Broadcasting Innovation : Germany

New technology has considerably changed the broadcasting landscape in Germany. In 1995 about 24 million German households were linked up to the broadband cable network which the Administration of Posts and Telecommunications has been laying since 1982. About 15.8 million of them subscribe to cable radio and television programs. The aim in the late 1990s is to make cable programs available to 80 percent of Germany’s approximately 30 million households. It is also possible to receive programs directly via satellite; this requires installation of a dish antenna. Technological developments have set in motion a process of innovation of as yet incalculable dimensions, spawning special-interest TV, pay TV, video on demand and teleshopping, to name but a few.

Direct broadcasting via satellite raises questions that transcend frontiers. It is not yet certain whether national, European or global concepts will prevail. In 1995 two supranational public and one private organization operated a majority of the roughly 20 satellites which supply Europe with about 200 television and 200 radio programs. One of the satellite programs is “3sat”, a joint undertaking by ZDF, the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation and the Swiss Radio and Television Company. Others include “arte - Europai-scher Kulturkanal”, “VOX”, “Kabel 1″ and several Channel Three programs broadcasted by ARD.
Both the public and private broadcasting corporations offer “Videotext”, a service using the normal television signal. Videotext appears on the screen on call and offers news, weather reports, tips for consumers and more.

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.
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Financing : Germany

The public broadcasting corporations obtain most of their funds in the form of user fees paid by owners of radios and television sets. Both also depend on income from commercial advertising. In contrast to the private companies, they are allotted a limited amount of time for commercial spots. Television rights, especially for the transmission of sporting events such as soccer or tennis, have become very expensive. As a result, all sports broadcasts - and programs in other sectors as well - are meanwhile sponsored by financially strong companies who are in return permitted to display their company logo on the screen at times other than those allotted for advertising.

The public corporations cannot increase user fees to cover broadcasting costs without the approval of the state parliaments. A major overhaul of the procedure for setting fees became necessary as a result of the decision handed down by the Federal Constitutional Court on 22 February 1994 and has meanwhile been implemented through amendment of the broadcasting agreement between the federal states.

Radio And Television Programs : Germany

Each regional corporation broadcasts up to five radio programs. They provide a broad variety of shows in fields such as current events, politics, regional affairs, entertainment, education, music, sports, drama and opera. Most networks run scientific and literary series as well. Their orchestras and choral groups enrich the cultural life of Germany’s cities and states. Special programs for foreign workers are broadcasted in their own languages.

In the nationally transmitted ARD and ZDF television programs, daily news updates, political reporting, home and foreign affairs documentation, television plays, films and entertainment play a big part. For their foreign coverage, both ARD and ZDF have extensive correspondent networks and their own studios in many countries all over the world.

ARD and ZDF also participate in Eurovision’s international exchange, mostly for sporting events. They regularly contribute to the news pool of the European Broadcasting Union. ZDF and six other European networks produce films falling under the category of entertainment through the European Film Production Community.

Channel Three television programs are transmitted regionally and also via satellite by the ARD corporations. They focus on regional affairs ranging from politics to culture. Most also broadcast television for schools and further education courses at various levels.

Self-Government And Broadcasting Freedom : Germany

. Each of the public broadcasting corporations is in general controlled by three bodies: the Broadcasting Council, the Administrative Council and the Director-General. The members of the Broadcasting Council are representatives of the various groups in society. They are elected by the state parliaments or nominated by the political parties, religious communities and business and cultural organizations. The Broadcasting Council advises the Director-General on programming and ensures that basic principles are observed. The Administrative Council draws up the corporation’s budget and watches over day-to-day management. Its members are for the most part elected by the Broadcasting Council. The Broadcasting Council elects the Director-General, who runs the corporation in accordance with the decisions of the Broadcasting and Administrative Councils. He is responsible for program content and represents the corporation in its external relations.

The public corporations may not favor any political persuasion and must maintain a balanced content. This restriction of the freedom of broadcasting serving to promote public opinion formation does not prejudice the individual editor’s right to express decided points of view. The overall programming of the public corporations must, however, reflect an appropriate balance of different opinions.

The Public Corporations : Germany

Today, in 1997, the Federal Republic has 11 regional broadcasting corporations, one broadcasting corporation organized under federal law, a second national television network (Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen, ZDF) based on an agreement between all the federal states, and the public corporation “DeutschlandRadio”.
The largest broadcasting station is the Westdeutscher Rundfunk (Cologne) with about 4,400 staff, while the smallest are the Ostdeutscher Rundfunk Brandenburg (Potsdam) and Radio Bremen with about 600 and 640 staff respectively.

The others are the Bayerischer Rundfunk (Munich), Hessischer Rundfunk (Frankfurt/Main), Norddeutscher Rundfunk (Hamburg), Saarlandischer Rundfunk (Saarbriicken), Sender Freies Berlin (Berlin), Suddeutscher Rundfunk (Stuttgart), Sudwestfunk (Baden-Baden) - the latter two are scheduled to merge as of 1 January 1998 to form the Siidwestrundfunk (Stuttgart) - and Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (Leipzig). Some of them cater for the states in which they are located; others supply programs for several states.

Radio And Television : Germany

The broadcasting media, i.e. radio and television, in Germany are organized free of state influence. The broadcasting system and the freedom of broadcasting are governed and guaranteed by law. The Federation is responsible for legislation on posts and telecommunications and is therefore responsible for the technical aspects of broadcasting. The networks themselves, however, are under the jurisdiction of the states. Germany has a dual system of broadcasting; in other words, public and private networks exist side by side. This system is based largely on a 1986 ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court, which stipulated that the public corporations should meet the public’s general broadcasting requirements, with the private com-panies playing a supplementary role. For many years Germany had only public corporations, but this changed in 1984 when private television and radio broadcasters were permitted for the first time.