 Logo used since 2012 | |
| Type | Broadcast radio, television and online |
|---|---|
| Country | Germany |
| Founded | 1955 |
| Headquarters | Cologne,North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany |
Official website | www |
Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln (pronounced[ˈvɛstˌdɔʏtʃɐˈʁʊntfʊŋkˈkœln]; "West German Broadcasting Cologne"), shortened toWDR (pronounced[ˌveːdeːˈʔɛʁ]ⓘ), is a Germanpublic-broadcasting institution based in theFederal State ofNorth Rhine-Westphalia with its main office inCologne. WDR is a constituent member of the consortium of German public-broadcasting institutions,ARD. As well as contributing to the output of the national television channelDas Erste, WDR produces the regional television serviceWDR Fernsehen (formerly known as WDF and West3) and six regional radio networks.
TheWestdeutsche Funkstunde AG [de] (WEFAG) was established on 15 September 1924.
There was a substantial purge of left wing staff following theNazi seizure of power in 1933. This includedErnst Hardt,Hans Stein, andWalter Stern.
WDR was created in 1955, whenNordwestdeutscher Rundfunk (NWDR) was split intoNorddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) – coveringLower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, and Hamburg – and Westdeutscher Rundfunk, responsible for North Rhine-Westphalia,West Germany. WDR began broadcasting on two radio networks (one produced jointly with NDR) on 1 January 1956. WDR constitutes the most prominent example of regional broadcasting in Germany.[1]
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WDR is in part funded by the limited sale of on-air commercial advertising time; however, its principal source of income is the revenue derived from viewer and listenerlicence fees. As of 2023 the monthly fee due from each household for radio and television reception was €18.36.[5] These fees are collected not directly by WDR but by ajoint agency ofARD (and its member institutions),ZDF, andDeutschlandradio.
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WDR began its regional television service, Westdeutsches Fernsehen (WDF), on 17 December 1965. On 27 August 1967, when West Germany broadcast its first color TV program, WDF used a live broadcast originating from a Boschoutside broadcast van to start broadcasting in color. In 1988, the channel was renamed West 3; since 1994, it has been known asWDR Fernsehen.
While the programmes are mainly run from theirCologne headquarters, they also have a number of sub-regional studios contributing to a regular broadcast calledLokalzeit with the opt-outs "aus Aachen" (Aachen), "OWL" (Bielefeld), "aus Bonn" (Bonn), "aus Dortmund" (Dortmund), "aus Düsseldorf" (Düsseldorf), "aus Duisburg" (Duisburg), "Ruhr" (Essen), "aus Köln" (Cologne andBonn), "Münsterland" (Münster), "Südwestfalen" (Siegen) and "Bergisches Land" (Wuppertal) for each respective region. WDR has its current affairs and regional politics studios in Düsseldorf.
It has served as the production entity for shows on Das Erste, such asVerbotene Liebe ('Forbidden Love'), which, over the years, has introduced many young actors to the German audience, such asAndreas Stenschke,Jo Weil, Luca Zamperoni and Kay Böger. TheSportschau is produced for ARD in Cologne, and WDR contributes toARD Digital,3sat andarte.
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A long-running talk show on wheels wasHallo Ü-Wagen ("Hello Radio Van"), which ran from 1974 to 2010 withCarmen Thomas as the original host.
WDR's main radio channels are available on FM and digital (DAB+), as well as via cable and satellite:
Broadcast only via DAB (Digital Radio) as well as DVB-S and partly DVB-C:
Former radio channels are:
