Expensive TV experts

This is how much ARD and ZDF pay Schweinsteiger and co.

ARD presenter Esther Sedlaczek in conversation with expert Bastian Schweinsteiger.(Bild: instagram, krone.at-grafik)

Have you ever wondered how much the soccer pundits on TV actually get paid? Following an inquiry by the Evangelischer Pressedienst, figures are now available for the first time in Germany. 

Both ARD and ZDF have now announced how much the broadcasters spend on their sports experts and presenters in total. This refers to the expenses for Bastian Schweisteiger, Thomas Hitzlsperger, Esther Sedlaczek, Lea Wagner (all ARD), Christoph Kramer, Per Mertesacker, Alexander Bommes, Jochen Breyer (all ZDF) and Co.

117,000 euros on average
ARD paid a total of 1.99 million euros for 17 experts in the 2022/2023 season. An additional 1.91 million euros was paid to 13 sports presenters. This means that, on average, each pundit received 117,000 euros, with the presenters receiving an average of 147,000 euros. The broadcasters continue to keep the individual fees secret, citing confidentiality.

At ZDF, however, the fees were stated for the entire calendar year 2023. Accordingly, the total costs for 20 sports experts amounted to one million euros. For 16 sports presenters, on the other hand, 1.03 million euros were due. This means that each expert received an average of 50,000 euros and the presenters 65,000 euros. 

The huge difference between ARD's payments and those of ZDF is due to the time period of the calculation, which means that ZDF did not include the 2022 World Cup in its calculations, while ARD did.