Digital Transformation at ZDF: Reinventing Public Television
Published on 03 May 2024
![Digital Transformation at ZDF: Reinventing Public Television](https://www.jakala.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Case%20study%20images/ZDF/zdf-head-2.jpg?width=972&height=1286&name=zdf-head-2.jpg)
![ZDF_logo.svg ZDF_logo.svg](https://www.jakala.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Case%20study%20images/ZDF/ZDF_logo.svg.png?width=300&height=179&name=ZDF_logo.svg.png)
ZDF needs to adapt its digital offerings to meet the new generation's expectations in a rapidly changing media landscape. As a long-time digitalisation partner, we support the public broadcaster by future-proofing its core products, such as ZDFmediathek, ZDFheute, and 3sat Mediathek.
Taking over operations and development, introducing a new architectural concept, and implementing agile processes have significantly increased the speed and development quality. This strengthens ZDF's position as a digital beacon and enables a holistic, personalised user experience across all platforms.
Context & Challenges
Digitalisation presents enormous challenges for traditional TV broadcasters. Global players like Netflix and Amazon are fundamentally changing viewers' habits and expectations. Younger audiences, in particular, are increasingly turning to digital platforms, expecting a personalised, interactive experience on demand.
As a public-service institution, ZDF aims to reach a broad audience with thematically diverse content while presenting an objective view of reality. As such, the broadcaster needs to adapt its offerings to new market conditions to remain relevant in the digital world, including accelerated content delivery and a contemporary technological foundation.
The historically grown IT landscape and established processes increasingly posed a challenge. Long release cycles, lack of flexibility, and a complex system architecture hindered the rapid development of digital products. At the same time, requirements for stability and performance increased to ensure an optimal user experience on various platforms and devices.
ZDF sought a strategic partner for a comprehensive technological realignment to strengthen its position as a digital pioneer. A solution that balances development speed, scalability, and innovation without disrupting ongoing services was needed.
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Our approach and solution
We have been accompanying ZDF as a digitalisation partner since 2013, supporting the continuous development of core offerings like ZDFmediathek. In 2021, we won a five-year framework contract for the entire digital universe of ZDF as part of a European-wide tender. Since then, we have been responsible for the operation and development of ZDFheute, ZDFmediathek, ZDFtivi, logo! and 3sat, as well as the underlying technical infrastructure.
We pursue a holistic approach with multiple strategies to equip ZDF for the digital future. As part of the takeover and optimisation, we have taken responsibility for all existing systems, operating them continuously with 24/7 support. Concurrently, we are driving the continuous optimisation of architecture, code, and processes. We are also redesigning and further developing native apps, such as ZDFmediathek and ZDFheute, which we previously managed.
At the core of the technological realignment lies a modern architectural concept based on cloud-native microservices and a central GraphQL federation. In doing so, we resolve technical weaknesses and future-proof the systems, focusing on scalability, flexibility, and performance.
Automated testing with tools such as Selenium and Appium, along with solutions like Trakr, simultaneously ensures high quality at a faster pace.
Our digital department oversees the concept, design, and development of all platforms, thereby reducing friction losses. By closely interlinking everything with product strategy, we continuously provide impulses for innovation.
A partner network with ideal complementary competencies supports us to succeed in delivery. Axinom, an expert in video streaming backends, manages seamless API orchestration, while Condat contributes valuable expertise as a specialist in the CMS Sophora and Java-based architectures. HBT GmbH offers its expertise in Java and the Google Cloud Platform.
![zdf-mood-02 zdf-mood-02](https://www.jakala.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Case%20study%20images/ZDF/zdf-mood-02.jpg?width=2000&height=1110&name=zdf-mood-02.jpg)
Technologies
Mobile applications, user interfaces for various devices, Content Management Systems (CMS), middleware, modern video streaming backends, service-oriented streaming architectures, Java-based service architectures, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Apigee for API management, Progressive Web App (PWA), GraphQL Federation, and test automation tools (Selenium, Appium, Trakr).
![zdf-mood-03 zdf-mood-03](https://www.jakala.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Case%20study%20images/ZDF/zdf-mood-03.jpg?width=2000&height=1110&name=zdf-mood-03.jpg)
Results
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01
Preparation for the introduction of a new CMS and performance optimisation using new middleware:
Implementing the new Content Management System (CMS) required careful planning and preparation to ensure smooth integration and migration of existing content. Doing so enables more efficient content management and delivery across various ZDF platforms. Additionally, developing and introducing a specially tailored middleware resulted in significant performance improvements. It replaced multi-layered architecture and optimised content delivery by being the connecting layer between the new CMS and end-user platforms. The outcome: a seamless user experience.
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02
Complete refactoring of GCP resources
Comprehensive refactoring of Google Cloud Platform (GCP) resources enables more efficient use of cloud services. The optimization of CI pipelines and the introduction of Argo CD as a declarative GitOps CD tool for Kubernetes improved the security and reliability of ZDF services. Using the latest cloud technologies ensures robust infrastructure protection against potential threats and increases fail-safety.
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03
Redesign of web presences and native apps
All web presences are redeveloped as Progressive Web Apps.
Insights