ARD / ZDF Joint daytime startup

A silent start-up with a summary of the morning's line-up to be simulcast on West Germany's two national state channels. The two channels are completely independent of each other, yet in what could be a unique arrangement, the stations each take responsibility for the joint programming in alternate weeks. As this line-up includes bulletins from ZDF's "heute" newsroom, this must be a ZDF week! This alternating arrangement started on 2 January 1981, and a similar arrangement exists for the Morgenmagazin, breakfast television, which started on ARD and ZDF in 1992 and alternates weekly between presenters, studios, presentation and content. These days, however, late morning television, from 9am onwards, is distinct on the two channels, but the hourly news bulletins continue to be simulcast until lunchtime, and they still alternate weekly between ARD's and ZDF's newsrooms.