ZDF Studios founds creative company for factual entertainment, Content Laden

ZDF Studios, together with Tom Gamlich and Jan Fritzowsky, is founding Content Laden GmbH in Munich as of May 1. The company will focus on the development and production of innovative and high-quality factual entertainment formats. Tom Gamlich will act as Managing Director, Jan Fritzowsky will take on the role of Creative Director. The two creative heads of Content Laden GmbH will also become co-partners.

"The foundation of Content Laden GmbH is an investment in creativity and innovation. We want to create outstanding formats and in doing so, achieve long-term, sustainable growth. That is why we are delighted to have gained such an experienced and creative team in Tom and Jan, who represent innovative programme development and the highest production quality in the market,"  explained Markus Schäfer, President and CEO of ZDF Studios.

Karoline Meichsner-Sertl, Co-Managing Director at ZDF Studios, added: “The ZDF Studios Group’s production portfolio already includes some very successful companies in the genres of fiction, show and documentaries. Now we want to specifically strengthen the genre of factual entertainment through the newly founded company. In the future, we also expect this to have positive effects on our international format distribution.”

Tom Gamlich and Jan Fritzowsky were most recently responsible for numerous successful factual entertainment formats for private and public broadcasters as well as streamers as a long-standing management team at south&browse. "I am looking forward to this new combination of start-up and partnership with ZDF Studios. The close connection to ZDF is particularly exciting because programme content, values and personal connections are an exact fit,"  Tom Gamlich explained. "No matter if it is TV or a media library such as ZDF's Mediathek – there always has to be the idea that makes it special,"  Jan Fritzowsky added.

According to ZDF, broadcasters, streaming platforms and other platforms will be able to load content in Content Laden, which is the new company’s straightforward formula. This means attractive formats for both linear offers and non-linear services. By positioning itself in this way, Content Laden GmbH strives to also become a new and exciting address for creatives and talent – both in front of and behind the camera.