Private Television And Radio : Germany

The public corporations had to contend with competition on a countrywide scale starting in 1985, when “SAT.1″ began operating from Mainz as the first private German television broadcasting company. It was followed in 1986 by “RTL plus Deutschland” (now “RTL”, Cologne). Other private broadcasters are “PRO 7″, “Deutsches Sportfernsehen” (DSF), “n-tv”, “VOX”, “RTL 2″, “Kabel 1″, “Premiere” and “VIVA”. RTL and SAT.1 focus on sports, entertainment and feature films but also offer high-caliber political programs. PRO 7 concentrates mainly on feature films; DSF is a special-interest channel devoted to transmission of national sporting events; n-tv is a news channel; VIVA offers only music. “Super RTL” was the first television broadcaster to focus exclusively on programming for children.

The programs of private broadcasters are transmitted via satellite and cable and can also be received via terrestrial frequencies. “DF 1″ is the first digital television broadcaster in Germany; “Premiere” also offers subscribers a digital decoder with additional programming. A number of foreign TV programs can be received nationwide via satellite as well. The private stations are operated by consortia, mostly of media companies. In contrast to the public corporations, private radio and television broadcasters obtain revenue exclusively from advertising, sponsoring and donations. In 1996 the private broadcasters achieved a net advertising turnover of approximately DM 7.4 billion with a work force of about 10,000 permanent employees.

In 1991 there were already 100 private radio stations, but only a few of them offered a full program catering for a whole state; today their number has increased to 185. The law requires local radio stations to cater for wide-ranging public tastes. The Federal Constitutional Court has ruled that the private broadcasters, like the public corporations, may not influence public opinion one-sidedly. Their programs must reflect diversity of opinion to a certain extent.