ARD (broadcaster)

ARD

Type	Broadcast radio, television and online
Country	Germany
Availability	National International
Launch date	5 June 1950
Website www.ard.de

ARD (Arbeitsgemeinschaft der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland – "Consortium of public-law broadcasting institutions of the Federal Republic of Germany"), is a joint organization of Germany's regional public-service broadcasters. It was founded in West Germany in 1950 to represent the common interests of the new, decentralized post-war broadcasting services — in particular, the introduction of a joint television network.

Today ARD maintains and operates a national television network, known since 1994 as Das Erste ("The First"), which is itself often referred to as ARD. This network began broadcasting in 1952 under the name of Deutsches Fernsehen ("German Television"), becoming Erstes Deutsches Fernsehen ("First German Television") with the introduction of a new corporate design on October 1 1984. The name is an indication that it is regarded as the country's primary network. ARD's programming is transmitted directly to homes throughout Germany over its own extensive terrestrial transmitter network. ARD also produces a digital package of three free-to-air channels (EinsFestival, EinsPlus and EinsExtra) and participates in the production of cable/satellite channels Phoenix (events, news, and documentaries), KI.KA (children's programmes), 3sat (cultural/traditional programming), and arte (Franco-German cultural programming).

ARD's constituent broadcasting institutions – BR, HR, MDR, NDR, Radio Bremen, RBB, SR, SWR, and WDR (see below for an explanation of the abbreviations), as well as international broadcaster Deutsche Welle – operate 54 regional and local radio stations and networks, two nationwide radio channels, and seven regional TV networks, some of which split further during certain parts of the day.

History

1940s and 1950s

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.

Penetration of West German TV reception (grey) in East Germany for channel Das Erste. Main transmitters are drawn in green. Areas with no reception (black) were jokingly referred to as "Valley of the Clueless" (Tal der Ahnungslosen), while ARD was said to stand for "Außer (except for) Rügen & Dresden".

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 same year ARD was admitted as a full active member of the European Broadcasting Union and the "German sound archive", now German Broadcasting Archive (DRA), was established as a joint facility of the ARD.

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 (1954), the smaller SFB was split off. The first daily news feature, the Tagesschau went on the air from Hamburg in 1956. The eight o'clock chime and 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.

1960s-1980s

After starting with a schedule of a mere two-hours per night, television became more and more widespread over the period from 1952-1983. Color broadcasts were introduced in 1967. The ARD stations made considerable progress in becoming modern and respected broadcasters. ZDF, a truly national channel which ARD perceived somewhat as a competitor, began its programming in 1963. ARD has 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.

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.

1990s

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-Vorpommern. The ORB service has since merged with the former Sender Freies Berlin (SFB, English "Station Free Berlin") to become Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB, English: "Berlin-Brandenburg Broadcasting").

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.

ARD programming

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.

Television

The main television channels of the ARD are the nationwide Das Erste and seven regional channels operated by the different regional broadcasting institutions. These channels were available on the analogue terrestrial transmitters until the shutdown of the analogue transmitters started in 2003. Das Erste and the third programmes, like the radio stations, are principally funded by licence fees, with a very limited amount of on-air advertising.

Das Erste broadcasts nationwide 24 hours a day, although the schedule does include four and a half hours of joint programming with ZDF each weekday, in the form of the news programmes Morgenmagazin (on air 5.30–9.00) and Mittagsmagazin (13.00–14.00), which the two organizations take weekly turns to produce. Audience share(March 2008):12.5%,from 14-49 years 6.9%.

The regional members of ARD all, jointly or separately, operate their own regional channels, known collectively as die Dritten ("the Third Programmes"). These are:

• Bayerisches Fernsehen from Bayerischer Rundfunk
• HR-fernsehen from Hessischer Rundfunk
• MDR Fernsehen from Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk
• NDR Fernsehen from Norddeutscher Rundfunk
• rb.tv from Radio Bremen - in collaboration with NDR Fernsehen
• RBB Fernsehen from Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg
• SWR Fernsehen from Südwestrundfunk - in collaboration with SR Fernsehen
• SR Fernsehen from Saarländischer Rundfunk - in collaboration with SWR Fernsehen
• WDR Fernsehen from Westdeutscher Rundfunk.

The schedules of these regional channels also include sub-regional opt-outs at certain times, in particular for local news.

ARD has started three additional channels as part of their ARD Digital package:

• EinsPlus
• EinsExtra
• EinsFestival

ARD is also involved in several joint venture channels:

• 3sat, a cultural channel with ZDF, ORF and SRG
• KI.KA, a children's channel with ZDF
• Arte, a Franco-German cultural channel
• Phoenix with ZDF

The international broadcaster Deutsche Welle also produces television services; however these services are mostly available via satellite.

Institutions and member organizations

ARD member broadcaster map.

1.^  Common abbreviation, not used by Radio Bremen itself however

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; Station 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 Radio) 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 and production company; the German Broadcasting Archive (DRA - Deutsches Rundfunkarchiv); the Institute for Broadcasting Technology (IRT - Institut für Rundfunktechnik), responsible for research and development; the Fee Collection Center (GEZ), and others.

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.

References

• ARD: ARD Jahrbuch 2005. Hans-Bredow-Institut, 2005 ISBN 3-8329-1730-6 (Online Excerpts, in German)

External links

• Official Site (German)
• Official information about ARD in English (PDF document)

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.

See also

• German television
• Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (Second German TV channel)
• List of German language television channels