ZDF suspends traditional New Year's Eve show

The German broadcaster ZDF has announced it will suspend its traditional New Year's Eve show, ‘Willkommen 20xx’, for the 2026 transition. The program, which was long hosted by Andrea Kiewel and Johannes B. Kerner, will not feature a live broadcast for the upcoming year.

As a replacement, ZDF plans to air a special edition of ‘Quiz-Champion’. Johannes B. Kerner will serve as the moderator, while Andrea Kiewel will participate as part of the expert team. The broadcaster described the planned special as an entertaining conclusion to the year featuring various prominent guests.

While ZDF has not officially stated a reason for the cancellation, previous iterations of the show faced challenges when the state of Berlin withdrew public subsidies for the event at the Brandenburg Gate. Some media speculation suggests competition from ARD's Florian Silbereisen may influence programming shifts, though ZDF has denied any connection between the two.