Moderator Linda Zervakis and moderator Matthias Opdenhövel Photo: dpa/bildfunk
From BZ/dpa
ProSieben draws attention to its rather low-ratings journal program “Zervakis & Opdenhövel. Live.” the plug.
The last edition will be shown on December 20th after 77 broadcasts, as the private broadcaster announced on Friday. Things won’t continue in 2024.
The new ProSieben boss Hannes Hiller said: “This is a very painful decision not to continue with ZOL 2024. I would like to thank the ZOL editorial team and our moderators Linda Zervakis and Matthias Opdenhövel for always working on ZOL with the utmost commitment and passion.”
After ex-“Tagesschau” spokeswoman Zervakis (48) moved from ARD to ProSieben, she and Opdenhövel (53) have been presenting the format, which is a mix of information and entertainment, on Monday evenings at prime time at 8:15 p.m. since September 2021. The program was part of the efforts of the ProSiebenSat.1 broadcasting group to present more journalistic content in the program.
It became clear relatively quickly that the TV ratings would not skyrocket. After only around two months, they changed course and shifted the weekly broadcast slot to later on Wednesday evenings after the comedy show “TV total”.
In the press release, ProSieben did not give any specific reason why the format was being discontinued. Channel boss Hiller said about the future: “ProSieben will not reduce its journalistic commitment. In the future, we will try to broadcast more reports in prime time under the label “ProSieben THEMA.”
At the same time, we want to and will continue to work closely and trustingly with Zervakis and Opdenhövel.