After 25 years: ORF stops Barbara Karlich's talk show!

After 25 years: ORF stops Barbara Karlich's talk show!

Österreich - After 25 years, the talk show "Barbara Kutlich - Talk at 4" is discontinued. The ORF has announced that the last editions of the popular program will be produced in June 2025. This decision was made despite the existing program reserves that are filled until the end of 2026. ORF Program director Stefanie Groiss-Horowitz has confirmed that numerous episodes already produced will remain in the program by at least at least at the end of 2026, which means that the broadcasts of the show are planned until the beginning of 2027. The talk show has shaped the afternoon program of ORF for many years, but in recent years it has increasingly suffered from falling ratings.

The editorial team, which consists of around 15 people, has already received layoffs, which also makes the closure of the talk show clear. With the setting of the shipment, ORF saves up to three million euros annually, as can be seen from the announcements. According to Kosmo , the decline in the number of spectators has been significant in recent years, since the number of first broadcasts has decreased.

The future of Barbara Karlich

Barbara Karlich, who celebrated her 25th anniversary as a talkmaster in autumn 2024, is already planning her comeback. From 2026 it will present a new format called "Home Visits", which will take 45 minutes and will be broadcast on the second main evening at 9:15 p.m. In the new show, she will visit prominent personalities in their private environment and show authentic encounters and stories in a relaxed living room atmosphere. Oliver Auspitz, known for his extensive experience in the industry, will be responsible for this new format.

In Austria, ORF achieved a market share of 33.8% of the TV audience from the age of 12 in 2023, which makes it clear that the program is still in demand. The Austrians spend a third of their entire TV use time with ORF programs. These figures were found in the current analysis of the ORF Medienforschung and show the strong anchoring of the ORF in television consumption of the population, especially in the program kernele zone from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.

With the end of the Barbara Karlich Show and the planned changes, new impulses could be brought to the ORF afternoon and main evening program, while the audience continues to have the opportunity to enjoy old episodes of the talk show until the new formats are introduced.