Volker Herres will give up the office of ARD program director in 2021. He wants to do "a very important course" beforehand.
"I would like to catch the right moment between too early and too late" – Volker Herres (63) will quit after twelve years in office next year as program director of the ARD joint program Das Erste. The station announced on Tuesday. Herres will resign from office on April 30, 2021, "six months before the end of the contract". "In my life planning, I always had the intention of quitting this role at 63. That would just be enough at the end of April 2021," he explains the slightly earlier date – Herres will celebrate his 64th birthday on July 23, 2021.
What else he wants to "accompany"
Until then, he wants to "set a very important course on the way," says Herres. "The conversion of the program directorate from the purely linear joint control unit for Erste Deutsche Fernsehen to a joint facility that is also responsible for the content of the non-linear offerings of the ARD media library," said the still program director. Specifically: In addition to the first on television, a "on-demand and streaming service that is attractive for as many users as possible" should be established.
"I want to accompany that until next year," explains Herres. He will then continue to advise the broadcaster.