Country | Bavaria, Germany |
---|---|
Broadcast area | Germany |
Network | ARD |
Programming | |
Picture format | 720p HDTV |
Ownership | |
Owner | Bayerischer Rundfunk |
Sister channels | Das Erste BR Fernsehen One Tagesschau24 |
History | |
Launched | 7 January 1998 |
Former names | BR-alpha (1998–2014) |
Links | |
Website | ard-alpha.de |
Availability | |
Terrestrial | |
Digital terrestrial television | Varies depending on the region |
Streaming media | |
ARD-Alpha Livestream | Watch Live |
ARD alpha is a German free-to-air television channel run by regional public-service broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk. Its programming consists of shows made by Bayerischer Rundfunk, as well as from ARD and Austrian broadcaster ORF. The channel was originally called BR-alpha, but was rebranded as ARD-alpha on 29 June 2014.
ARD-alpha broadcasts educational programmes including; science, religion, music, philosophy, literature, language learning, art and culture.
BR-alpha, as the station was originally called, started broadcasting on January 7, 1998. The station's programmes were originally broadcast in analog using the Astra satellite and were also distributed by cable networks. The schedule focused mainly on education and information. The channel began digital broadcasts via Astra in the summer of 1998. [1] On 28 November 2000, the heads of the regional public broadcasters agreed to start cooperating with BR-alpha. [2]
On 30 September 2002, the channel started broadcasting Planet Wissen ("Planet Knowledge" in English), a general knowledge programme and a co-production of BR-alpha, Westdeutscher Rundfunk and Südwestrundfunk. The programme also has an extensive internet presence. Bavaria started digital terrestrial television broadcasts on 30 May 2005, as did BR-alpha. [3]
The channel's scheduled were revamped on 16 February 2008. Career guidance programmes, a magazine aimed at young people called freiraum were started, and programs W wie Wissen and Faszination Wissen were also added. [4]
On 9 August 2009, the youth program on3-südwild switched from Bavarian Television to BR-alpha. [5] On 27 June 2010, Andreas Höfer won the Deutschen Kamerapreis (German Camera Award) in the category TV movie /docudrama for the BR-alpha film Empathie – Stumme Schreie (Empathy - Silent screams). [6]
The channel was renamed ARD alpha on 29 June 2014. The schedule was reorganised the previous day. BR is still responsible for financing and broadcasting the channel, but some programmes originally broadcast by other ARD member stations were added to ARD alpha's schedule. [7] [8] Cooperation with ORF (the Austrian public broadcaster) in the form of alpha-Österreich continued, and its television programs are now aired after 10 pm instead of in the early evening. Werner Reuss is head of ARD alpha.
SD broadcasting via satellite (Astra 19.2) stopped on 12 January 2021. [9]
January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December | Annual average | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2017 [10] | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
ZDF, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen, is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany. ZDF is financed by television licence fees and advertising revenues.
Österreichischer Rundfunk is an Austrian national public broadcaster. Funded from a combination of television licence fee revenue and limited on-air advertising, ORF is the dominant player in the Austrian broadcast media. Austria was the last country in continental Europe after Albania to allow nationwide private television broadcasting, although commercial TV channels from neighbouring Germany have been present in Austria on pay-TV and via terrestrial overspill since the 1980s.
ARD is a joint organisation of Germany's regional public-service broadcasters. It was founded in 1950 in West Germany to represent the common interests of the new, decentralised, post-war broadcasting services – in particular the introduction of a joint television network.
Das Erste is the flagship national television channel of the ARD association of public broadcasting corporations in Germany. Das Erste is jointly operated by the nine regional public broadcasting corporations that are members of the ARD.
RTL Zwei, formerly spelled RTL 2 and RTL II, is a German-language television channel that is operated by RTL2 Television GmbH & Co. KG. RTL2 is a private general entertainment (Vollprogramm) tv channel on the basis of the Interstate Broadcasting Agreement (Rundfunkstaatsvertrag). Variants of the channel are produced for Austria and Switzerland, with their own advertising. They can be received via cable networks in Austria and Switzerland, and more widely by digital satellite. RTL Zwei is part-owned by RTL Group in Germany.
Tatort is a German-language police procedural television series that has been running continuously since 1970 with 30 feature-length episodes per year, making it the longest-running German TV drama. Developed by the German public-service broadcasting organization ARD for their channel Das Erste, it is unique in its approach in that it is jointly produced by all of the organization's regional members as well as its partnering Austrian and Swiss national public-service broadcasters, whereby every regional station contributes several episodes to a common pool.
Bayerischer Rundfunk, shortened to BR, is a public-service radio and television broadcaster, based in Munich, capital city of the Free State of Bavaria in Germany. BR is a member organization of the ARD consortium of public broadcasters in Germany.
3sat is a free-to-air German-language public service television channel. It is a generalist channel with a cultural focus and is jointly operated by public broadcasters from Germany, Austria (ORF) and Switzerland. The coordinating broadcaster is ZDF, at whose Mainz facility the broadcasting centre with studios for in-house productions is located.
Television in Germany began in Berlin on 22 March 1935, broadcasting for 90 minutes three times a week. It was home to the first regular television service in the world, named Fernsehsender Paul Nipkow.
Ostdeutscher Rundfunk Brandenburg, based in Potsdam, was the public broadcaster for the German federal state of Brandenburg from 12 October 1991 until 30 April 2003. It was a member organization of the consortium of public-law broadcasting organizations in Germany, ARD.
One is a German free-to-air television channel owned and operated by the German public-broadcasting consortium ARD. Managed since October 2005 by Westdeutscher Rundfunk on behalf of ARD as a whole, the channel was launched on 30 August 1997.
Tagesschau24 is a German free-to-air television channel owned by ARD and managed by Norddeutscher Rundfunk. Launched on 30 August 1997 as "EinsExtra", the channel was renamed Tagesschau 24 on 1 May 2012.
ZDFneo is a German free-to-air television channel, programmed for an audience aged 25 to 49 to complement the primarily older-skewing main channels of public broadcasters ZDF and ARD. It replaced ZDF's documentary channel ZDFdokukanal on 1 November 2009.
Bayern 1 is a German public radio station in Bavaria, owned and operated by the Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR).
BR24 is a cross-platform news brand of German public broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) which is at the same time a news website, a 24/7 news radio station and a television news programme.
BR Verkehr is a 24-hour DAB program owned and operated by the Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) and a high-tech speech synthesis program for informing car, truck and bus drivers and other road users about the traffic. Such programs are also referred to as announcement programs. The system was also used by WDR under the name VERA.
Puls ("Pulse") is a German, public radio station owned and operated by the Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR). It is a youth-oriented program which makes heavy use of social media and also broadcasts music beyond the mainstream. It replaced On3-radio on 15 May 2013. The station's YouTube channels have more than 2 million subscribers and 850 million views combined. Puls is a digital-only station and is not available via FM broadcasting.
Alan John Bangs is a British music journalist, disc jockey and presenter on radio and television. He has lived and worked in Germany since the 1970s.
Helmar Rudolf Willi Weitzel is a German television presenter, journalist and film producer. He moderated the television programs Willi wills wissen and Willis VIPs. In 2008 he made the movie Willi und die Wunder dieser Welt. Other TV shows he hosted were Willis Quiz Quark Club, Willi wills wissen – Gute Frage, nächste Frage!, Willi wills wissen von A–Z and Ein guter Grund zu feiern. Since 2013 he has been on the road in Germany with his live program Willis wilde Wege. Since January 2018 he has moderated the magazine Gut zu Wissen on BR Fernsehen.
Degeto Film GmbH is a film rights trader and production company of the ARD, based in Frankfurt am Main. Its shareholders are the regional broadcasting corporations of ARD or their advertising subsidiaries.