Television

This article introduces the television channels which are available in Germany. It also covers some other television-related information for Germany.

German television channels

The biggest television channels in Germany are:

• Das Erste - ARD
• Bayerischer Rundfunk - BR
• ZDF - Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen
• RTL - Radio Televison Luxembourg
• Pro7, Sat.1, N24, and Premiere

Some areas of Munich can also pick up ORF, the Austrian channel.

For a more complete list see: Wikipedia: List of German language television channels.

Programming schedules

German television programming schedules can be seen online via the following websites:

• programm.tvtoday.de
• de.tv.yahoo.com
• klack.de

See also the related TT chat topic: Online TV listings for Germany

Programming quality

Is German television any good? This is a controversial issue. Many of the British in Munich claim that German TV is pretty bad. Of course this is just a matter of opinion. For more discussion about this issue see the following TT chat forum topics:

• Is German TV any good?
• German TV is fantastic!
• Is German TV awful?

Most popular and famous shows

• Wetten Dass - equivalent of the UK's "You Bet!"
• Deutschland sucht den Superstar - German equivalent of the UK's Pop Idol, i.e. a talent contest
• Big Brother - same as all the international variants of the show of the same name
• The Swan - German equivalent of "Extreme make-over"

See also:

• German TV comedy shows
• Discovering German sci-fi

Most famous German TV celebrities

Some of the most famous German television celebrities are:

• Sefan Raab - hosts a talk show something like five nights a week
• David Hasselhof - he's American, not German, but is still extremely popular in Germany
• ...any more?

German television license

All owners of a television or radio in Germany are obliged to pay the TV license. This is called the GEZ which stands for "Gebuhreinzugs zentrale". The fee (as of October 2005) is €5.52 per month for radio ownership only, or €17.03 for television only or tv and radio. For more details see: Television license

Digital television

Since 31.May.2005 all terrestrial television broadcasts in the Munich area have been digital. This means that you need a digital receiver. More details about this here: Digital television

English language television

There are no terrestrial television channels in Germany which offer English language programming. Such channels are only available either via cable or satellite. For full details see: English language television