German Culture Q1:Television in

German Culture

Dirk Hamel-WoodPeriod 2

Overview• Germany has 2 major public broadcasting

corporations, ARD, founded in 1954, and ZDF, founded in 1961.

• The other public broadcasting stations, the Laender, are controlled mostly by the states.

• The Laender are financed through monthly fees, charged to television and radio owners.

Overview

• Public television stations are only allowed 30 minutes of advertising per day, and no commercials at all after 8 PM.

• Commercial television is financed entriely through advertising, similar to the US system.

Media Landscape

• 82.2 million people live in Germany.

• There are a total of 35 million households where people have at least one television set.

• Since the surrounding countries like Austria and Switzerland speak German, the German-speaking area includes around 100 million people, making media very efficient.

Media Landscape

• In Germany, the average person spends about 219 minutes on television.

• This time is split about evenly between commercial and public broadcasters.

US/German Comparison

• In a study between three samples, East Germany, West Germany, and the US, television was identified as the most prevalent form of news media.

• However, the US was classified as more reliant on television, where Germany was more balanced between television, radio, and newspaper.

US/German Comparison

• In a survey in all three countries, 5 questions were asked to all subjects, to determine their knowledge of current events.

• In the US, subjects answered, on average, 1.5 questions right.

• In Germany, subjects answered, on average, 3.5 questions right.

Pictures

2. ZDF, the other public German broadcasting station.

http://www.lanzaroteinformation.com/files/zdf-logo_2.png

1. ARD, one of Germany’s public broadcasting stations.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YwAwBRNtm3E/T8JYXVIL1xI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/9jeNWOEONpM/s1600/ard-live-tv-stream-online.jpg

3. SAT.1, Germany’s first commercial broadcasting station.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/db/Sat.1_logo.png

Quiz Questions• 1. What is the population of Germany?

A. 100.3 million people.

B. 82.2 million

C. 55.6 million

• 2. How many households have television sets?

A. 35 million households

B. 40 million households

C. 45 million households

Bibliography

• Overview: http://www.germanculture.com.ua/library/facts/bl_radio_tv.htm

• Media Landscape: http://www.ejc.net/media_landscape/article/germany/

• Study: http://www.grady.uga.edu/coxcenter/Activities/Act_1997_to_1998/MAPORNov1996.pdf