As one of the largest industrial nations and with the largest population in Europe, Germany today offers a vast diversity of television stations. A developed country is a country that is technologically advanced and that enjoys a relatively high standard of living. ... Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiographic one, leading to some dispute as to Europes actual borders. ...

History of German TV

Before World War II

The first TV show to be broadcast anywhere in the world occurred in Berlin on March 22nd 1935. During the 1936 Summer Olympics, test broadcasts were sent to several thousand households in Berlin and Hamburg. The National Socialists also tried to use television as a medium for their propaganda, but it was not quite as popular as radio. As only a small part of the intended audience was able to receive television broadcasts (or could afford a TV set), by 1939 and the start of World War II plans for an expansion of television programming were soon changed in favor of radio. Although the Berlin station (along with one in occupied Paris) remained on air for most of WW2 is the capital city and a single state of the Federal Republic of Germany. ... March 22 is the 81st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (82nd in Leap years). ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, were held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. ... is the capital city and a single state of the Federal Republic of Germany. ... Alster Lake at dusk Hamburg is the second largest city in Germany and with Hamburg Harbour, its principal port, Hamburg is also the second largest port city in the European Union. ... The Nazi party used a right-facing swastika as their symbol and the red and black colors were said to represent Blut und Boden (blood and soil). ... U.S. propaganda poster, depicting a Nazi stabbing a Bible. ... Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead:17 million Civilian dead:33 million Total dead:50 million Military dead:8 million Civilian dead:4 million Total dead:12 million World War II...

1950s

After World War II it took several years until a TV program was broadcasted again. Directly after the war, newspapers and radio were the only available mass media and they were under direct control of the Allied government. In the West, the USA, Great Britain and France had founded the ARD, the Arbeitsgemeinschaft der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten Deutschlands (Cooperative association of the public broadcasters in Germany). In the East, the Soviet Union founded its own radio and later TV stations, known as Deutscher Fernsehfunk. Many parts of Germany (particularly the GDR) recieved both channels. In 1952 both the ARD and the DFF broadcast their first TV programs, some of them so popular, that they still run in German television, like the news show Tagesschau (West) or the children's programme Sandmännchen (East). But at that time, only few West Germans and even fewer East Germans owned their own TV set. Radios were still cheaper and a lot more popular. One of the events that enhanced the popularity of TV among the West Germans was the broadcast of the 1954 football world cup finals from Bern, which many followed on TV screens in shop windows. Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead:17 million Civilian dead:33 million Total dead:50 million Military dead:8 million Civilian dead:4 million Total dead:12 million World War II... ARD may refer to: ARD (broadcaster), the Arbeitsgemeinschaft der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, the German association of public broadcasters. ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The tagesschau (view of the Day) is a news show which is broadcast several times every day on German language television stations. ... Sandmännchen (Little Sandman) is a German childrens bedtime television programme, produced by a film technique known as stop motion animation, in which puppets are moved by very small amounts between individual frames, producing the effect of motion when the film is played back, as in conventional drawn and... The 1954 Football World Cup was held in Switzerland. ... Location within Switzerland The city of Bern, English traditionally Berne (Bernese German Bärn , German Bern , French Berne , Italian Berna , Romansh Berna ), is the Bundesstadt (administrative capital) of Switzerland, and is the fourth most populous Swiss city (after Zürich, Geneva and Basel). ...

1960s

In the 1960s TV became much more popular and was finally available for the vast part of the population. In 1963, a second TV network, the Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (Second German Television) started. In 1967, vice chancellor Willy Brandt started the era of colour TV in West Germany. Also, in the 1960s, several member networks of the ARD started broadcasting their own regional television programs, known colloquially as Die Dritten (The Third Networks) In 1969 East Germany started DFF2. and introduced colour programming on both channels. The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ... Template:C20YearInnTopic 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ... Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF), loosely translated to Second German Television Service, is a public service German language television station based in Mainz. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... Willy Brandt (December 18, 1913 – October 8, 1992) was a German politician and Chancellor of Germany from 1969 to 1974. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ...

1970s

In 1972, the DFF was renamed, dropping the pretence of being an all-German service and becoming Fernsehen der DDR - GDR Television or DDR-FS Its two channels became known as DDR1 and DDR2

1980s

Until the early 1980s, the average German TV viewer could choose only between a few programs, all of them publicly financed through license fees. These programs were only shown at certain times of the day (afternoon and evening) and not always in colour. In Western Germany this changed in 1984, as the first two privately financed TV networks, RTL plus (short for Radio Tele Luxemburg) and SAT 1, started their programming (Previously RTL had transmitted from Luxembourg into Southwestern Germany. In contrast to the national public TV services, these new stations were only able to show their programs in the bigger cities via aerial, via satellite or via broadband cable. But as the new stations introduced some very different kinds of programs (especially RTL plus, which in its first years was known for its erotic programs in the late evening), their popularity increased and more people invested in broadband cable access or satellite antennas. The 1980s decade refers to the years from 1980 to 1989, inclusive. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

1990s

After reunification, the TV stations of the German Democratic Republic were dissolved and the remnants were used to found new regional networks, e.g. the Mitteldeutsche Rundfunk (Central German Broadcasting), as part of the ARD. In addition, more private TV stations opened, becoming available through cable, satellite, and in some cases, over the airwaves. East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR), German Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR), was a socialist country that existed from 1949 to 1990. ...

German Television Today

The average German TV viewer today has, if he or she is supplied with a digital satellite receiver, a choice among several dozens of TV stations (not even counting the foreign TV stations).

ARD - Das Erste

As stated above, the ARD was the first German broadcasting station. It has a very federally oriented structure. Currently, nine regional TV stations cooperate together to produce programs for the TV network known as Das Erste (The First):

1. NDR - Norddeutscher Rundfunk (North German Broadcasting - Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Lower Saxony)
2. RB - Radio Bremen (Bremen)
3. RBB - Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (Broadcasting Berlin-Brandenburg - Berlin, Brandenburg)
4. MDR - Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (Central German Broadcasting - Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony and Thuringia)
5. WDR - Westdeutscher Rundfunk (West German Broadcasting - North-Rhine-Westphalia)
6. HR - Hessischer Rundfunk (Hessian Broadcasting - Hesse)
7. SWR - Südwestrundfunk (South West Broadcasting - Rhineland-Palatinate, Baden-Württemberg)
8. BR - Bayrischer Rundfunk (Bavarian Broadcasting - Bavaria)
9. SR - Saarländischer Rundfunk (Saarland Broadcasting - Saarland)

(The fact that small regions like Bremen or the Saarland have their own broadcasting stations has mainly historical reasons. They only contribute to the nationwide TV program Das Erste and only have limited regional TV programs.) Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) covers the 5 northernmost states of Germany. ... Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the 16 Bundesländer in Germany. ... Alster Lake at dusk Hamburg is the second largest city in Germany and with Hamburg Harbour, its principal port, Hamburg is also the second largest port city in the European Union. ... Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (German: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) is a Bundesland (federal state) in northern Germany. ... With an area of 47,618 km and nearly eight million inhabitants, Lower Saxony (German Niedersachsen) lies in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the countrys sixteen Bundesl nder (federal states). ... Current logo of Radio Bremen. ... The Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (official name; German: Freie Hansestadt Bremen) is a port city in northern Germany and one of its 16 Federal States (Bundesländer). ... Map of the nine regional broadcasting members of Germanys ARD radio/TV network. ... is the capital city and a single state of the Federal Republic of Germany. ... Surrounding but excluding the national capital Berlin, Brandenburg is one of Germanys sixteen Bundesländer (federal states). ... Map of the nine regional broadcasting members of Germanys ARD radio/TV network. ... With an area of 20,447 km² and a population of 2. ... The Free State of Saxony (German: Freistaat Sachsen; Sorbian: Swobodny Stata Sakska) is at a land area of 18,413 km² and a population of 4. ... The Free State of Thuringia (German: Freistaat Thüringen) lies in central Germany and is among the smaller of the countrys sixteen Bundesländer (federal states), being eleventh in size with an area of 16,200 km² and twelfth most populous with 2. ... The Westdeutsche Rundfunk (WDR) is a public broadcaster in the German Bundesland North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office is in Köln. ... With eighteen million inhabitants inhabiting 34,080 km² in western-northwestern Germany, North Rhine-Westphalia (German Nordrhein-Westfalen) is largest in population though only fourth in area among Germanys sixteen federal states. ... Map of the nine regional broadcasting members of Germanys ARD radio/TV network. ... Hesse (German: Hessen) is one of Germanys sixteen federal states (Bundesländer) and has an area of 21,110 km² and just over six million inhabitants. ... The Südwestrundfunk (SWR) is a public broadcasting company for the southwest of Germany belonging to the ARD group. ... The Rhenish Palatinate (Rheinpfalz, sometimes Lower Palatinate or Niederpfalz) occupies rather more than a quarter of the German Bundesland (federal state) of Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz) and contains the towns of Ludwigshafen, Kaiserslautern, Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, Pirmasens, Landau and Speyer. ... Baden-Württemberg is a federal state in south-western Germany to the east of the Upper Rhine. ... Map of the nine regional broadcasting members of Germanys ARD radio/TV network. ... The Free State of Bavaria  (German: Freistaat Bayern), with an area of 70,553 km² (27,241 square miles) and 12. ... Map of the nine regional broadcasting members of Germanys ARD radio/TV network. ... Saarland is one of the 16 states of Germany. ...

Das Erste is a network which consists of programming oriented for the whole family. Especially well-known and respected are its TV news, e.g. the Tagesschau, produced by the NDR and broadcast nightly at 8 p.m. The Tagesschau is a national institution since its inception 1952. Until the early 1990s, it was considered taboo by some to call someone else between 8:00 and 8:15, as everybody was supposedly watching the "Tagesschau" then. As of today there is news available around the clock. Other famous programs are Tatort (a crime series, which is located in several different cities and produced by all the partners of the ARD in turn). Das Erste also shows children's programs like Sandmännchen, daily soap operas like Marienhof or Verbotene Liebe, Germany's longest running weekly soap opera Lindenstraße, sport events (though extremily popular sports like soccer or car racing are also shown on the private broadcasting stations) and also TV shows for senior citizens, often featuring German folk music. The tagesschau (view of the Day) is a news show which is broadcast several times every day on German language television stations. ... The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive. ... Tatort (Crime Scene) is a long-running German crime television series. ... Sandmännchen (Little Sandman) is a German childrens bedtime television programme, produced by a film technique known as stop motion animation, in which puppets are moved by very small amounts between individual frames, producing the effect of motion when the film is played back, as in conventional drawn and... Verbotene Liebe - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Lindenstraße is a program on Das Erste (ARD) and was the first German soap opera. ...

The ARD is not only responsible for Das Erste. There are seven regional networks, called Die Dritten (The Third Networks). Only RB and SR do not have their own full-time third networks, but mostly broadcast the programming of the NDR and the SWR, respectively. The third networks feature documentaries, older movies and regional news programs, often shown for only one federal state or only parts of it. For example the NDR every evening at 19:30 stops broadcasting its common program and broadcasts instead regional news bulletins for Schleswig-Holstein (Schleswig-Holstein-Magazin), Hamburg (Hamburg Journal), Mecklenburg-West Pomerania (Nordmagazin), Bremen (Buten & Binnen) and Lower Saxony (Hallo, Niedersachsen!)).

Since the 1980s, the ARD also produces several niche channels. The first one was EinsPlus, which was intended as a culture niche channel and was broadcasted from 1986 till 1993. Afterwards, the ARD co-produced 3sat, in cooperation with the ZDF, the Austrian Broadcasting network ORF and the Swiss Broadcasting network DRS. A second culture niche channel is arte, which is co-produced with the French Broadcasting Service LaSept. The 1980s decade refers to the years from 1980 to 1989, inclusive. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ...

See Also

Broadcasting_in_East_Germany#Television Broadcasting in East Germany was owned by the state, and was under its tight control and censorship. ...