Done deal: Florian Streit (Director Drama ZDF Studios) and Tim Werner (CEO Mainstream Media)
For the new channels, which target fans of classic drama series and telenovelas, Mainstream Media acquired the rights from ZDF Studios, the commercial subsidiary of public broadcaster ZDF, to distribute the two brands Kultkrimi und Telenovela ZDF as linear, ad-supported free streaming channels.
Tim Werner, CEO of Mainstream Media, announced the new channels at the company’s housewarming party on 28 January 2025 at its new headquarter within the Bavaria TV and cinema production premises in Grünwald near Munich.
The channels are scheduled to launch in April on various streaming platforms, according to Werner, “The popular viewer formats Kultkrimi and Telenovela ZDF complement our high-quality streaming offering with appropriate and compelling content,” he said.
Kultkrimi will show ZDF crime classics such as Derrick, Der Kommissar, Ein Fall für zwei, Percy Stuart, Faust and Der Alte – a total of around 1,500 episodes are available. Telenovela ZDF is aimed at fans of romantic series with titles such as Bianca – Wege zum Glück, Julia – Wege zum Glück, Hanna – Folge deinem Herzen and Alisa – Folge deinem Herzen. The portfolio comprises a total of 943 episodes.
The new channels complement Mainstream Media’s FAST Channel lineup, which currently includes Filmgold, GoldStar TV, Starke Frauen and World of Freesports. The latter channel, which is offered in cooperation with quattro media, is available in a German and an international version.
Mainstream Media also operates pay-TV channels Romance TV, Heimatkanal, GoldStar TV and Romance TV Polska. Additionally, Fernsehen mit Herz and GoldStar TV Plus are distributed via streaming platforms.
