 | This article includes alist of references,related reading, orexternal links,but its sources remain unclear because it lacksinline citations. Please helpimprove this article byintroducing more precise citations.(March 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 | |
 ORF-Zentrum Küniglberg (headquarters), designed byRoland Rainer and constructed from 1968 to 1975 | |
| Type | Television andradio network |
|---|---|
| Country | |
| Availability | Austria; parts of Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Liechtenstein, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland |
| Headquarters | ORF-Zentrum, Hugo-Portisch-Gasse 1, 1136 Wien,Vienna |
Key people | Roland Weißmann [de] (Director General) |
Launch date | 1 August 1955; 70 years ago (1955-08-01) |
Former names | Ravag (Radio Verkehrs AG) |
Official website | www der |
Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF[oːɛʁˈɛf]ⓘ;German pronunciation:[ˌøːstəʁaɪçɪʃɐˈʁʊntfʊŋk],lit. 'Austrian broadcasting') is the nationalpublic broadcaster and news website of Austria. Funded from a combination oftelevision 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 afterAlbania to allow nationwide private television broadcasting, although commercial TV channels from neighbouring Germany have been present in Austria onpay-TV and viaterrestrial overspill since the 1980s.[1]
The first unregulated test transmissions in Austria began on 1 April 1923 byRadio Hekaphon, run by the radio pioneer and enthusiastOskar Czeija [de] (1887–1958), who applied for a radio licence in 1921; first in his telephone factory in theBrigittenau district ofVienna, later in the nearby TGM technical college. On 2 September, it aired a first broadcast address by Austrian PresidentMichael Hainisch (1858–1940). One year later, a powerful transmitter, designed by the GermanTelefunken company, was installed on the roof of the formerWar Ministry building inRingstraße in central Vienna.
It was, however, the publicRadio-Verkehrs-Aktiengesellschaft ('Radio Communication Company Ltd', RAVAG), a joint venture of theAustrian Federal Government, the City of Vienna and several bank companies, which, in February 1924, was awarded the concession to begin broadcasting, with Czeja as itsdirector-general. Regular transmissions began on 1 October 1924 from provisional studios inside the War Ministry building that was to become known asRadio Wien (Welle 530). By the end of October 1924 it already had 30,000 listeners, and by January 1925 100,000. Relay transmitters, established across the country by 1934, ensured that all Austrians could listen toRadio Wien at a monthly fee of twoschillings.
Radio programmes often aimed at an educated audience, featuring classical music, literature, and lectures. Early RAVAG shows, however, already catered to children and "arts and crafts" (e.g.Bastelstunde). The firstoutside broadcasts aired in 1925, transmitted from theVienna State Opera and theSalzburg Festival. On the other hand,news broadcasts only played a minor part out of deference to the Austrian press and the 'neutralism' policy of the federal government (theJuly Revolt of 1927 was not even mentioned). Nevertheless, also regular sportscasts began in 1928 and in 1930 theAustrian legislative election was comprehensively covered. At that time, RAVAG registered about 500,000 listeners, having become amass medium.
In the course of the abolition of theFirst Austrian Republic and the implementation of theAustrofascistStändestaat by ChancellorEngelbert Dollfuß in 1934, theRAVAG studios were armed during theAustrian Civil War in February, as well as by the protagonists of the NaziJuly Putsch, when several insurgents entered the studio and had Dollfuß's resignation announced (he actually was killed in his occupiedChancellery office). Dollfuß's successorKurt Schuschnigg (1897–1977) had the demolished broadcasting centre replaced by the newRadiokulturhaus building (present-dayFunkhaus Wien) near theTheresianum academy inWieden, Vienna, designed byClemens Holzmeister (1886–1983) and erected from 1935 to 1939. The Austrian government widely used RAVAG broadcasts for propaganda activities, defying massive cross-borderNazi propaganda broadcasts aired from German transmitters in theMunich region, but also promoted the live transmission ofmass celebrations.
With the AustrianAnschluss to Nazi Germany and the invasion ofWehrmacht troops in 1938, RAVAG was dissolved and replaced byReichssender Wien subordinate to the nationalReichs-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft network (Großdeutscher Rundfunk from 1939) inBerlin, where programmes were also produced from. One of the last RAVAG transmissions was Schuschnigg's farewell address on 11 March 1938 ('God Save Austria'). Only hours later, live broadcasts featured the cheering devotees of his Nazi successorArthur Seyss-Inquart (1892–1946), the triumphant entry ofAdolf Hitler inLinz the next day, and his speech onHeldenplatz in Vienna. In 1939, the former RAVAG transmission facilities were taken over by the GermanReichspost.
InWorld War II, listening toFeindsender ('enemy radio stations') became a capital offence, however, such stations such as the SwissRadio Beromünster as well as the German-language programmes of theBBC,Voice of America (VOA) andVatican Radio, were widely used information sources.Reichssender Wien transmissions were important forstrategic bombing alerts. TheFunkhaus broadcasting centre itself was damaged by Allied bombs in January and February 1945, followed by the Red ArmyVienna Offensive.Reichssender Wien last aired 6 April, before retiringSchutzstaffel troops blew up theBisamberg transmitter.
Following theWehrmacht defeat, independent Austrian RAVAG radio broadcasting resumed inAllied-occupied Austria 24 April 1945, when it announced the formation of a provisional Austrian state government led byKarl Renner (1870–1950). A newRadio Wien station was founded, broadcasting fromFunkhaus Wien by a provisional transmitter on the rooftop, once again under Oskar Czeija, who nevertheless was ousted shortly afterward on pressure by the Soviet military administration. As theFunkhaus was located in the Soviet occupation sector of Vienna, the Western Allies established their own radio stations like theAlpenland network on British-occupied territory,Radio Rot-Weiß-Rot on US-occupied territory,Sendegruppe West on French-occupied territory, as well as the American English-speaking 'Blue Danube' armed forces network (BDN; not to be confused with the laterBlue Danube Radio) and the British Forces Network (BND), which became quite popular with younger Austrian listeners. The RAVAG/Radio Wien transmissions were limited to the Eastern Austrian Soviet occupation zone, and as theCold War progressed was increasingly considered Communist propaganda broadcasting.
Several other radio stations began broadcasting in the different occupation zones and radio became a popular medium among Austrians: in 1952 there were 1.5 million radio sets in Austrian homes. The Western Allies could operate their programmes nationwide from Vienna, with a significantly higher popularity rating than the outdated RAVAG transmissions. In 1955, the various regional stations were brought together as theÖsterreichisches Rundspruchwesen ('Austrian Broadcasting Entity') which later, in 1957, became theÖsterreichischer RundfunkGmbH, forerunner of today's ORF.[2]
The formerÖ2 has been replaced by nine regional channels (one for eachBundesland, or federal state):
All of these radio channels are broadcast terrestrially onFM and via thedigital service of theSESAstrasatellites at19.2° east.
All of ORF's domestic radio channels are also streamed over the internet. An extra 24-hour all-news channel is available exclusively via internet: this isÖ1 Inforadio which relays all of Ö1's news content and fills the 'gaps', during which Ö1 is transmitting music and cultural programmes, with additional news broadcasts.
An additional service,Radio 1476, formerly broadcast onmedium wave each evening from 18.00 until just after midnight. Its schedule was a mixture of items from Ö1, programmes for linguistic and cultural minorities, folk music, and special productions.
The ORF television channels are broadcastterrestrially and via theSESAstra 1Hsatellite at19.2° east. Via satellite ORF 1 and ORF2 areencrypted, allowing only Austrian residents who pay the Austriantelevision licence fee (GIS) to watch them. ORF2 Europe is unencrypted and receivable via satellite in Europe.
ORF is a supporter of theHybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV) initiative that is promoting and establishing an open European standard for hybrid set-top boxes for the reception of broadcast TV and broadband multimedia applications with a single user interface. From 6 March 1995 ORF broadcasts 24 hours a day.
The ORF has one regional studio in each state, where each state produces its own radio and state television, which is broadcast over ORF2. The regional studio inTyrol, also produces regional television and radio for the German-speaking population ofSouth Tyrol, Italy. Even though each state has its own studio, most ORF productions are heavily focused on Vienna, since most shows are made there.
The ORF is funded by atelevision license fee, which since 1998 has been administered by its subsidiaryGebühren Info Service [de] (GIS). The amount payable differs by state. As of 2022,Styria has the highest annual television licence cost, at €343.80, andSalzburg andBurgenland have the highest annual radio licence cost, at €94.92. Annual fees from July 2022 are:[3]
| State | Television | Radio |
|---|---|---|
| Burgenland | €341.40 | €94.92 |
| Carinthia | €330.60 | €92.52 |
| Lower Austria | €339.00 | €93.72 |
| Upper Austria | €269.40 | €75.72 |
| Salzburg | €325.80 | €94.92 |
| Styria | €343.80 | €94.92 |
| Tyrol | €317.40 | €88.92 |
| Vorarlberg | €269.40 | €75.72 |
| Vienna | €339.00 | €94.20 |
From January 2024, as part of reforms to the ORF tabled by theNehammer Cabinet, the GIS organisation will be abolished and its associated TV licensing fee is expected to be replaced with a new compulsory ORF household tax, administered byORF-Beitrags Service GmbH. As a result, some loopholes such as removing theantenna ortuner from television sets in order to declare them "GIS-Free" and hence exempt from the GIS fee (declared legal in a report to theAustrian Parliament in 2008,[4] and confirmed as such by theSupreme Administrative Court of Austria in 2015,[5] hence creating a market for selling regular andsmart TVs without built-in antennas or tuners[6]) will be closed under the new system.[7]
Many of Austria's best known TV stars work for ORF. According to surveys the most prominent television presenter in the country is former alpine skierArmin Assinger who is the host of theMillionen-Show, Austria's version ofWho Wants to Be a Millionaire?.Mirjam Weichselbraun, a formerMTV presenter is co-host ofDancing Stars, Austria's edition ofDancing With the Stars. The most popular comedy show on ORF isWir sind Kaiser ('We Are Emperor') with comedianRobert Palfrader playing Emperor Robert Heinrich I, inviting celebrity guests to make fun of them. The best known news anchors are talk show hostIngrid Thurnher [de] who was given sevenRomy awards as most popular presenter;Armin Wolf who is best known for his hard-hitting interviews on the late evening news showZiB 2; andGabi Waldner [de], moderator of the weekly political magazineReport.
The ORF's firstcorporate logo, called the 'ORF eye', was designed by the Austrian illustrator and cartoonistErich Sokol in 1968, who also served as ORF's chief graphics artist and later asart director from 1967 until 1992. The 'ORF eye' logo is often compared to the 'CBS Eye' logo used by the American commercial broadcasterCBS. In 1992, ORF commissioned the British graphic designerNeville Brody to design its current corporate logo, which was soon nicknamed the 'ORF bricks'. The 1968 'ORF eye' logo however continued to be used sporadically (for example on the title cards ofZeit im Bild) until it was completely phased out in 2011.
Articles related to ORF (broadcaster) | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
