Origins

     Television in Germany began as an integrated part of an existing public broadcasting system. Although it took seven years in the 1950s to establish fully TV as a mass medium, its history started before World War II. The first tests with wireless transmission of television pictures without sound were regularly offered by the German Reichpost in I 929. As a result of these tests, the first made-for-television movie, Morgenstund hat Gold im Mund (The Early Bird Catches the Worm), was produced in 1930. It was not until 1934, however, that programs combining pictures and sounds were produced.

     The National Socialist Party enforced further technical developments in order to create a new instrument for propaganda. The first regular television network, "Paul Nipkow," began operation on March 22, 1935, under control of Reichssendeleiter Eugen Hadamovsky. To fulfill the propaganda function, reception was made available only in public television rooms. These venues, which operated quite similarly to movie theaters and presented programs three nights a week, were set up in Berlin. The first highlight, shown in 28 television rooms, was live coverage of the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. Private reception of television was made technically possible by the Deutsche Fernseh-Einheits­ empfaenger, but the system could not be introduced to the market because of the beginning of World War II. Television programming adapted to the situation, and by 1941 a series of variety shows, Wirsenden Frohsin-Wir spenden Freude (We Broadcast Joy-We Spend Happiness), were broadcast for injured soldiers in Berlin. Following the presentation of programs in Hamburg, television was also broadcast in occupied Paris from 1942 until 1944. The same programs produced for the injured soldiers were aimed in French at the inhabitants of Paris.

West German Television

     The development of television in Germany following World War II began when the Western Allies founded new networks in their occupied areas, patterned on the network systems of their home countries. A common aim of the Western Allies was to prevent the future abuse of broadcasting by the German government. Thus, the different regional networks were placed under control of the state governments of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; West Germany): NWDR (northern and west Germany, which were split, during the 1950s, into NDR and WDR); Radio Bremen (Bre­ men); BR (Bavaria); HR (Hessia); SR, SDR, and SWF for southwest Germany.

     In 1948 the British Allies allowed the NWDR to broadcast television programs for the northern part of Germany. A general television programming test phase, organized by Werner Pleister, started on September 25, 1950. Pleister and members of a television committee traveled to the United States and several European countries to become more familiar with television standards. In 1950 the NWDR presented a two-hour program between 8:00 and 10:00 P.M., which included news, variety shows, movies, and television plays. In 1951 additional programs for children (Tele­ vision's Children's Hour with Ilse Obrig) and women (Television's Tea Hour with Eva Baier Post) were broadcast in the afternoon. Further gaps in the daily schedule were filled during the 1950s, and, in addition to the NWDR, other federal networks also started to develop television programs.

     In the time of the test phase, between 1950 and 1952, it seemed necessary to promote the new medium by pointing out the technical differences that distinguishes television from its "big brothers," radio and film. By presenting live reports with both visual and sound components, television was described as the fifth wall in the living room, or as the "Miracle Mirror." Television was celebrated as the "window to the world," which transferred directly into German homes. Two major events assisted in efforts to change television into a mass medium-the live coverage of the coronation ceremony of Queen Elizabeth II on June 2, 1953, and the final game of the soccer World Cup in Switzerland on July 4, 1954. Many Germans who did not yet own a television set watched these events in pubs.

     In 1954 a regular television schedule began through the cooperation of all federal networks, which had formed an association named Arbeitsgemeinschaft der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (ARD). ARD was financed by license fees paid by the audience and, after 1956, with a few minutes of commercials presented in the early evening. During the 1950s the basic television genres in the central areas of entertainment, information, and education were established, and television plays developed as television's own specific art form. Because of the lack of a recording technique, these plays, as well as other types of shows, were presented live. In 1954 the first family series, Unsere Nachbam heute Abend: Familie Schoelermann (Our Neighbors Tonight: The Schoelermann Family), appeared. The lifestyle depicted on the program served as an ideal for the audience, which resulted in many letters expressing gratitude for helpful advice. Documentaries, under the heading Zeichen der Zeit (Sign of the Time), also gave direct insights into several parts of German society.

     Improvements in the technical quality of television sets, reduced prices, and better programs resulted in a steady increase in license holders, and their number reached 1 million on October 1, 1957. This success and new, still unused frequencies motivated Konrad Adenauer, chancellor of the West German government, to increase his influence by founding a second channel, "Free Television," financed by the industry and with the central goal of presenting government opinions. The federal governments protested against these activities, and they were finally stopped by a court ruling in 1961. The ARD also presented a second schedule of programs from January 1, 1961, until January 4, 1963. In addition, the federal governments allowed the several ARD networks to found regional third channels, which, from 1964, presented educational and cultural programs in addition to local information.

     The ZDF (Second German Television) was founded by the FRG in 1963 as the long-promised second national network. In contrast to the ARD, whose networks distributed several radio programs as well, the ZDF was centrally organized solely for the production of television programs. According to a decision by the federal governments, programming had to be planned in cooperation with the ARD, with the aim of presenting contrasting elements on the two channels. Still, the well-established ARD perceived the ZDF as a competitor and reacted to it by offering viewers enhanced news coverage and several international reports. New political magazine programs such as Panorama created controversial public discussions as a result of their investigative journalism. The ZDF did not yet have enough journalists to cover these areas with the same standard. Instead, it increased its efforts in presenting entertainment in order to gain a larger audience. The arrival of color TV in 1967 increased the presentation of popular programs for both ARD and ZDF, whose schedules by then included many U.S. series, such as Bonanza. With the increasing influence of popular television shows, the star system also became far more significant. Still, as in the 1950s, the highlight of the era came in the form of live coverage-especially the images of the first man on the moon on July 21, 1969.

     Serials dominated prime-time television broadcasts in the 1970s. In the early years of the decade, the liberalization movements initiated by students started to influence television. In 1971 Wibke Bruhns became the first female news anchor. Wuensch Dir was (Desire Something, 1969-72) was the first game show intended to improve social behavior of the contestants. The first German sitcom series, Ein Herz und eine Seele (One Heart and One Soul, 1973), criticized the conservative attitude and the chauvinistic behavior of its protagonist, Ekel Alfred. Television plays tried to present realistic daily life routines in the tradition of Egon Monk's Wilhelmsburger Freitag (Friday in Wilhelmsburg, 1964). Even television series such as Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Acht Stunden sind kein Tag (Eight Hours Don't Form a Day, 1972) followed realistic dramaturgy in order to present the necessity of political engagement. This aim also influenced informational programs, which were mainly presented in magazine format, and, in addition to political magazines, there were also magazines for seniors, car owners, and others. Politics was approached from another direction when the election campaign in 1976 was used to develop new formats for the presentation of political items, and television debates between the main candidates were established.

     In the late I 960s the government founded a com­mission to analyze possible influences of new media technologies, but the commission did not present its report until 1976. It made clear that cable technology made new, commercially financed television channels possible. Although a 1981 legal decision guaranteed the audience further educational and information programs supplied from public television, this period saw major changes resulting from the rise of commercial broadcasting that was made possible by these new technologies.

     With the foundation in 1984 of privately organized pilot projects in Ludwigshafen, Berlin, and Dortmund, the media landscape in West Germany, long dominated by public television, changed rapidly. Ratings, instead of quality, now formed the basic criteria for assessing the success of programming. ARD and ZDF, the state­ supported competitors to the commercial systems, altered their schedules in attempts to secure their financial situation. The general public-service goal of integrating social minorities through the development and broadcasting of special programming was now supplanted by the dominance of economic measurements. Public television systems did produce their own series with specific regional orientations. This programming-for example, Landarzt (Country Doctor), broadcast in a coastal region of northern Germany­ was quite successful.

East German Television

     From the postwar division of Germany into two nations until the collapse of the Berlin Wall. television broadcasting in the German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany) remained under government control and served as a propaganda instrument for socialist ideals. Regular programming officially started on March 3, 1956, as an alternative to West German television, but it reached only a few regions across the border. By contrast, ARD broadcasts could be seen in most parts of the GDR.

     As in West Germany, there had been a test phase in the GDR, begun on June 3, 1952, under the control of Hermann Zille. TV officials traveled to Moscow to gain insight into socialist models for television practices. For political reasons, Zille was fired in 1953 and replaced by Heinz Adameck in June 1954, who remained as head of the system until 1989. The first East German television play was an adaptation of E.T.A. Hoffmann 's Des Vetters Eckfenster (The Cousin '.s Corner Window, January 22, 1953).

     The purpose of television was to form the morality of socialist people. Television shows and old DEFA movies were presented as entertainment in order to keep the audience from watching West German channels. In the I960s TV novels were popular, presenting historical plots in miniseries format. The news Aktuelle Kamera (Current Camera) was directly controlled by members of the government. Der Schwarze Kanai (The Black Channel), with anchorman Karl Eduard von Schnitzler, reacted directly to West German news coverage with propaganda material.

     In response to the West German television landscape, a second program schedule, presented in color, was founded in 1969 to complement the original schedule. In its early period, this channel presented color versions of programs the audience already knew from the first schedule. Additionally, the leaders of Soviet troops in the GDR demanded a series of Russian movies, Fuer die Freunde der Russischen Sprache (For Friends of the Russian Language), which were presented in the original language. In the late 1970s the second schedule began several educational and cultural programs.

     During the 1980s, East German television tried to react against commercial tendencies in West Germany. More movies and popular series were placed in the schedules to keep citizens from watching West German channels. By the 1989-90 season, following political changes in East Germany and the unification of East and West Germany, the central issue for television was the matter of news coverage. Journalists of the ARD claimed to have encouraged the political changes with their information policy. In essence, East German television was adapted to the West German broadcasting system, with various services integrated in the ARD.

Television Since Reunification

     From the mid- l980s on, the steadily increasing number of channels in Germany created a growing demand for programs. It was quite expensive to produce programming, but the prices for licenses exploded as well. Many Hollywood movies and U.S. series, such as Dallas, Dynasty, and The A-Team, were broadcast. The commercial networks RTL and SAT. l established the form of the daytime series with productions like The Springfield Story. Game show and talk show formats were both successful and inexpensive to produce. RTL tried to gain public attention by breaking existing taboos-Tutti Frutti (1990) was the first striptease show presented on German TV. Soft news dominated the information sector. Instead of seriously discussing a topic, RTL talk shows were based on the principle of "confrontainment."

     At the beginning of the 1990s, RTL and SAT. I improved their financial situation. Simultaneously, ARD and ZDF, as public networks, experienced a financial crisis because of the decreasing number of commercials they carried. With their new prominence, RTL and SAT. l started several campaigns to improve their image. They promised a higher percentage of self-produced made-for-television movies and series, more information, and less sex in future programming. They brought in stars in order to deepen the identification between the viewers and their networks. ARD and ZDF increasingly adapted the successful formats of their competitors, which had themselves already taken up popular public­ television formats such as folklore programs.

     From 1992 to 1994 "reality TV" shows were a successful format on every channel. The blurred lines between reality and fiction in these programs created controversial public discussions and led to their slow disappearance during the later 1990s. Several forms of emotionalized shows like /ch bekenne (I Confess) or Verzeih mir (Pardon Me) presented weeping guests comforted by weeping hosts. Flirtation and love shows such as Traumhochzeit (Dream Wedding) offered exciting possibilities for finding a partner or even for marriage in front of studio cameras.

     During the 1990s, several specialty channels were created. In addition to news (N-TV), sports (DSF), and music channels (Viva I and Viva II), local channels (HH1, Puls TV) were founded. Even more new channels are expected in the future as digital television technologies make more networks possible.

     In the 1990s and early 2000s, Leo Kirch, head of KirchMedia, one of the two main media conglomerates dominating the German network television market (along with Bertelsmann), tried to strengthen his com­ pany's financial resources by establishing several forms of pay-TV, beginning with the program bouquet of DFl, which was later combined with Premiere World. Kirch also invested a large amount of money to buy world rights for the live coverage of sporting events, particularly soccer matches (including the World Cup) and Formula One automobile races. However, despite such appealing offerings, German viewers still generally refused to pay for television programs, and KirchMedia became mired in debt, with Leo Kirch resigning from the company in April 2002 after it filed for insolvency.

     Around the same time that Kirch was expanding and then collapsing, U.S. cable entrepreneur John C. Malone also tried to enter Germany's pay-TV market, striking a $4.7 billion deal in 2001 to acquire from the German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom its interest in cable television services reaching the majority of German households with cable. However, Malone's efforts were thwarted in 2002 by German regulators, who cited concerns that the deal would ultimately lead to higher prices for cable subscriptions and thus harm the interests of consumers. Other foreign investors, such as Rupert Murdoch, continue to seek inroads into the German television market.

     In 2000 the reality show Big Brother was the biggest television event in Germany. On this program and via its Internet site, viewers could observe ten people living together in a household where every room was observed by cameras. The high ratings of Big Brother encouraged the production of many more reality shows until this trend was stemmed by the success of quiz shows in 2001.

     It remains to be seen whether the new, combined German system of television will continue a familiar path of creating new channels to serve viewer interests, or become something quite different. Throughout the world, television as medium of "mass" communication has begun to fragment into several forms of individual communication. New possibilities for interactive television try to change viewers into active users. Still, it is likely that many of those now sitting before the television set will cling to this medium as a favorite source for information, stories, and human insights.