Next Thursday, ZDF viewers can expect a surprise. The TV station is remodeling its morning program and is dropping the audience favorites “Full pot – daily service” and “Notruf Hafen Kante”. The reason for the remodeling is a death.

He was not allowed to experience the New Year: Pope Benedict XVI died on December 31, 2022. Believers around the world mourn the deceased pontiff, who was head of the Roman Catholic Church until his voluntary resignation between 2005 and 2013 was. The emeritus pope, born Joseph Alosius Ratzinger, will be buried in Rome on Thursday. ZDF accompanies the funeral service and therefore throws the program in the morning overboard.

For the Pope’s funeral: ZDF rebuilds the morning program

ZDF viewers must January 5th give up their usual program. Specifically, two programs will be removed from the morning program: “Full pot – daily service” and “Notruf Hafen Kante”. The special report on the Funeral of Pope Benedict XVI begins at 09:05.

Andreas Klinner, who reports live from St. Peter’s Square in Rome, will lead the show. Klinner knows his stuff: The journalist was a correspondent in Rome for several years and was responsible for reporting on the Vatican. He is supported by Jürgen Erbacher, himself a theologian and journalist and ZDF correspondent for church issues.

ZDF will accompany the Pope’s funeral for around two hours. The normal program continues from 11:15 a.m.

With streaming you are your own program manager:

ARD boss does not want a merger with ZDF

The first, however, does not change the program for the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI. In times when public service broadcasting is increasingly being criticized, a double transmission would probably not go down well with the fee payers. The new ARD boss does not want to know anything about a merger of the two broadcasters.