ARD (broadcaster)
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ARD (Arbeitsgemeinschaft der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland – the "Consortium of public-law broadcasting institutions of the Federal Republic of Germany"), is a joint organization of Germany's regional public broadcasting agencies. It was founded in West Germany in 1950 to represent the common interests of the new post-war broadcasting services - mainly the introduction of a joint television network.
Today ARD maintains a large television and radio broadcasting organization in Germany. It operates a national television network, Das Erste, or "The First," as it has been known since 1994. The television network began transmissions in 1952 as Deutsches Fernsehen ("German Television"), and became known as Erstes Deutsches Fernsehen in 1984. This translates roughly as "German Television One", indicating that it was the primary network, comparable to BBC1. ARD is transmitted directly to homes throughout Germany using its own, vast terrestrial transmitter network, and takes part in the production of cable/satellite channels Phoenix (events, news, and documentaries), KI.KA (children's programmes), 3sat (cultural/traditional programming) and arte (European cultural programming). It also produces a digital package of three free-to-air channels (EinsFestival, EinsPlus and EinsExtra).
Moreover, ARD's constituent member agencies WDR, BR, SWR, MDR, NDR, RBB, HR, SR and Radio Bremen (see below for an explanation of the abbreviations), and international broadcaster Deutsche Welle operate around fifty regional and local radio stations and networks, two nationwide radio channels, and seven regional TV networks, some of which split further during certain times of the day.
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[edit] History
The winning Allies of World War II were determined that German radio after the war would not broadcast the same propaganda as the pre-war Reichsrundfunk ('Imperial Broadcasting'). A federal structure, the renunciation of state influence and the avoidance of economic dependence were to be the key of the radio and TV institutions under public law (öffentlich-rechtliche Rundfunk- und Fernsehanstalten, public broadcasting and TV organizations). In 1947 the US military governor Lucius D. Clay declared diversity of public opinion as the main aim of post-war media policy. Individuals aligned with the post-war Allied forces in their respective sectors of Germany had a local influence on local regional broadcasters. NDR cites the influence of Hugh Greene on the early years of their organization.
After the creation of individual broadcasting agencies for most German federal states, these principles were further consolidated by Länder broadcasting laws, decisions of the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht), and state treaties between the Länder. ARD members are thus (at least nominally) free of government influence, and rely for only a small part of their income on advertising (1995: ten percent). They are financed mainly from licence fees from radio and TV owners, the amount of which is determined in a complex political process. The proclaimed aim of the ARD corporations is not only to inform and to entertain, but also to encourage the integration of various parts of society, and let minorities have a say in the programming.
In the 1950s the ARD radio services became the major factor of the mass media system in West Germany. As early as 1952 the ARD radio stations had ten million listeners. However, the radio stations operated on a regional level, and it was only the development of a television umbrella that helped the ARD to establish itself nationwide. The broadcasting of a countrywide television service was the goal of the ARD from the outset, and the go-ahead for this was given at the end of 1952. The first daily news feature, the Tagesschau went on the air from Hamburg in 1956. The eight o'clock announcement of the Tagesschau newsreader: "Hier ist das Erste Deutsche Fernsehen mit der Tagesschau" ("This is the first German television channel with the Daily Review") continues to be the ARD's trademark, currently attracting eight million viewers every day.
After starting with a schedule of a mere two-hours per night, television became more and more widespread during the 1960s. Color broadcasts were introduced in 1967. Without competition from commercial broadcasters, the ARD stations made considerable progress in becoming modern and respected broadcasters. ZDF, a second public television broadcaster, began its programming in the 1960s, but there would be no commercial competition until 1984. They have also been a significant force in German politics: Investigative news magazines (for example Monitor, Panorama) still reach millions of viewers every week. The environmental movement of the 1980s increased in popularity not least as a result of the disclosures made by the ARD.
When commercial broadcasters were licensed in Germany in the mid-1980s, ARD television made subtle changes, adapting somewhat by producing more accessible programming for their national networks and shifting cultural and news programs to the regional networks and newly-created niche channels.
Information programs on television and the orientation of Deutschlandfunk programs towards the GDR were of crucial importance to the eventual collapse of the GDR. Established in 1974, the ARD bureau in East Berlin made ARD television the most important source of information for GDR citizens (eighty per cent of them could watch what they referred to as Westfernsehen). Notwithstanding obstruction on the part of GDR authorities and the repeated expulsion of their correspondents, the ARD-Tagesschau and Deutschland-Funk broadcast reports about the Leipzig Monday demonstrations as early as September 1989.
After unification and the closure of the GDR television service, two new regional broadcasters were established in the East, becoming ARD members in 1992. These were originally the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR, English: "Central German Broadcasting"), and Ostdeutscher Rundfunk Brandenburg (ORB, English: "East German Broadcasting Brandenburg"). The existing NDR service expanded into the north-east, where it also covers Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The ORB service has since merged with the former Sender Freies Berlin (SFB, English "Broadcaster Free Berlin") to become Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB, English: "Broadcasting Berlin-Brandenburg").
Another merger took place between two member organizations of the ARD in 1998. The former Süddeutscher Rundfunk (SDR, English: "Southern German Broadcasting") and Südwestfunk (SWF, English: "Southwest Radio") became Südwestrundfunk (SWR, English: "Southwest Broadcasting") on 1 October 1998.
In 1955 there was a split of the founding member NWDR ("Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk", English: "North-West German Broadcasting") into today's NDR and WDR. The year before, the smaller SFB was split off.
[edit] ARD programming
[edit] Radio
Today, ARD member stations usually regulate their own radio programming. Some ARD member stations usually collaborate for common radio services (an example being Nordwestradio, a culture-oriented radio station co-produced by Radio Bremen and NDR). Most ARD stations, however, will have at least a news-oriented radio station, a classical-music station, a youth-oriented station, and a cultural station. At night some stations will relay common night programming produced on a rota system by the ARD stations themselves. There are three common night programming services: Nachtexpress/Radiowecker (light music), Nachtkonzert (classical music), and Popnacht (pop music). Most services are on the FM broadcast band, though some services are also available on DAB.
A similar network intended for national coverage is called DeutschlandRadio, however DeutschlandRadio is not an ARD member - instead DeutschlandRadio is controlled by both ARD and ZDF. DeutschlandRadio provides two radio services: DeutschlandFunk (DLF), a news-oriented service, and DeutschlandRadio Kultur, a music-oriented service.
ARD is probably best known to shortwave enthusiasts for member station Deutsche Welle, which broadcasts its radio services mostly on shortwave radio, though DW broadcasts can also be picked up via satellite and the Internet.
[edit] Television
Under German law, ARD is responsible for Das Erste and the regional tv channels. Das Erste broadcasts nationwide for 24h except for "Morgenmagazin" (a breakfast-tv show also broadcasting on ZDF weekdays from 0530-0900 Central European Time) and for 2.5 hours of regional programming provided by the member stations in the evening. The third programmes are regional services provided by the ARD member stations. Das Erste and the third programmes, like the radio stations, are funded mostly via licence fees.
Among commercial television ventures, ARD is involved with KI.KA, a children's channel, arte, a "high culture"-esque station in conjunction with France Télévisions (the French public broadcaster), and 3sat, a common tv channel for Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
The international broadcaster Deutsche Welle also produces television services; however these services are mostly available via satellite.
[edit] Institutions and member organizations
| Regional broadcaster (translation) | Abbreviation | Logo | Main office location(s) | Income 2004 (Millions of Euro) | Year of establishment | Region of coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bayerischer Rundfunk (Bavarian Broadcasting) | BR |
 |
Munich | 806 | 1949 | Bavaria |
| Deutsche Welle ("German Wave") | DW |
 |
Bonn | Financed through taxes | 1953 | International |
| Hessischer Rundfunk (Hessian Broadcasting) | hr |
 |
Frankfurt | 383 | 1948 | Hesse |
| Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (Central German Broadcasting) | mdr |
 |
Leipzig | 561 | 1991 | Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia |
| Norddeutscher Rundfunk (North German Broadcasting) | NDR |
 |
Hamburg | 892 | 1956 | Hamburg, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein since 1955; Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania since 1991. |
| Radio Bremen |
 |
Bremen | 41 | 1945 | Bremen | |
| Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (Broadcasting Berlin-Brandenburg) | rbb |
 |
Berlin, Potsdam | 340 | 2003 | Berlin, Brandenburg |
| Saarländischer Rundfunk (Saarland Broadcasting) | SR |
 |
Saarbrücken | 64 | 1957 | Saarland |
| Südwestrundfunk (Southwest Broadcasting) | SWR |
 |
Stuttgart, Mainz, Baden-Baden | 922 | 1998 | Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate |
| Westdeutscher Rundfunk (West German Broadcasting) | WDR |
 |
Cologne | 1067 | 1956 | North Rhine-Westphalia |
Over the history of broadcasting in Germany since World War II, there were other members of ARD, which are now defunct, through splits or mergers. These include Sender Freies Berlin (SFB; Transmitter Free Berlin) and Ostdeutscher Rundfunk Brandenburg (ORB; East German Broadcasting Brandenburg) which merged to become RBB. There were also Süddeutscher Rundfunk (SDR, Southern German Broadcasting) and Südwestfunk (SWF, Southwest Broadcasting) which merged to become SWR. Until the 1950s, there was also Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk (NWDR; Northwest German Broadcasting), which split into the present NDR and WDR.
ARD operates many correspondents' offices in foreign cities, only rivaled in numbers by CNN. ARD and its regional broadcasters are also represented on the World Wide Web.
ARD operates several other companies and institutions, sometimes jointly with ZDF: Degeto Film, a television rights trader; the German National Broadcasting Archives (DRA), the Institute for Broadcasting Technology, responsible for research and development; the Fee Collection Center (GEZ), and others.
[edit] Current controversy
The fact that ARD (and also ZDF) uses license fees to subsidize their World Wide Web sites, and also the non-transparency of their license fee expenditure, is the topic of an ongoing controversy with the European Union. The ARD has mounted a Public Relations campaign to counter current controversies, comparing themselves favorably to the BBC, and stating publicly that they hope to avoid the marginalization that they feel has befallen PBS.
[edit] Reference
- ARD: ARD Jahrbuch 2005. Hans-Bredow-Institut, 2005 ISBN 3-8329-1730-6 (Online Excerpts, in German)
[edit] External links
- Official Site (German)
- Official information about ARD in English (PDF document)
[edit] Podcasts
The Tagesschau, produced by the ARD on a nightly basis, is available through the iTunes Music Store and on the ARD website as a podcast (available as audio-only or as audio and video). Other audio programs from the ARD's members (e.g., BR, MDR) and Deutsche Welle are available as podcasts, also through the iTunes Music Store, or their respective websites.
[edit] See also
- German television
- Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (Second German TV channel)
- List of German language television channels
