Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen

ZDF (German: [ˌtsɛt.deːˈʔɛf] ), short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (German: [ˈtsvaɪtəs ˈdɔʏtʃəs ˈfɛʁnzeːn] ; lit. 'Second German Television'), is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and 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, with a suspension from 2014 to 2021. Norbert Himmler, ZDF's director general, was elected by the ZDF Television Council in 2021.