L-R Ellen Windemuth and Ralf Rückauer
Attending their first MIPdoc and MIPTV as Joint CEOs of ZDFE.unscripted, Ralf Rückauer, and Off The Fence B.V. company founder Ellen Windemuth are meeting their collective clients following the 100% share acquisition of Off the Fence B.V., in the first quarter of 2019. Off The Fence, a non-fiction content company based in the Netherlands, was founded by Windemuth in 1994 and produces and distributes outstanding documentaries and series.
Fred Burcksen, President and CEO of ZDF Enterprises GmbH commenting the newly expanded ZDFE.unscripted division, said: “Ralf Rückauer is a proven expert in unscripted programming and has an excellent global network of long-standing industry contacts. He is the perfect person to represent ZDF Enterprises and work with the Off the Fence B.V. team to advance our collective cause.”
Focusing on factual programming since he joined with ZDF Enterprises 2003, in 2012 Ralf Rückauer was appointed Head of Sales, and in 2013 Vice President of ZDFE.factual. In 2018, he was appointed Vice President of ZDFE.unscripted, and continues in this role alongside his duties as
CEO of Off the Fence.
Rückauer comments: “Sharing the position of CEO with Ellen is a huge honour. I am delighted about the trust that’s been placed in me and am looking forward to my new role. I have been working with Ellen Windemuth and Off the Fence for over 15 years. Now we're jointly leading a very young and international sales and production team that couldn’t be better positioned.” 
Just Birds
During the five day MIPdoc and MIPTV market, ZDFE.unscripted will present the animal and nature series Just Animals (10x50’), with breathtaking footage from the animal kingdom and images of our natural world produced by WildBear Entertainment together with ZDF Enterprises and Screen Queensland. Planet of Volcanoes (1x50’), produced by True to Nature together with ZDF Enterprises, Thirteen Productions LLC for WNET, ZDF and Arte, describes the adventurous expedition to the most active volcanoes on Earth and scientifically investigates the origins of our planet. The history documentary The Greatest Race (2x50’) includes visual effects to describe the backgrounds of the chariot races in ancient Rome. The Greatest Race was produced by Lion TV in cooperation with Smithsonian Networks, Channel 4, Arte, ZDF and ZDF Enterprises.
About ZDF Enterprises
ZDF Enterprises was founded in 1993 as a commercial subsidiary of ZDF, one of the largest and most renowned TV broadcasters in Europe. Headquartered in Mainz, Germany, ZDF Enterprises is responsible for the worldwide sale of programs, the making of international coproductions, the acquisition of licenses as well as the merchandising of strong program brands in its own name, for the ZDF, and for third parties. ZDF Enterprises has successfully established itself as an independent market player on the German and international stage. Bound into a strong group, the company manages the largest German-language stock of programs in the world and, next to this, a continuously growing portfolio of international productions consisting of series and miniseries, TV movies, documentaries and children’s programs. In the course of the development and diversification process carried out up to now, many business fields in the television and media domains were made accessible in the ZDF Enterprises group. Thus ZDF Enterprises can provide a comprehensive, full-service offering today, and covers every step in the chain of origin and exploitation of successful TV programs, from development to production and up to the marketing of TV licenses, merchandising rights, online rights and much more.
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