 Logo used since 2014 | |
| Country | Germany |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Munich, Germany |
| Programming | |
| Language | German |
| Picture format | 1080pHDTV (downscaled to720p fordigital satellite andcable) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | ARD |
| Sister channels | One Tagesschau24 ARD-alpha |
| History | |
| Launched | 25 December 1952; 72 years ago (1952-12-25) |
| Former names | NWDR-Fernsehen (1952–1954) Deutsches Fernsehen (1954–1984) Erstes Deutsches Fernsehen (1984–1996) |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| Digital terrestrial television | Channel slots vary on each city |
| Streaming media | |
| DasErste.de | Watch live (Germany only) |
| Ziggo GO(Netherlands) | ZiggoGO.tv (Europe only) |
| Horizon | Horizon.tv (Switzerland only) |
| Canaldigitaal Live App | Live |
Das Erste (German:[dasˈʔeːɐ̯stə]; "The First") is the flagship nationaltelevision channel of theARD association ofpublic broadcasting corporations in Germany, jointly operated by thenine regional public broadcasting corporations that are members of the ARD.[1]
The channel was launched on 25 December 1952 asNWDR-Fernsehen and renamed toDeutsches Fernsehen in 1954.[2] Since 1996, the official brand isDas Erste; the full nameErstes Deutsches Fernsehen (First German Television) is still used before every major news edition. In colloquial speech, the station is usually calledErstes Programm ("First Channel"), or by itsmetonym,ARD.
The channel's first experimental broadcast was on 27 November 1950 as the TV channel of the thenNWDR, which in 1956 split intoNDR andWDR. The regular NWDR television service started on 25 December 1952. Nationwide transmission began on 1 November 1954 within the ARD framework, under the nameDeutsches Fernsehen ("German Television"). It wasWest Germany's only television channel before the establishment ofZDF in 1963.[3]
The new channel consisted of jointly-produced shows such as the nightly news programmeTagesschau (on the air since 26 December 1952), as well as broadcasts produced individually by ARD member stations. The programs were coordinated by theProgrammdirektion 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 toErstes Deutsches Fernsehen ("First German Television") on 1 October 1984. At the same time, a new corporate design was introduced, designed byHans Bacher, along with newCGIidents produced byCranston/Csuri Productions inColumbus, 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 toDas Erste on 1 January 1997, but the long nameErstes Deutsches Fernsehen is still used for some purposes (e.g. the introduction to the main editions of theTagesschau). Informally, it is also known under the metonymARD among viewers.
In addition to itsSD broadcast, a720p50HD version of the channel,Das Erste HD, is also broadcast. Broadcast ofDas Erste HD began in February 2010 with the coverage of the2010 Winter Olympics inVancouver, British Columbia, Canada.[5]Das Erste HD is available via satellite (DVB-S2 onAstra 19.2°E), cable (all cable providers in Germany and some providers throughout Europe), IPTV (MagentaTV), encoded usingH.264AVC, and ondigital terrestrial television in1080p50, encoded usingH.265HEVC.
All nine of Germany's regional public-broadcasting organizations contribute to the output of Das Erste and broadcast its programming in a common schedule.
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 organisation | % of total |
|---|---|
| Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) | 16.25 |
| Hessischer Rundfunk (HR) | 7.45 |
| Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR) | 10.60 |
| Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) | 17.50 |
| Radio Bremen (RB) | 0.75 |
| Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB) | 7.10 |
| Saarländischer Rundfunk (SR) | 1.25 |
| Südwestrundfunk (SWR) | 18.10 |
| Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) | 21.00 |
Before 1990, Das Erste was only distributed inWest Germany, and was almost exclusively broadcast using transmitters owned by theDeutsche Bundespost. However, the transmitters were powerful enough that Das Erstehad a gigantic reach and could be accessed freely in neighboring countries and also inEast Germany, where the channel recorded audiences much larger than theDeutscher Fernsehfunk (the former public broadcaster).Exceptions for the signal includedDresden, located in a deep valley in southeastern East Germany, and the area aroundRügen island. Indeed, Das Erste's broadcasts, particularly the newscasts, were far more popular in East Germany than those of state broadcasterDeutscher Fernsehfunk. One popular nickname for ARD in East Germany wasAußer Rügen und Dresden (except Rügen and Dresden).
On 15 December 1990,following thereunification, programming from ARD was distributed byDeutsche 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 toDeutsche Telekom in 1995, and then in turn toT-Systems in 2000.[6]
Between 2002 and 2008 the transmission facilities in Germany were successively converted from the analogue terrestrialPAL standard to the new digital terrestrialDVB-T television standard.
Das Erste is available throughout Europe onfree-to-air digitalsatellite television via Astra, as well as on manycable providers. Transmission via the Hot Bird satellite was stopped on 1 April 2017.
| 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]
| ARD | |||||
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| RTL Deutschland |
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