As you might expect, the story of German Television is an interesting tale. Of course, the Deutsch Republic is now one of the most culturally and technologically advance regions in the world, and their television industry certainly reflects this. What you might not know is that Germany was one of the true pioneers of this new-fangled medium.
The roots of German Internet Television actually began in Berlin in March of 1935 with the creation of their fist over-the air network. Their entire schedule consisted of broadcasting for 90 minutes, three times a week . Truly a modest beginning!. As it turns out, the Germans were nearly 10 years ahead of the rest of the world with their broadcasting endeavors. Truth be told, the German television industry was actually a fortunate development that came from horribly unfortunate circumstances. Specifically, it was the Nazis who recognized the communication (and propaganda) advantages of television, and as such were its earliest proponents.
The next milestone occurred in 1948, when the British Occupation forces (having vanquished the Nazis three years before) re-generated the German Television industry. It should be noted that it was an effort solely for the benefit of British soldiers, and the programming was only produced in English. Nevertheless, the Brits planted the seed for the future; seeds that would spawn the largest television market in Europe. About the same time, the East German government was launching its own television service, based on the Soviet model.
Fast forward to 1963: the first true German television network came into existence, and was (confusedly) named “Second German Television”. Unlike previous efforts, which was regionalized and was based mostly on radio programs, this second German Television station (ZDF) was a centrally organized channel devoted solely to television. The West Germans introduced color programming in 1967, with their Eastern counterparts doing the same 2 years later.
It was in the late 1980s that the re-joining of East and West Germany occurred, which affected another milestone in German television history. After reunification, the TV stations of the German Democratic Republic were dissolved and the remnants were used to create new regional networks, e.g. the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (Central German Broadcasting). In addition, more private TV stations opened, becoming available through cable, satellite, and in some cases, over the airwaves. Now all the Germans needed was to add digital satellite technology and the the birth of the web, two events that would help make German Internet Television a reality.
Digital satellite technology has actually been available in Germany since 1996, with exponential growth occurring in the last 5 years. And with the advent of web technology, German speaking people from every corner of the globe can now access their favorite programming on their pc’s. there are over 300 German channels available from this online product: Click Here
