DMAX (TV channel)

DMAX is a men's lifestyle channel operated by Discovery Networks Deutschland free-to-air in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Though the channel is widely available throughout the rest of Europe. It is seen as the only free-to-air mainstream channel with a focus on non-fiction entertainment, unique in German media.

DMAX broadcasts from the Astra 1H, 1L, and 3A satellites and is uplinked by ASTRA Platform Services.

XXP origins

• DMAX is the Discovery Communications creation from the originally German sourced and owned station XXP. Discovery purchased XXP on 1 January 2006. DMAX was launched as a free-to-air channel from 1 September, targeted towards men.

• Its name was invented by Discovery Creative Director James Gilbey who asked design agencies to submit names in an innovative competition. RedBee based in London were the winning agency.

• DMAX focuses on men's hobbies, and its range of programmes is aimed at men looking for more than the current offer of sports and news programmes. DMAX involves a mix of adventure and discovery, cars and technology, popular science, DIY and travel. DMAX does not include football or erotic programmes.

• Patrick Hörl is Managing Director, while Katja Hofem-Best, who comes from RTL II, is CEO.

Additional DMAX channels

With the success of the German speaking DMAX a separate channel was launched for the UK and Ireland markets on 22 November 2007.

Audience rating

2006: 0,4 % 2007: 0,5 % 2008: 0,6 % 2009: 0,7 % 2010: 0,7 %

Some programmes shown on DMAX

• Was geht? Experiment am Limit (What works? Experiments at the limits) – gives solutions for childhood dreams and daily problems. eg: can a gun be fired underwater?
• Die Ludolfs – 4 Brüder auf’m Schrottplatz (The Ludolfs – 4 brothers at the scrapyard) – observes Peter, Manni, Uwe and Günther eating pasta and fiddling around on broken cars
• D Tech – presenter Daniel Hartwich takes viewers through the world of knowledge in an entertainment
• Fish ’n’ Fun – entertains with beautiful landscape shots, reveals fishing tricks and shows men how to make a delicious dish out of their catch. The male desire for adventure is also satisfied, for example with the documentary series on crab fishers in Alaska’s waters
• D Motor – presented by Tim Schrick and Sabine Schmitz, who has to prove her own driving skill against an opponent on her local race track, the Nürburgring
• Moneycoach – Rette dein Geld (Money coach – save your money) – presenter Michael Requardt helps viewers out of their debt trap

The channel also features many of Discovery Communications global programs, including:

• American Chopper – with Paul Teutul Jr. & Paul Teutul Sr.
• "How It's Made
• 30 Days – with Morgan Spurlock
• Monster Garage – with Jesse G. James
• Louis Theroux
• Miami Ink
• GQ TV – based on the same format as the popular men's magazine
• Jack Osbourne: Adrenaline Junkie – a British reality series focusing on Jack Osbourne's globe-trekking six-month quest to get in physical and mental shape to climb the rockface of California's El Capitan mountain
• Long Way Round – documentary television series of the 19,000 mile journey of Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman from London to New York on motorcycles. They travelled eastwards through Europe and Asia, flew to Alaska and continued by road from there to New York.
• Magnum, P.I. – drama series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a successful private investigator. Episodes broadcast are edited.

• Teleshopping broadcasts when DMAX is off air.

External links

• DMAX.de
• DMAX at Media Guide Bayern
• official DMAX Web TV Channel