ARD summer interviews 2024: Successful conversations with more depth

ARD summer interviews: an upswing for political discussions and community engagement

The ARD summer interviews have experienced a remarkable success in success this year. With a market share of 10.1 percent, the half -hour format exceeded the previous year's result of 9.1 percent. This increase indicates an increase of almost 60 percent since 2020 and shows how the audience's interest has changed in a competitive environment.

The strategy behind this success is particularly interesting. The new head of the ARD main city studio, Markus Preiß, and the deputy studio manager Anna Engelke have deliberately reconsidered the organization of the summer interviews. "We deliberately set other accents this year," explains Preiß. "Fewer topics, more in-depth conversation. Less Berlin political styles, more of what people are interested in in everyday life." This strategic realignment helped to address a broader target group and to promote political interest.

An innovative element this year was the social media format "question", in which the audience could directly ask questions to the politicians. The format was also streamed on Twitch, which led to an intensive participation of the community and resulted in a total of around 30 million. This shows how important it is to make politics accessible to the younger generation and to give them a voice in political discourse.

The summer interviews came to graduate on August 25th. In the coming weeks, the regular “report from Berlin” will return, where Montes Preiß, Matthias Deiß and Anna Engelke will continue to take up relevant political issues. The increase in interest in these formats shows that people are willing to deal more intensively with political discussions, especially if they feel that their concerns and questions are heard.

The increased number of spectators and the commitment to social media are not only a gratifying success for the ARD, but also a sign that the audience is increasingly interested in political issues. At a time when trust in classic media is often questioned, this format could be a model for other media houses - how the need for real dialogue and exchange between citizens and politicians has grown.