As of: March 8, 2024, 8:06 p.m
By: Jonas Erbas
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“Der Bergdoktor” with Hans Sigl is still one of ZDF’s big ratings hits.
But in recent years fewer and fewer TV viewers have tuned in.
Ellmau – With the eighth episode “Über den Schatten”, the 17th season of “Der Bergdoktor” went into its next break on Thursday evening (March 7th).
Further episodes with Hans Sigl (54), Ronja Forcher (27) and Co. will be filmed in the spring and will probably not be broadcast until the end of the year at the earliest.
A familiar feeling for millions of enthusiastic ZDF viewers: they have to be patient once again.
“The Mountain Doctor” wins the day – but the series is losing more and more television viewers
The doctor and home series, produced since 2008, in which Hans Sigl plays the kind-hearted Dr.
Martin Gruber is one of the most popular ongoing ZDF productions alongside series such as “The Dream Ship” or “The Mountain Rescuers”.
According to dwdl.de
, around 6.02 million viewers tuned in on Thursday for the current season finale alone
.
This not only brought a strong market share of 23 percent, but also the day's victory.
But “The Mountain Doctor” achieved much better numbers not long ago.
According to
t-online.de
, the 17th season has an average of “only” 5.62 million total viewers despite the strong final episode - a value that is clearly below that of previous years: in 2023 it was 6.29 million, and in 2022 it was even slightly better 6.42 million.
In 2021 they even boasted an average of 7.32 million - almost two million more than this year.
Falling average audience for “Der Bergdoktor” – is the ZDFmediathek the reason?
Whether this development can be explained by a declining interest in “The Mountain Doctor” remains questionable.
ZDF itself could shed some light on the darkness: Since the public broadcaster has continued to expand its offerings in its media libraries in recent years, it is quite possible that many viewers are now streaming the series.
These viewing figures are not taken into account when calculating the average TV viewership.
Although “Der Bergdoktor” continues to be exciting, fewer and fewer viewers tuned in for the 17th season.
Some people now seem to be switching to the media library.
© ZDF/Erika Hauri
Anyone who accesses the new episodes via stream has a clear advantage: In the ZDFmediathek, the episodes are now always available for viewing a week in advance - a circumstance that plays into the hands of impatient fans.
The events behind the scenes also promise excitement: This is what “Bergdoktor” star Hilde Dalik (45) really thinks of her series lover Hans Sigl.
Sources used:
dwdl.de, t-online.de, zdf.de