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Radio & TV in Germany
If you live off base and don't have an AFN satellite receiver, there's
plenty of excellent English programming available, but you'll need German
cable or satellite reception to get most of it.
People in Germany can get their television and radio three ways:
terrestrially, via cable and via satellite.
You won't find much, if any, television in English without cable or
satellite reception, though some radio in English may be available
terrestrially, especially at night. Things get a little better if you want
to pay for cable service, better still if you invest in satellite reception,
and vastly better if you acquire decoders and/or a digital receiver.
The television stations that can be received without cable or satellite are
ARD, ZDF, the Third Program and, in some areas, RTL, which broadcast
entirely in German. (These are also receivable by cable and satellite,
sometimes with better reception.)
There are about 40 channels on the cable (depending on where you're
located). Most of them broadcast in German, but four of them are in English:
CNN, NBC Super Channel, MTV and BBC World. Also on cable (as well as
satellite) is Premiere World. It is digital pay TV and broadcasts in German,
but it has a large number of channels, offering everything from sports and
films, to children's programming and erotic shows.
By far, the most popular method these days to receive a large number of
channels is to have a satellite dish installed. It is relatively inexpensive
to buy the dish, LNB and receiver. There are a lot of package deals
available in retail outlets. You may want to have a professional installer
mount and align the dish. Make sure you have your landlord's permission to
put up a dish. You will be faced with a large choice of receivers. The
cheapest ones are the analog receivers. Somewhat more expensive are digital
receivers. Many broadcast companies have already switched to the newer
digital technology, but are still broadcasting in analog until the buying
public catches up. If you buy the standard digital receiver that receives
the standard "free to air" broadcasts you'll be able to pick up several
English language channels, depending on which satellite your dish is pointed
to. That's the good news. The bad news is that the channels you can pick up
are pretty much limited to news, music, travel shops, some sports and
shopping.
Several specialized magazines are available that describe in detail the
offerings on different satellites and information on decoders. They also
carry advertisements from different companies that offer the services.
The broadcast standard in Germany is PAL B/G, which isn't compatible with
the NTSC system used in the U.S. You should buy either a PAL set or a
multi-system set.
The U.S. military station AFN also has a terrestrial television program,
but you must live quite close to an American base in order to "eavesdrop."
The signals are weak, the transmitters are usually directional and an NTSC
television set is needed.
Radio, Too
English-language radio is also available; a little of it terrestrially,
more from the cable, much more of very high quality through the satellites.
The last-named offer digital quality music, news, weather, sports, talk,
entertainment and children's programming. Among the many agencies offering
satellite radio in English are: BBC World Service, Bloomberg and CNN. There
are English language programs from places as diverse as Ireland, Switzerland
and India, and even a station of Christian religious broadcasting.
The British and American Forces operate radio networks, too. AFN is
headquartered in Mannheim and the British Forces Broadcasting Service is in
Herford. Of particular interest to Americans is the extremely powerful AFN
AM signal on 873, 1107 and 1143 KHz. American sports events, news, talk
shows and music are featured on this station. Programs can be picked up
wherever troops are located: AFN in the middle and South; BFBS in the north.
(AFN also has an FM service of nearly wall-to-wall music programming but the
transmitters are low powered and you have to live close to a US military
installation to pick it up.)
As an owner of a television set and/or radio you are required to register
each piece of equipment and pay a quarterly user fee, and there are heavy
penalties for not paying it. The fee varies depending on the number of TVs
or radios in your home and car or cars. Applications to register your TV or
radio can be picked up at any German post office and many banks. Payment is
made by transfer after receiving the bill or you can sign up for payment by
Lastschriftverfahren. The regulating authority for these payments is GEZ,
Freimersdorfer Weg 6, 50829 Köln. E-mail:
[email protected].
The public corporations ARD, ZDF and Third Program are financed primarily by
this user's fee. Cable subscription rates run about €20 to €30 a month, and
this is in addition to the user's fee. Satellite dish setups can range from
€75 to over €500 depending on the size of the dish and number of receivers
you want or need. Satellite viewers pay the user's fee also, but there are
no additional charges over and above the initial costs for equipment and
installation unless you want to buy a decoder. There are companies in
Germany that sell and install equipment for satellite reception, and they
will be able to answer any questions you might have regarding current
programs, availability and regulations.
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