| Type | Broadcast television network |
|---|---|
| Country | Germany |
| Availability | Germany Austria Switzerland Portugal Eastern Europe |
| Slogan | VOX macht an (VOX turns on) |
| Headquarters | Cologne, Germany |
| Owner | Luxembourg RTL Group (49,9 %) Germany RTL Television (49,8 %) DCTP (0,3 %) |
| Key people | Frank Hoffmann (CEO) |
| Launch date | January 25, 1993 |
| Official website | www.vox.de |
VOX or simply Vox is a German television channel, headquartered in Cologne and part of the RTL Group, Europe's second largest largest TV, radio, and production company. The channel officially launched at 5 p.m. on January 25, 1993. Prior to that, test transmissions had been made using the informal name Westschienenkanal (West slot channel, a reference to Nordschienenkanal and Südschienenkanal, the informal names used in the 1980s for the other two German private channels RTL Television and Sat.1).[1] The channel mainly broadcasts documentaries and U.S. series and movies.
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VOX started transmitting on January 25, 1993. It competed with public television by broadcasting many live and informational programs. The channel was originally owned by an assortment of German media companies:
The director of programming at launch was Ruprecht Eser. One year after the channel's launch it seemed clear that the original program concept would not work. Market share among the target group relevant for advertisers was at 1.5%, too low to attract much advertising. VOX took significant losses. By February 1994, all the original partners except UFA and DCTP sold their stakes. As a result of the loses, the quality of programs began to decline. VOX had to repeat its movies every few weeks to fill the schedule. On April 1st, 1994, VOX went into liquidation. More than 250 employees were laid off. The logo of VOX is with letters V and X, with red circle eye accepted as O.
By November 1994, VOX had new owners:[2]
Gradually, VOX gained a foothold in the German television landscape. In 1998, VOX signed an output deal with 20th Century Fox, leading to more series and movies being broadcast alongside magazine-style shows. In December 1999, RTL Television bought out News Corporation. A short time later, canal+ sold its share to UFA (Bertelsmann AG). 99.7% of the channel now belonged to RTL Group, with the remaining 0,3% held by DCTP.
Now, VOX is the most successful private television station of the so-called "second generation". The channel had so much success with series such as CSI and CSI: Miami that they were transferred to the more widely-watched sister channel RTL Television. CSI: NY gets a market share of up to 21% on VOX. Audience share in March 2008 was 5.4%, with share amongst 14–49 year-olds at 7.4%.
It has recently achieved success with game shows, notably cooking competitions such as Unter Volldampf!, for which Andreas Stenschke directed 115 episodes.