NDR rejects suspicion: husband’s company

The “Business Insider” accuses the deputy NDR director Andrea Lütke that she preferred a production company that belonged to her husband. The sender rejects the presentation.

Dhe NDR rejects allegations of alleged nepotism against the head of the NDR broadcasting center in Hanover, Andrea Lütke. Lütke, who is also deputy director, did not favor a production company either as head of television or as director of the state radio station, NDR said.

The Cineteam film and television production linked to the suspicion originally belonged to Lütke’s husband. According to NDR, he sold the company in 2009. The online publication “Business Insider” accused Lütke of “economic ties” between her family and the production company Cineteam Hannover, the successor to Cineteam film and television production. The company made productions for the state radio station in Hanover and received funding from the film and funding company Nordmedia, whose award committee Andrea Lütke was part of.

The NDR called this wrong. The productions mentioned were commissioned by editors in Hamburg. “From the NDR’s point of view, there is therefore no conflict of interest.” The alleged allocation of funding for the production “Kliemannsland” could not have taken place with Lütke’s consent, since she was no longer a member of the allocation committee at the time of the approval in 2016. Regarding the accusation that Cineteam pays a five-figure amount every year for the business premises on the Lütke family’s property, the NDR explained that Andrea Lütke does not own the property and is therefore not the lessor of the Cineteam Hannover business premises. The sole owner is her husband, who rents out the rooms at a rent that is customary in the area. The NDR wants to take action against the “untrue allegations”.