Radio Bremen
Encyclopedia
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
's smallest public radio and television broadcaster
Public broadcasting
Public broadcasting includes radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing and commercial financing.Public broadcasting may be...
, is the legally mandated broadcaster for the city-state
City-state
A city-state is an independent or autonomous entity whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as a part of another local government.-Historical city-states:...
of Bremen
Bremen (state)
The Free Hanseatic City of Bremen is the smallest of Germany's 16 states. A more informal name, but used in some official contexts, is Land Bremen .-Geography:...
(which includes Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven is a city at the seaport of the free city-state of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms an enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the River Weser on its eastern bank, opposite the town of Nordenham...
). With its headquarters sited in Bremen city
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
, Radio Bremen is a member of the consortium of German public broadcasting organizations, ARD
ARD (broadcaster)
ARD is a joint organization of Germany's regional public-service broadcasters...
.
History
Radio Bremen began transmitting a daily programme on AM radio on 23 December 1945 under the post-war occupation of Germany by the Allied powersAllies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
. Although located in an enclave entirely surrounded by the British Zone of occupation, the city of Bremen belonged, together with Bremerhaven, to the American Zone, and radio broadcasting was therefore overseen by the American command. In 1949 Radio Bremen was chartered to be the public-law broadcaster serving the city-state of Bremen
Bremen (state)
The Free Hanseatic City of Bremen is the smallest of Germany's 16 states. A more informal name, but used in some official contexts, is Land Bremen .-Geography:...
and became a founding member of ARD in 1950.
Finances
Licensing feesTelevision licence
A television licence is an official licence required in many countries for the reception of television broadcasts...
required for radio and TV sets are €17.03 per month, as of 1 April 2005. For radio reception alone, the monthly fee is €5.52
These fees are not collected directly by Radio Bremen but by the GEZ
Gebühreneinzugszentrale
The GEZ, full title Gebühreneinzugszentrale der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland , is a joint organization of Germany's public broadcasting institutions ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio that is located in Cologne...
that is a common organisation of ARD
ARD (broadcaster)
ARD is a joint organization of Germany's regional public-service broadcasters...
, its members , ZDF
ZDF
Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen , ZDF, is a public-service German television broadcaster based in Mainz . It is run as an independent non-profit institution, which was founded by the German federal states . The ZDF is financed by television licence fees called GEZ and advertising revenues...
and Deutschlandfunk
Deutschlandfunk
Deutschlandfunk is a German public broadcasting radio station, broadcasting national news and current affairs.-History:Broadcasting in the Federal Republic of Germany is reserved under the Basic Law to the states. This means that all public broadcasting is regionalised...
.
Television
- Radio Bremen produces and provides programmes for the nationwide television network "Das Erste" (The First).
- Radio Bremen, together with NDRNorddeutscher RundfunkNorddeutscher Rundfunk is a public radio and television broadcaster, based in Hamburg. In addition to the city-state of Hamburg, NDR transmits for the German states of Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Schleswig-Holstein...
and the former SFBRundfunk Berlin-BrandenburgRundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg is an institution under public law for the states of Berlin and Brandenburg, situated in Berlin and Potsdam...
, began to broadcast on a regional network on 4 January 1965. The name of the network was originally "Nord 3" ("North 3"), later renamed "Norddeutsches Fernsehen N 3" ("North German Television N3"). Since December 2001 the network is known as "NDR Fernsehen" ("North German Broadcasting: Television"). As of that change, and until 2005, productions of Radio Bremen carry their logo, when transmitted on the regional network. - On 1 January 2005 Radio Bremen began to broadcast its own regional programming under a new banner: "Radio Bremen TV" (rb-tv). There continues to be cooperation with NDR.
- Radio Bremen and NDR produce a combined teletextTeletextTeletext is a television information retrieval service developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s. It offers a range of text-based information, typically including national, international and sporting news, weather and TV schedules...
service called NDR-Text. Until December 2001 it was known by the name "Nord-Text" ("North-Text").
Radio
- Radio Bremen maintains and transmits on two radio networks. These are known as "Bremen Eins" (Bremen One) and "Bremen Vier" (Bremen Four). Programming on Bremen One consists mostly of oldies, geared to adults, and includes daily news in the local dialect, known as "Bremer Platt". Programming on Bremen Four consists of current hits, geared to the present day youth.
- Radio Bremen also produces two other programmes together with other public broadcasters: Nordwestradio (Northwest radio) is produced in conjunction with NDRNorddeutscher RundfunkNorddeutscher Rundfunk is a public radio and television broadcaster, based in Hamburg. In addition to the city-state of Hamburg, NDR transmits for the German states of Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Schleswig-Holstein...
, and Funkhaus Europa is produced with WDRWestdeutscher RundfunkWestdeutscher Rundfunk is a German public-broadcasting institution based in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a constituent member of the consortium of German public-broadcasting institutions, ARD...
.
Transmitters
The only transmission site operated by Radio Bremen today is the mediumwave transmitterMediumwave transmitter Bremen
The Mediumwave Transmitter Bremen is the mediumwave broadcasting facility of Radio Bremen situated at Bremen-Oberneuland, Germany. It operates at 936 kHz, with a transmitter output power of 50 kW...
at Leher Field. The FM and TV signals (including DVB-T) are broadcast in Bremen from the Bremen-Walle Telecommunication Tower, which is operated by Deutsche Telekom
Deutsche Telekom
Deutsche Telekom AG is a telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is the largest telecommunications company in Europe....
. Another transmitter, also operated by Deutsche Telekom, is used in Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven is a city at the seaport of the free city-state of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms an enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the River Weser on its eastern bank, opposite the town of Nordenham...
.
Directors
- 1946–1957: Walter Geerdes
- 1957–1968: Heinz Kerneck
- 1968–1973: Hans Abich
- 1973–1974: Klaus Bölling
- 1974–1985: Gerhard SchröderGerhard Schröder (television executive)Gerhard Schröder is a former German radio director.Schröder was born in Bad Wildungen and studied law and political economics in Marburg...
- 1985–1999: Karl-Heinz Klostermeier
- 1999–2009: Heinz Glässgen
- since August 1, 2009: Jan Metzger