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| Formerly | Radioordningen (1925–1926) Statsradiofonien (1926–1959) Danmarks Radio (1959–1996) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Publicly fundedpublic-service broadcaster |
| Industry | Mass media |
| Founded | 1 April 1925; 100 years ago (1925-04-01) |
| Headquarters | DR Byen,, |
Area served | Kingdom of Denmark |
Key people |
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| Revenue | 3,789,800,000 Danish krone (2021)  |
| −95,400,000 Danish krone (2021) | |
| Total assets | 5,773,300,000 Danish krone (2021) |
Number of employees | 2,439 (2021) |
| Website | Official website |
DR (pronounced[ˈte̝ˀˌɛɐ̯]), officially theDanish Broadcasting Corporation in English,[1] is aDanishpublic-serviceradio andtelevision broadcasting company.[2] Founded in 1925 as a public-service organization, it is Denmark's oldest and largest electronic media enterprise. DR shares many of its organisational characteristics with its British counterpart, theBBC, on which it was largely modelled. DR is a founding member of theEuropean Broadcasting Union.
DR was originally funded by amedia licence, however since 2022, the media license has been replaced by an addition to the Danishincome tax.
Today, DR operates three television channels, all of which are distributedfree-to-air via a nationwideDVB-T2 network.[3] DR also operates seven radio channels. All are available nationally onDAB+ radio and online, with the four original stations also available onFM radio.[4]Bjarne Corydon serves as the current Director-General of DR since August 2025.[5]
DR was founded on 1 April 1925 under the name ofRadioordningen, which was changed toStatsradiofonien in 1926, then toDanmarks Radio in 1959,[6] and toDR in 1996.[7]
During the Germanoccupation of Denmark inWorld War II, radio broadcasts were censored – under particularly harsh conditions from August 1943 – leading many Danes to turn to Danish-language broadcasts from theBBC or the illegal press,[8] as well as Swedish radio in 1944–1945.[6]
Statsradiofonien's second FM radio station, Program 2 (P2), was added in 1951, followed by P3 in 1963.
Experimental television broadcasts started in 1949, with regular programming beginning on 2 October 1951[9] with the launch of Denmark's first television channel. Daily programming began in 1954.[6] Colour television test broadcasts were started in March 1967, with the first large-scale colour broadcasting occurring for the1968 Winter Olympics inGrenoble, France.[10] Danmarks Radio officially ended its "test" transmissions of colour television on 1 April 1970, although it wasn't until 1978 that the organisation's last black-and-white television programme (TV Avisen—The News) went over to colour.[10]
In 1968, Danish television introduced television satire as a new entertainment genre. The production of satirical series by the entertainment department at DR occurred during a time when DR held a monopoly on radio and television broadcasting from 1925 to 1988, and from 1951 onwards, respectively.[11]
At 14.00 local time on 16 May 1983 DR launched its firstteletext information service, which is still available on all DR channels.[12]
Danmarks Radio's monopoly on national television lasted until 1988, whenTV2 started broadcasting.[13] 8 years later DR launched their second television channel,DR2, on 30 August 1996.[14] It was sometimes calledden hemmelige kanal (lit. 'the secret channel') in its early years because it could not be seen nationwide at its launch.
The first trials ofDAB were carried out in 1995,[15] with eight channels officially launching in October 2002.[16]
In 2006, as part of its relocation toDR Byen, DR was rebranded with a new logo designed by Front Nordic.[17]
On 7 June 2007, DR launched an online-only news channelDR Update.[18] It was later added as a traditional channel. With the switch to over-the-air digital signals on 1 November 2009, DR added three new channels to its lineup[19]
In 2013, a new logo in which the letters "DR" featured in a whitesans-serif font on a black background was introduced, and the line-up of television channels was changed once again. A new channel targeting young people,DR3 replaced DR HD. Another channel for children,DR Ultra replaced DR Update. The closure of DR Update was the start of a revamping ofDR 2 as a channel for news and society.
A nationwide switch from DAB to the newer DAB+ format took place on 1 October 2017.[20] All of DR's stations plus the privately owned, public service channel - Radio24Syv, moved to the second national DAB+ multiplex (DAB-blok 2).
During 2006–07, DR moved all of its activities fromRadiohuset inFrederiksberg andTV-Byen inSøborg to a new complex in theØrestad area of Copenhagen.[21][22] The new building, called DR Byen (lit. 'the DR city'), covers an area of approximately 133,000 m2 (1,431,600 sq ft).[23]
The project became more expensive than planned, forcing DR to make drastic budget cuts.[24] In April 2007, it was announced that 300 employees would be laid off, meaning that most of the sports department would be closed down as well as most of the educational department, several programmes and the radio channel DR X.[25][26] DR would also give up its rights to theOlympic Games and attempt to sell the rights to a number of other sports events includingfootball.[27]
As the major recipient oflicense funds, DR operates under a public service contract with the government which it was unable to fulfil in the wake of the budget crisis related to the move.[28][29][30] The budget overspends caused a major scandal which saw senior management of DR replaced, and was followed by a heated political debate over whether the service should receive additional emergency funding.[citation needed] Various measures to mitigate the impact on the public service obligations of the institution were contemplated by theDanish Parliament, and a compromise was agreed to limit the impact of the deficit.
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The principal means of funding DR is through themedia licence, costing 2,492 DKK ($356 USD) per year per household since 2017.[31] Traditionally it was the owners of radio and television receiving sets who were obliged to pay the licence fee. The increased availability of online streaming, however, led to the replacement on 1 January 2007 of the television licence by a more widely payable "media licence". This licence is mandatory not just for those with television sets but also for all those who own a computer, smartphone, or any other device enabling access to the internet.[32]
In 2007, approximately 180,000 households did not pay the media licence.[33]
Additional revenue comes from such commercial activities as the mounting of DR-organized concerts and other events in theKoncerthuset, the sale of books, CDs, and DVDs, as well as overseas sales from the catalogue of DR-made programmes.
Over a period of four years, starting in 2019 through 2022, the media licence was replaced by general taxation, as announced on 16 March 2018 by a majority in theDanish Parliament consisting ofVenstre, theConservatives, theLiberal Alliance, and theDanish People's Party.[34][35]
DR's board of directors comprises 11 members appointed for a four-year period. Three members, including the chair, are appointed by theMinister of Culture, and six by Parliament, while the employees of DR elect two members. The board has overall responsibility for DR programs and for the hiring of DR's chief executive, the director general, and the remaining management positions. Their names are unknown.[citation needed]
Some notable DR productions includeBetter Times,Borgen,Dansk Melodi Grand Prix (the Danish national selection for theEurovision Song Contest),Follow the Money,Gift ved første blik (remade in other countries asMarried at First Sight),Matador,The Bridge,The Legacy andThe Killing.
DR has organised three editions of the Eurovision Song Contest, all in Copenhagen: in1964,2001 and2014;Eurovision Young Musicians 1986, and the inaugural edition of theJunior Eurovision Song Contest in2003. It was also the host broadcaster forCongratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2005.
Disbanded DR orchestras
Since 1963, DR has awarded the Rosenkjær Prize to a person who has proven an ability to make a difficult subject accessible to a wider audience in an understandable and vivid form. The prizewinner commits to hold a number of radio lectures. The prize is named after Jens Rosenkjær (1883–1976), Head of State Broadcasting 1937–53. The prize is now DKK 50,000, up from 25,000 in 2008, and 40,000 in 2009.[40]
In collaboration withBandakademiet, DR holds the annual KarriereKanonen competition for unsigned Danish artists.[41] Artists submit their music to DR, from which 10 acts are selected by a jury to play at theSpot music festival. Following the festival, a cohort of semifinalists are selected to play atSmukfest, where three winners are announced. The winners get airplay onDR P3 and P6 BEAT. KarriereKanonen has helped launch the careers of a number of Danish artists, including:The Minds of 99,Magtens Korridorer,Tue West, andRasmus Nøhr.
For over a decade, theDanish People's Party, anativist[42] andanti-immigrant political party,[43] has criticised DR for alleged bias in its political news coverage, citing the process for appointment to DR's board of directors. In response, DR set up a "watchdog committee" intended to detect and report upon any bias. Members of the watchdog committee are unknown.
The first large-scale scientific content analysis of political news coverage on DR published by theCentre for Journalism at theUniversity of Southern Denmark, studying election news coverage in the years 1994–2007, documented no persistent political bias towards either the left or the right.[44] News coverage of political actors and parties was found to be largely similar to the news coverage on DR's competitorTV 2. The study concluded that political news coverage on both broadcasters was guided by journalistic professional criteria as to the newsworthiness of political actors and political issues, not by partisan considerations.
In 2008,Mikael Rothstein, Jewish author and professor ofreligious history at theUniversity of Copenhagen, was highly critical of DR when it issued aChristian values policy, declaring that Muslims would feel excluded.[45][46]
DR BY Danish Broadcasting Corporation - As part of a value based identity process, the organisation was rebranded to coincide with the relocation of their headquarters, in 2006, to Amager, Copenhagen.
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