ZDF distinguishes saving an individual video from following a programme format. Use Merken to retain the intended item in Mein ZDF. Its personal functions include Continue Watching and notifications for new videos and approaching expiry. A watchlist keeps a reference to an item; it does not extend its availability.
Save the object you want to find again
ZDF’s personalisation page distinguishes a video bookmark from a format bookmark. Save the video when the plan concerns a particular episode. Follow the format when you want to return to the programme and discover further items.
That distinction matters for a returning series. A general programme reference may be useful for discovery, while a specific episode gives a more precise shared recommendation. Keep the series and episode information when choosing the latter so a familiar title does not hide a different edition.
Use the documented watchlist action
The streaming FAQ describes Merken in the programme’s further-information area and lists saved content within Mein ZDF. It also describes removing an entry with the minus or Inhalt entfernen action. Read the action for the item you mean to keep or remove.
After saving, inspect the actual list entry. If a household shares a screen, make sure the intended signed-in personal area is being used before assuming another person will find the same reference. This guide concerns those personal functions, not the details of registering or migrating an account.
Separate progress from a saved recommendation
ZDF describes Continue Watching across devices when signed in. Its FAQ also distinguishes local anonymous progress from the signed-in experience. A programme can therefore be partially watched without that fact serving the same purpose as a deliberate watchlist selection.
Use progress to resume an interrupted episode and a bookmark to retain something for later discovery. If you recommend an unwatched programme to someone else, preserve its entry rather than relying on a Continue Watching row that reflects your own use.
Use notifications to plan, then check the item
ZDF’s personalisation guidance describes notifications for newly available videos and a reminder two days before an item expires, with notification settings that can be disabled. These serve different decisions: discovering something new and prioritising something that is about to leave.
Compare an expiry reminder with the intended viewing date and the programme’s current notice. A saved entry or reminder is a planning aid, not a reservation. If the session will fall after expiry, change the plan instead of assuming the bookmark preserves playback. This is particularly useful for a series where one saved episode may have a different window from another.