Ferdinand Wegscheider leaves ServusTV: What is coming now?

Ferdinand Wegscheider leaves ServusTV: What is coming now?

September 10, 2025 will go down in history in the media landscape of Austria as an important day. Ferdinand Wegscheider, the controversial head of ServusTV, released the broadcast of the station at the end of this month. While his time comes to an end as an director, he is preserved in an advisory capacity and will continue to keep his weekly comment "the Wegscheider". Details on the successor will be announced in the coming days, and Goetz Hoefer is currently leading the helm as General Manager.

Wegscheider's career is characterized by up and down, which made him a polarizing figure in Austrian TV journalism. On September 2, he celebrated his 65th birthday and looks back on a moving past. In the 1990s, he made a name for himself with his first media company Uni Pro, - a brave step when private television in Austria was still in its infancy. He took over Salzburg TV and made 2000 terrestrial receiving, but shortly afterwards the broadcaster was switched off. A hunger strike, which subsequently represented a two -week load test for Wegscheider, should finally convince the authorities.

From the foundation to success

In 2001 the private television law came into force, which paved the way for private channels. Salzburg TV officially received its license in 2002 and was taken over by Red Bull Media House in 2007 and renamed ServusTV. Wegscheider made a strong return to Servustv when he worked as an infochefore in 2014 and took over the directorate in 2016. During his time as an director, he consistently invested in sports rights and placed special focus on the rural regions, which led to the stability and even the broadcast of the transmitter as a quota -strongest private broadcaster in Austria. The market share of over five percent last year speaks for the successful work, which was done under Wegscheider's leadership.

The broadcast of the 2024 football European championship is one of the greatest success of the broadcaster under Wegscheider. However, his career was not without controversy. As a prominent voice during the corona apandemia, Wegscheider presented himself in front of the camera as opponents of measures and vaccination skeptics. This was attracted to the attention of the Media Authority KommaUtria, which in several editions of the comment "Der Wegscheider" found violations of the objectivity requirement. In particular, “roughly distorting formulations and representations” were objected to.

A court decides new

However, the Federal Administrative Court raised this decision, which ServusTV informed about on Wednesday. This review of the media authority shows how controversial Wegscheider's views are. It is important that the cancellation is not yet final and the media authority is considering lifting an objection. The discredited programs had critically dealt with the government's measures for Corona pandemic, in particular for vaccination against Sars-Cov-2, with Red Bull Media House argued that the programs were satirical in nature.

This case is in the context of a general debate about freedom of the press in Austria. According to the index of the press freedom of reporters without borders, Austria has slipped further in recent years. From 31st place in 2022 it fell to number 32 in 2024. Indirect pressure on journalists and the strong concentration of media owned Fewer corporations are just a few of the critical points that repeatedly raise. Against this background, it will be interesting to see how the media landscape and in particular ServusTV will develop in the coming months.

The developments around Ferdinand Wegscheider and Servustv are therefore of interest not only for the audience, but also take a look at the current challenges and opportunities in the Austrian media landscape.

Wegscheider's farewell will certainly be observed by many, while the discussion about freedom of the press and the role of the media continues in society.