Austrian public broadcaster ORF would be open to taking German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF on-board its video-on-demand (VOD) portal Flimmit which ORF wants to establish as a counterweight against US platform Netflix which is currently preparing its launch in German-speaking Europe.
ORF's director general Alexander Wrabetz told German industry magazine promedia he could well image distributing programmes from ARD and ZDF on the platform.
With its stock acquisition in Flimmit, ORF wants to react to the trend towards non-linear online video consumption and secure a strategic position in this new, growing market, explained Wrabetz. “Linear television will not lose importance in the foreseeable future and ORF has a very strong market position. But you can’t neglect the future developments.”