TV Plus

What TV Plus does

TV Plus GmbH is a privately held German film and television production company founded in 1997 and headquartered at Leonhardtstraße 10 in Hannover. The company produces documentaries, reportages, live entertainment shows, and corporate video content, with a domain specialization in environment, nature, and sustainability themes accumulated over more than 25 years. Its flagship property is BINGO! – Die Umweltlotterie, Germany's first and only environmental lottery show, which has aired live weekly on NDR Fernsehen every Sunday since September 28, 1997, and which reached a record jackpot of 5 million euros in 2023. The broader catalogue includes more than 1,400 live broadcasts, the arte documentary series ANIMALISCH and the German-Italian co-production BOTTICELLI – Inferno, the NDR reportage strands Nordreportage and Nordstory, the 12-hour ARD real-time documentary Deutschland. Dein Tag, and corporate image films for clients including Entega AG, Google, REWE, TUI, Vaillant, and DMAG.

The company's technology base is conventional professional film and television production equipment, with the Sony FX6 cited as a core camera platform. Business operations are run through a dedicated editorial department led by an editorial director, separate production and post-production teams, and a distinct docxcope division for documentary work. The company is led by two Managing Directors (Geschäftsführer), Thomas Schäffer and Jan Weber-Verlinden, and holds memberships in Produzentenallianz, FRAPA, and Creditreform, with a media endorsement from MADSACK displayed on the website.

TV Plus generates revenue through project-based B2B professional services contracts with two primary streams: (1) public broadcaster commissions from NDR, ARD, and arte for documentary, reportage, live, and co-produced content, and (2) corporate video production for enterprise clients. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is negotiated contract-by-contract. The company distributes content through NDR Fernsehen (regional), ARD and ARD Mediathek (national), and arte (European/global), and maintains organic social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. The operating footprint is primarily German with selected international production shoots in India and Canada for arte co-productions.

Name

TV Plus

Legal name

TV Plus GmbH

Website

https://tv-plus.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

TV Plus GmbH is a Hannover-based German film and television production company founded in 1997, producing documentaries, reportages, live shows, and corporate video content for public broadcasters (NDR, ARD, arte) and enterprise clients, with a flagship weekly environmental lottery show.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Television Production Services

akta.pro primary industry

Unscripted/Reality TV Production (Live-Action) (MPADABAC)

Keywords

• Film production services
• Television production company
• Documentary production
• Corporate video production
• Live broadcast production

Headquarters

HQ city

Hanover

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. TV Production Services: Production of television content including live shows, documentaries, reportages, and series for broadcast networks. Revenue is generated through project-based contracts with TV networks and production fees.
2. Corporate Video Production: Production of corporate content including image films and branded content for corporate clients such as Entega AG and other companies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

TV Plus is a German film and television production company that produces documentaries, series, reportage, and live entertainment programmes for public broadcasters (NDR, ARD, arte) and corporate clients. Its flagship offering is the weekly live environmental lottery show BINGO! – Die Umweltlotterie, on air since 1997 on NDR Fernsehen, supplemented by documentary films, multi-part series, regional reportages, and corporate image films (e.g., for Entega AG).

Product overview

TV Plus is a film and television production company offering a portfolio of documentary, reportages, live shows, and corporate video productions. The core offering includes flagship productions like BINGO! – Die Umweltlotterie (a weekly environmental lottery TV show), documentary films such as BOTTICELLI – Inferno, TV series including ANIMALISCH for arte, and regional reportages (Die Nordreportage/Nordstory) for NDR. The company also produces large-scale documentary projects like Deutschland. Dein Tag for ARD and corporate image films for clients like ENTEGA. Productions span entertainment, environment, sustainability, and lifestyle themes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BINGO!: Germany's first and only environmental lottery TV show, produced by TV Plus since 1997, aired weekly on NDR Fernsehen

Products and services

• BINGO! – Die Umweltlotterie Germany's first and only environmental lottery TV show, produced weekly live for NDR Fernsehen since 1997. The show combines game elements with funding for environmental projects and is hosted by Michael Thürnau and Jule Gölsdorf. It is a commissioned production for the public broadcaster NDR with Toto Lotto Niedersachsen as a client of the underlying lottery format.
• BOTTICELLI – Inferno German-Italian co-produced documentary film exploring the collection of Sandro Botticelli's outstanding drawings over five centuries, tracing their journey from Florence to current locations. Produced for broadcast distribution.
• ANIMALISCH Five-part TV series produced for arte examining the special and unique relationship between humans and animals, covering dogs, donkeys, pigs, sheep, and horses. European co-production for international broadcaster arte.
• Die Nordreportage / Die Nordstory Reportage and documentary series produced for NDR, featuring stories of breathtaking landscapes, interesting people, and fascinating wildlife from northern Germany. Ongoing commissioned production for the public broadcaster.
• Deutschland. Dein Tag A 12-hour real-time documentary broadcast on ARD, featuring 99 people and one walrus, providing private insights into Germans' personal Sundays. Large-scale live broadcast production for the national public broadcaster.
• ENTEGA Imagefilme Corporate image films for ENTEGA AG, one of Germany's largest wind energy providers, featuring drone footage and detailed views of wind parks and water supply facilities. Corporate video production for the energy sector.

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• ProduzentenallianzminorOthersIndustry association membership for German producers
• FRAPAminorOthersInternational format recognition and protection association membership
• MADSACKminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMedia endorsement partnership with MADSACK media group

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Studio Hamburg: Studio Hamburg is a leading northern-German film and television production company producing content for NDR and other public broadcasters. Highly comparable to TV Plus given its geographic overlap, NDR relationship, and documentary/live-show portfolio.
• Bavaria Film: Bavaria Film is a major German film and television production company with deep relationships to public broadcasters, including long-running series, documentaries, and live entertainment. Directly comparable to TV Plus in its public-broadcaster commission model and live-production capabilities.
• Polyphon Film- und Fernsehgesellschaft: Polyphon is a Hamburg-based independent German TV production company producing entertainment, documentary and magazine formats for ARD and ZDF. Directly comparable to TV Plus in independent production model, entertainment/documentary mix, and public-broadcaster client base.

Broad incumbents

• Banijay Germany (Endemol Shine Germany): Banijay Germany (formerly Endemol Shine Germany) is part of the global Banijay production group, producing entertainment and unscripted formats for German broadcasters including RTL and ProSiebenSat.1. Comparable to TV Plus as an unscripted/entertainment producer for major German broadcasters, but at substantially larger scale.
• Constantin Film: Constantin Film is a major German production and distribution company producing theatrical films and TV content for German broadcasters. Comparable to TV Plus as a German production house serving broadcaster clients, though with a stronger focus on theatrical film and scripted series.
• ZDF Enterprises: ZDF Enterprises is the commercial distribution and co-production arm of German public broadcaster ZDF, handling programme sales and international co-productions including documentaries. Comparable to TV Plus in commissioning/co-producing documentary content for European public broadcasters.
• UFA GmbH: UFA is one of Germany's largest TV and film production groups (part of Bertelsmann/RTL Group), producing scripted and unscripted content for German broadcasters. Comparable to TV Plus as a German TV production counterpart, though much larger and operating across a broader portfolio.
• Fremantle Deutschland: Fremantle is a global production group operating in Germany with labels producing entertainment, documentary and factual content for German broadcasters. Comparable to TV Plus in unscripted production for German broadcasters, though operating at international group scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/TVPlusProduction
• Facebookfacebook.com/TVPlusProductions
• Instagraminstagram.com/tvplusproductions

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 TV Plus