German public-service television channel
Television channel
Das Erste
(
German:
[das
??eː??st?]
; "The First") 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.
[1]
The channel was officially launched on Christmas Day, 25 December 1952 as
NWDR-Fernsehen
and renamed to
Deutsches Fernsehen
in 1954.
[2]
Since 1996, the official brand is
Das Erste
; the full name
Erstes Deutsches Fernsehen
(
First German Television
) is still used before every major news edition. In colloquial speech, the station is usually called
Erstes Programm
("First Channel"), or by its
metonym
,
ARD
.
History
[
edit
]
The channel's first experimental broadcast was on 27 November 1950 as the TV channel of the then
NWDR
, which in 1956 split into
NDR
and
WDR
. The regular NWDR television service started on 25 December 1952. Nationwide transmission began on 1 November 1954 within the ARD framework, under the name
Deutsches Fernsehen
("German Television"). It was
West Germany
's only television channel before the establishment of
ZDF
in 1963.
[3]
The new channel consisted of jointly-produced shows such as the nightly news programme
Tagesschau
(on the air since 26 December 1952), as well as broadcasts produced individually by ARD member stations. The programs were coordinated by the
Programmdirektion
based in Munich. Besides several entertaining shows, ARD went political in 1957 when it launched its first political TV magazine, Panorama. Germany's first political TV show adopted the slogan "What is being talked about and what should be talked about" and pictured all aspects of postwar West German society?including conflict-laden topics, scandals, and other taboo topics, such as former Nazis who had held important roles.
[4]
ARD nevertheless produced a provisional second TV channel (
ARD 2
[
de
]
) from 1 June 1961 until ZDF started its transmissions on 1 April 1963. Colour television was introduced on 25 August 1967. Since 1 September 1995, Das Erste has broadcast 24 hours a day.
The channel's name was changed to
Erstes Deutsches Fernsehen
("First German Television") on 1 October 1984. At the same time, a new corporate design was introduced, designed by
Hans Bacher
, along with new
CGI
idents
produced by
Cranston/Csuri Productions
in
Columbus
,
Ohio
. The previous logo, with stylized waves, was replaced by a new logo showing a stylized number "1" which is still in use today. It changed its name to
Das Erste
on 1 January 1997, but the long name
Erstes Deutsches Fernsehen
is still used for some purposes (e.g. the introduction to the main editions of the
Tagesschau
). Informally, it is also known under the metonym
ARD
among viewers.
In addition to its
SD
broadcast, a
720p50
HD
version of the channel,
Das Erste HD
, is also broadcast. Broadcast of
Das Erste HD
began in February 2010 with the coverage of the
2010 Winter Olympics
in
Vancouver, British Columbia
,
Canada
.
[5]
Das Erste HD
is available via satellite (
DVB-S2
on
Astra 19.2°E
), cable (all cable providers in Germany and some providers throughout Europe), IPTV (MagentaTV), encoded using
H.264
AVC
, and on
digital terrestrial television
in
1080p50
, encoded using
H.265
HEVC
.
Member broadcasting organizations
[
edit
]
All nine of Germany's regional public-broadcasting organizations contribute to the output of Das Erste and broadcast its programming in a common schedule.
Time assigned
[
edit
]
Each regional member of ARD contributes programming to the channel's schedule in proportion to the population of the area it serves. As of 2017
[update]
, the time allocations as percentage shares of total broadcast hours were:
[
citation needed
]
Broadcasting
[
edit
]
Before 1990, Das Erste was only distributed in
West Germany
, and was almost exclusively broadcast using transmitters owned by the
Deutsche Bundespost
. However, the transmitters were powerful enough that Das Erste
could easily be seen
in nearly all of
East Germany
as well. Exceptions included
Dresden
, located in a deep valley in southeastern East Germany, and the area around
Rugen
. Indeed, Das Erste's broadcasts, particularly its newscasts, were far more popular in East Germany than those of state broadcaster
Deutscher Fernsehfunk
. One popular nickname for ARD in East Germany was
Außer Rugen und Dresden
(except Rugen and Dresden).
On 15 December 1990 following
reunification
, programming from ARD was distributed by
Deutsche Post of the GDR
for the first time. The GDR-transmitters were later taken over by the Bundespost and merged organizationally with the West German transmitters. The transmitters of the Bundespost were transferred to
Deutsche Telekom
in 1995, and then in turn to
T-Systems
in 2000.
[6]
Between 2002 and 2008 the transmission facilities in Germany were successively converted from the analogue terrestrial
PAL
standard to the new digital terrestrial
DVB-T
television standard.
Das Erste is available throughout Europe on
free-to-air
digital
satellite television
via Astra, as well as on many
cable
providers. Transmission via the Hot Bird satellite was stopped on 1 April 2017.
Logo history
[
edit
]
-
1970?1984
-
1984?1996
-
1997?2003
-
2003?2015
-
2003?2015
-
2015?present
-
2015?present
-
2015?present
Programmes
[
edit
]
Children
[
edit
]
Entertainment
[
edit
]
Information
[
edit
]
- ARD-Morgenmagazin
(WDR) (1992?present)
- ARD-Mittagsmagazin
(RBB) (1989?present)
- Berliner Runde
(SFB/RBB) (1999?present)
- Bonner Runde
(WDR) (1972?1999)
- Brennpunkt
(multiple) (1971?present)
- Brisant
(MDR) (1994?present)
- Fakt
(MDR) (1992?present)
- Kontraste
(SFB/RBB) (1968?present)
- Monitor
(WDR) (1965?present)
- Nachtmagazin
[
de
]
(ARD Aktuell, NDR) (1995?present)
- Panorama
(NDR) (1957?present)
- Plusminus
(multiple) (1975?present)
- Presseclub
(WDR) (1987?present)
- Presseschau
(SFB) (1969?2002)
- Report
(Report Mainz/Report Munchen)
(SWF/SWR/BR) (1960?present)
- Tagesschau
(ARD Aktuell, NWDR/NDR) (1952?present)
- Tagesthemen
(ARD Aktuell, NDR) (1978?present)
- Umschau
[
de
]
(SFB/RBB/MDR) (1969?present)
- Weltspiegel
(multiple) (1963?present)
Series
[
edit
]
- Babylon Berlin
(2018?present)
- Blankenese
(1994, 2001?2002, 2005)
- Charite
(2017)
- Die Stein
(2008, 2011)
- Earth 2
(2008)
- Falcon Crest
(1983?1991)
- Frau Temme sucht das Gluck
(2017)
- Großstadtrevier
(1986?present)
- Heiter bis todlich
(multiple), light police comedy
- In aller Freundschaft
(MDR), weekly soap (1998?present)
- In aller Freundschaft ? Die jungen Arzte
[
de
]
(MDR), weekly soap (2015?present)
- Kir Royal
(1986?1990)
- Lindenstraße
(WDR), weekly soap (1985?2020)
- Magnum, P.I.
(Magnum)
(1984?1994)
- Miami Vice
(1986?1994)
- Mord in bester Gesellschaft
crime series (2007?present)
- Murder, She Wrote
(Mord ist ihr Hobby)
(1988)
- Polizeiruf 110
(multiple), crime drama
- Rentnercops
(2015?present)
- Rote Rosen
(Degeto Film), daily soap (2006?present)
- Sturm der Liebe
(BR), daily soap (2005?present)
- Tatort
(all regional stations)
- Turkisch fur Anfanger
(2006?2009)
- Um Himmels Willen
(2002?present)
- Vorstadtweiber
(2015?2016)
- Weissensee
(2010, 2013, 2015)
Sport
[
edit
]
Talk
[
edit
]
Former programmes
[
edit
]
Audience share
[
edit
]
Germany
[
edit
]
|
January
|
February
|
March
|
April
|
May
|
June
|
July
|
August
|
September
|
October
|
November
|
December
|
Annual average
|
1990
[7]
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
30.8%
|
1991
[8]
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
24.5%
|
1992
[9]
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
22.0%
|
1993
[10]
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
17.0%
|
1994
[11]
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
16.3%
|
1995
[12]
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
14.6%
|
1996
[13]
|
14.8%
|
15.2%
|
14.4%
|
14.1%
|
13.6%
|
18.2%
|
15.8%
|
14.5%
|
14.5%
|
14.3%
|
13.9%
|
14.2%
|
14.8%
|
1997
[14]
|
14.3%
|
15.2%
|
13.3%
|
15.0%
|
13.7%
|
14.9%
|
15.0%
|
16.0%
|
15.6%
|
14.3%
|
14.6%
|
14.6%
|
14.7%
|
1998
[15]
|
14.8%
|
15.8%
|
14.8%
|
14.2%
|
15.1%
|
19.9%
|
18.1%
|
15.2%
|
14.8%
|
14.3%
|
14.1%
|
14.0%
|
15.4%
|
1999
[16]
|
14.8%
|
15.3%
|
14.8%
|
14.1%
|
13.7%
|
14.8%
|
14.5%
|
13.9%
|
13.7%
|
13.1%
|
13.4%
|
14.3%
|
14.2%
|
2000
[17]
|
14.4%
|
14.4%
|
14.1%
|
13.5%
|
14.3%
|
15.7%
|
15.1%
|
14.1%
|
15.9%
|
13.3%
|
13.7%
|
13.5%
|
14.3%
|
2001
[18]
|
12.9%
|
14.3%
|
13.3%
|
12.7%
|
13.2%
|
14.1%
|
14.7%
|
13.8%
|
14.8%
|
13.4%
|
13.7%
|
14.2%
|
13.7%
|
2002
[19]
|
13.6%
|
15.9%
|
13.7%
|
13.8%
|
13.6%
|
17.1%
|
13.9%
|
14.9%
|
13.8%
|
13.4%
|
13.5%
|
13.5%
|
14.2%
|
2003
[20]
|
14.0%
|
14.9%
|
14.2%
|
13.6%
|
13.2%
|
14.0%
|
14.8%
|
14.1%
|
14.6%
|
13.3%
|
13.7%
|
13.6%
|
14.0%
|
2004
[21]
|
13.1%
|
13.8%
|
13.7%
|
13.7%
|
13.8%
|
17.4%
|
13.3%
|
16.0%
|
12.6%
|
13.1%
|
13.8%
|
13.4%
|
13.9%
|
2005
[22]
|
13.2%
|
14.3%
|
13.4%
|
13.8%
|
12.3%
|
13.8%
|
13.5%
|
13.8%
|
13.3%
|
12.9%
|
13.2%
|
14.0%
|
13.5%
|
2006
[23]
|
13.9%
|
15.4%
|
13.7%
|
13.3%
|
13.6%
|
18.4%
|
14.2%
|
14.1%
|
13.7%
|
13.5%
|
13.5%
|
13.7%
|
14.2%
|
2007
[24]
|
13.8%
|
14.3%
|
13.9%
|
13.1%
|
13.0%
|
12.9%
|
12.2%
|
13.9%
|
13.4%
|
13.3%
|
13.4%
|
13.1%
|
13.4%
|
2008
[25]
|
13.6%
|
13.8%
|
12.5%
|
12.5%
|
12.9%
|
18.0%
|
12.6%
|
15.1%
|
12.7%
|
12.4%
|
12.6%
|
12.7%
|
13.4%
|
2009
[26]
|
12.5%
|
13.3%
|
13.1%
|
12.7%
|
12.5%
|
12.5%
|
12.0%
|
13.1%
|
12.6%
|
12.7%
|
12.8%
|
12.5%
|
12.7%
|
2010
[27]
|
13.4%
|
14.0%
|
12.8%
|
12.8%
|
12.9%
|
17.1%
|
14.0%
|
12.2%
|
12.5%
|
11.9%
|
12.2%
|
12.7%
|
13.2%
|
2011
[28]
|
12.5%
|
12.9%
|
13.2%
|
12.6%
|
12.8%
|
13.1%
|
12.1%
|
12.3%
|
11.8%
|
11.8%
|
11.6%
|
11.9%
|
12.4%
|
2012
[29]
|
12.9%
|
11.8%
|
12.2%
|
11.2%
|
11.2%
|
15.9%
|
11.4%
|
13.5%
|
11.5%
|
11.7%
|
11.7%
|
12.2%
|
12.3%
|
2013
[30]
|
12.2%
|
12.4%
|
12.5%
|
12.1%
|
11.7%
|
12.3%
|
11.7%
|
12.0%
|
12.0%
|
11.7%
|
11.7%
|
12.3%
|
12.1%
|
2014
[31]
|
11.7%
|
13.4%
|
12.3%
|
11.4%
|
12.0%
|
17.4%
|
15.0%
|
11.3%
|
11.3%
|
11.1%
|
11.8%
|
11.5%
|
12.5%
|
2015
[32]
|
11.3%
|
11.8%
|
11.6%
|
12.2%
|
11.8%
|
12.1%
|
10.9%
|
11.2%
|
10.9%
|
11.2%
|
11.9%
|
11.9%
|
11.6%
|
2016
[33]
|
12.2%
|
11.6%
|
11.3%
|
11.5%
|
12.1%
|
16.0%
|
13.1%
|
14.0%
|
11.0%
|
10.7%
|
11.2%
|
11.2%
|
12.1%
|
2017
[34]
|
10.6%
|
11.8%
|
12.0%
|
11.8%
|
11.4%
|
10.7%
|
10.7%
|
11.0%
|
11.2%
|
10.9%
|
11.3%
|
11.8%
|
11.3%
|
2018
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The average age of the viewers is 61 years (as of 2016
[update]
).
[35]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Das Erste
.
|
---|
Current members
| |
---|
Former members
| |
---|
Programmes
| |
---|
Channels
| Main channels
| |
---|
Current regional channels
| |
---|
International channels
| |
---|
Joint venture with ZDF
| |
---|
Former
| |
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|
---|