with Germany’s ZDF Studios for 2025. The announcement was made by BIG Media co-Founders Jon Loew, Danny Wilk, and Martin Kaše, along with ZDF Studios’ Director of Unscripted, Nikolas Huelbusch.
The 2025 output deal will include multiple series, with a guaranteed minimum of 18 hours. Once again, ZDF Studios will have early-stage creative consultation on development projects greenlit under the agreement over the course of the next year. ZDF Studios will also maintain exclusive rights to choose original series for German-speaking territories and to distribute selected programmes internationally.
The two companies originally partnered in December of 2023, during which time, the historical investigation series Scanning History was greenlit. ZDF’s documentary channel ZDFinfo was also involved as an editorial partner. The series is set to deliver Q2 2025, and has since been sold in France, Spain, the Czech Republic, Australia, and New Zealand.
BIG Media’s Martin Kaše praised the successful relationship : "Our output deal with ZDF Studios is a case study in how we like to work with our partners. It is a mutually beneficial and rewarding relationship that provides them with exclusive content within their market, and us with resources for making highly rated content that sells around the world,” noted
Finally, ZDF Studios’ Nikolas Huelbusch provided details about the deal: ““We have had a long relationship with BIG Media and its affiliate KM Plus as a buyer of their content, but it’s only been in the last year that we explored the idea of an output deal. This new level of cooperation provides us with high-quality exclusive content that gives us an advantage as a leading distributor in a highly competitive market. We are very happy with the arrangement and are delighted to renew the agreement," commented.