DOKfilm

What DOKfilm does

DOKfilm GmbH is a German documentary and factual entertainment television production company headquartered at Studio Babelsberg in Potsdam, Germany. The company produces commissioned content across multiple genres including biographical portraits, crime documentaries, historical programming, wildlife/nature films, music documentaries, and episodic series for German public television. Its most prominent ongoing engagement is the production of episodes for the long-running ARD/rbb crime series Polizeiruf 110, a position the company has held since 2003. DOKfilm's portfolio exceeds 50 productions, with recent credits including "Marvin Gaye – Visionär des Soul," "Wolfgang Stumph – Der Rastlose," "Being Katarina Witt," "Das Säure-Attentat," "Lucrezia Borgia – Die Tochter des Papstes," and "24h Alexanderplatz."

The company operates as a traditional B2B production services business with no proprietary technology platforms, software products, or digital distribution infrastructure of its own. Productions are fully commissioned and funded upfront by broadcaster clients, with DOKfilm delivering finished broadcast content that is then scheduled and distributed through the broadcasters' linear channels and digital platforms (ARD Mediathek, ARTE Mediathek, ZDF Mediathek). The company's technology footprint is limited to operational tooling for production management, with website hosting outsourced to Host Europe GmbH and no public-facing APIs, apps, or integrated software products.

DOKfilm's go-to-market is relationship-driven sales to a narrow set of German public broadcasters. The company secures commissions through direct pitches and long-standing relationships with commissioning editors at ARD, ZDF, ARTE, MDR, NDR, rbb, and KiKA. Revenue is generated through per-project production fees, with no consumer-facing pricing, subscription, licensing, or advertising revenue. The company employs 13+ named staff including two managing directors (Frank Schmuck and Christoph Bicker), with Andreas Kaczynski serving as Chairman of the Supervisory Board. The workforce is supplemented by freelance producers, editors, and technical contractors engaged on a per-production basis.

Name

DOKfilm

Legal name

DOKFILM GMBH

Website

https://dokfilm.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

DOKfilm GmbH is a Potsdam-based German documentary and television production company producing commissioned documentaries, crime series, wildlife films, and biographical portraits for German public broadcasters including ARD, ZDF, ARTE, MDR, NDR, and rbb.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Television and Documentary Production

NAICS

Motion Picture and Video Production (51211), Motion Picture and Video Industries (5121)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812), Services-Allied To Motion Picture Production (7819)

akta.pro primary industry

Historical, Biographical & Archival Documentaries (MPADADAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

True Crime Documentaries (MPADADAN), Arts & Culture Documentaries (MPADADAI)

Keywords

• Documentary production
• Television film production
• Factual series production
• Broadcast documentary making
• Public broadcaster commissions

Headquarters

HQ city

Potsdam

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Broadcast Commissioned Production: DOKfilm produces TV documentaries, crime dramas, and factual entertainment series commissioned by German public broadcasters (ARD, ZDF, ARTE, MDR, NDR, rbb). Revenue is generated through production fees, where broadcasters fund the full production cost. The company also produces Polizeiruf 110 episodes for ARD/rbb.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

DOKfilm GmbH is a German production company that produces commissioned television films and documentaries, primarily for German public broadcasters. Its output includes the long-running crime series Polizeiruf 110 (produced since 2003), the true-crime format Täter-Opfer-Polizei, and a slate of music, historical, and wildlife documentaries.

Product overview

DOKfilm is a documentary and television film production company based in Potsdam-Babelsberg, Germany. The company operates as a single unified production service rather than a platform architecture. DOKfilm produces documentaries across multiple genres including music/artist portraits (Marvin Gaye, Tina Turner, Scorpions, Puhdys), biographical films (Katarina Witt, Wolfgang Stumph, Katharina Thalbach, Andreas Dresen, Terence Hill), crime/time documentaries (Das Säure-Attentat, ARD Crime Time series), nature/wildlife productions (Wildes Berlin, Panda Gorilla & Co., Berlin ganz Wild!), historical documentaries (Die Slawen, Deutschland 9/11, Ferropolis), and regional programming (24h Alexanderplatz, Unsere Elbe, Hallo Nachbarn!). The company also produces episodic series including the crime series Polizeiruf 110 and the ongoing magazine format Täter | Opfer | Polizei. Productions are commissioned primarily by German public broadcasters including MDR, rbb, NDR, ARD, ZDF, and arte.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Polizeiruf 110 (crime series episodes)

Named customers5 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Deutsches Filmorchester BabelsbergminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDOKfilm collaborates with the Deutsche Filmorchester Babelsberg for the 'Sing dela Sing' production, where the orchestra provides musical accompaniment for audience sing-along events produced by the company.
• Klubs orchester Babelsberg (Klingsor Media GmbH)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-production partner for 'Wolfgang Stumph – Der Rastlose'. A Klingsor Media GmbH production in collaboration with DOKfilm for MDR broadcast.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Terra Mater Studios: Terra Mater is a Vienna-based nature, wildlife, and science documentary producer with strong German broadcaster relationships (including ARTE). It is a directly comparable peer in DOKfilm's nature/wildlife and historical documentary categories.
• Polyphon Film- und Fernsehgesellschaft: Polyphon is a Hamburg-based German documentary and factual production company that, like DOKfilm, produces commissioned content for German public broadcasters including ARD, NDR, and WDR. It is one of the most directly comparable mid-sized German documentary producers in terms of business model and customer base.
• Spiegel TV: Spiegel TV is a major German factual and documentary production house producing current affairs, historical, and biographical documentaries for German broadcasters, including long-running Polizeiruf-style and crime formats. It competes with DOKfilm for the same public-broadcaster documentary commissions.
• Autentic Distribution: Autentic is a German factual/documentary production and distribution company producing nature, wildlife, history, and science documentaries for public broadcasters globally. Its nature/wildlife and historical focus directly overlaps DOKfilm's Wildes Berlin and Panda Gorilla & Co.-type productions.
• Letterbox Filmproduktion: Letterbox is a Berlin/Potsdam-based German documentary production company producing historical, biographical, and cultural documentaries for German public broadcasters. Its geographic proximity to DOKfilm's Studio Babelsberg base and genre overlap makes it a closely comparable peer.
• Network Movie Film- und Fernsehproduktion: Network Movie is a Hamburg-based German TV production company producing crime series, documentaries, and factual entertainment for ZDF and other public broadcasters. It is a closely comparable mid-sized peer in the public-broadcaster crime and factual segment.
• Zeitsprung Pictures: Zeitsprung Pictures is a Cologne-based German documentary and factual production company specializing in historical, biographical, and crime documentaries for ARD, ZDF, and ARTE — directly overlapping DOKfilm's historical, biographical, and crime documentary categories.
• megaherz Film und Fernsehproduktion: megaherz is a Munich-based German TV production company producing factual entertainment, documentaries, and series for ARD, ZDF, and other German broadcasters. It competes directly with DOKfilm in the commissioned factual/documentary segment.

Broad incumbents

• UFA (UFA GmbH / UFA Fiction): UFA is Germany's largest TV production group, producing scripted and factual content for all major German broadcasters including Polizeiruf 110 episodes in some years and a wide slate of crime, biographical, and historical programming. It is a broad incumbent operating at significantly larger scale than DOKfilm.
• Studio Hamburg Production Group: Studio Hamburg is one of Germany's leading production groups producing documentary, factual, and scripted content for German public broadcasters, including crime and historical formats. Notably, Studio Hamburg also serves as DOKfilm's data protection officer, evidencing operating ties within the German production ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/DOKfilmFernsehproduktion
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dokfilm-fernsehproduktion-gmbh
• Instagraminstagram.com/diedokfilm

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about DOKfilm