ORF 1 (''ORF eins'') is an Austrian public television channel owned by
ORF
ORF or Orf may refer to:
* Norfolk International Airport, IATA airport code ORF
* Observer Research Foundation, an Indian research institute
* One Race Films, a film production company founded by Vin Diesel
* Open reading frame, a portion of t ...
. It was the first television channel in
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, started in 1955.
ORF 1 is one of four public TV channels in Austria. It is funded by a mixture of advertising revenue and
television licence
A television licence or broadcast receiving licence is a payment required in many countries for the reception of television broadcasts, or the possession of a television set where some broadcasts are funded in full or in part by the licence ...
fees: as such, unlike the German TV stations (which are generally available free-to-air), ORF 1 and its sister channels are encrypted over satellite.
Programming
ORF 1 mainly shows films, TV series and sporting events; this is in contrast to
ORF 2, which focuses more on news, documentaries and cultural programming. As the target audience of ORF 1 is younger than that of ORF 2, ORF's children's output, ''okidoki'', is broadcast on ORF 1 every morning. Popular sporting events, such as
skiing
Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ...
,
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...
and
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...
are also usually shown on ORF 1. ORF has exclusive rights to many sports; for example, it holds the rights to Formula One until 2020. In addition to the regular commentary, some sporting events, as well as some dramas, carry special commentary tracks for the visually impaired, via the
Zweikanalton system.
Until 9 April 2007, ORF's flagship news programme ''
Zeit im Bild'' (''The Times in Pictures'') was broadcast at 7:30pm on both ORF 1 and ORF 2; as part of a major programme overhaul, this was replaced on ORF 1 with the soap opera ''
Mitten im 8en''. Due to poor ratings, the soap was short-lived and was replaced on 2 July 2007 by ''
Malcolm in the Middle
''Malcolm in the Middle'' is an American family television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for Fox. The series premiered on January 9, 2000, and ended on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes.
The series follows a dysfunctiona ...
''. To fill the void left by removing ''Zeit im Bild'' from ORF 1, two new news programmes entitled ''ZiB 20'' and ''ZiB 24'' were introduced; as their names suggest, they are broadcast at 8pm (20:00) and midnight (24:00) every night. In addition, short bulletins known as ''ZiB Flash'' are shown several times throughout the day.
Feature films form a key part of the primetime output on ORF 1, and are shown several nights a week: many movie premieres are shown at the same time as on German broadcasters, but without the commercial interruptions that are commonplace on private German channels. Certain films and series are broadcast with both the German dub and the original (usually English) soundtrack via
Zweikanalton (''Two-channel sound'').
Children
*''
Fireman Sam''
*''
Maya the Bee'' ''(Die Biene Maja)'' (2013–present)
*''
Princess Sarah''
*''
Peg + Cat''
*''
Story of the Alps: My Annette''
*''
Tales of Little Women''
*''
Zig & Sharko''
*''
Marsupilami
''Marsupilami'' is a comic book character and fictional animal species created by André Franquin. Its first appearance was in the 31 January 1952 issue of the Franco-Belgian comics magazine '' Spirou''. Since then it appeared regularly in th ...
''(Marsupilami - die neuen abenteuer) (2008-2015) (Season 1)
*''
The Bush Baby''
Entertainment
*''
Eurovision Song Contest''
Information
*''
Zeit im Bild''
Series
*''
9-1-1
, usually written 911, is an emergency telephone number for the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Palau, Argentina, Philippines, Jordan, as well as the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), one of eight N11 codes. Like other emergency n ...
'' (2018–present)
*''
About a Boy'' (2018)
*''
Altes Geld'' (2015, 2017)
*''
Babylon Berlin
''Babylon Berlin'' is a German neo-noir television series. Created, written, and directed by Tom Tykwer, Achim von Borries, and Hendrik Handloegten. It is loosely based on novels by German author Volker Kutscher.
The series premiered on 13 ...
'' (2018–present)
*''
Desperate Housewives
''Desperate Housewives'' is an American comedy-drama soap opera television series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on ABC from October 3, 2004, until May 13, 2012, for a to ...
'' (2005-201?)
*''
Devious Maids
''Devious Maids'' is an American television comedy-drama and mystery series created by Marc Cherry, produced by ABC Studios, and executive produced by Cherry, Sabrina Wind, Eva Longoria, Paul McGuigan, Larry Shuman, David Lonner, John Mass, P ...
'' ''(Devious Maids - Schmutzige Geheimnisse)'' (2014, 2016-2017)
*''
Ghost Whisperer
''Ghost Whisperer'' is an American supernatural television series, which ran on CBS from September 23, 2005, to May 21, 2010.
The series follows the life of Melinda Gordon (Jennifer Love Hewitt), who has the ability to see and communicate wit ...
'' (2007-201?)
*''
Glee
Glee means delight, a form of happiness.
Glee may also refer to:
* Glee (music), a type of English choral music
* ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy
* ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...
'' (2011–present)
*''
Grey's Anatomy
''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into ...
'' (2006–present)
*''
Kupetzky'' (2006)
*''
Last Man Standing'' (2014-2017)
*''
Liar
A lie is an assertion that is believed to be false, typically used with the purpose of deception, deceiving or Deception, misleading someone. The practice of communicating lies is called lying. A person who communicates a lie may be termed a l ...
'' (2018)
*''
Magda macht das schon!
''Magda macht das schon!'' is a German television series that premiered on January 5, 2017 on RTL Television.
Plot
The Polish geriatric nurse ''Magda'', big heart and big mouth urgently needs a new job and a new place to stay. Unquestioningly, s ...
'' (2017–present)
*''
NCIS: Los Angeles'' (2010-)
*''
Seinfeld
''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...
'' (2007)
*''
Stalker'' (2015, 2017-2018)
*''
Station 19'' ''(Seattle Firefighters - Die jungen Helden)'' (2018–present)
*''
Tatort
''Tatort'' ("Crime scene") is a German language police procedural television series that has been running continuously since 1970 with some 30 feature-length episodes per year, which makes it the longest-running German TV drama. Developed by ...
'' (2006-2009, 2016)
*''
Touch
In physiology, the somatosensory system is the network of neural structures in the brain and body that produce the perception of touch ( haptic perception), as well as temperature ( thermoception), body position ( proprioception), and pain. It ...
'' (2012, 2014, 2018)
*''
The Big Bang Theory
''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom served as executive producers on the series, along with Steven Molaro, all of whom also served as head writers. It premiered on CBS ...
'' (2010–present)
*''
The Defenders'' (2011, 2013–2014)
*''
The Mentalist'' (2009-201?)
*''
The Unusuals'' (2013-2014)
*''
Two and a Half Men
''Two and a Half Men'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS for twelve seasons from September 22, 2003, to February 19, 2015. Originally starring Charlie Sheen in the lead role alongside Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones, the ...
'' (2005-2017)
*''
Who Is America?
''Who Is America?'' is an American political satire mockumentary style television series created by Sacha Baron Cohen that premiered on July 15, 2018, on Showtime. Baron Cohen also stars in the series as various characters and executive produce ...
'' (2018–present)
*''
Young Sheldon
''Young Sheldon'' is an American coming-of-age sitcom television series created by Chuck Lorre and Steven Molaro for CBS. The series, set in the late 1980s and early 1990s, is a spin-off prequel to ''The Big Bang Theory'' and begins with the ...
'' (2018–present)
Sport
*
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the ' (FIFA), the ...
*
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...
*
UEFA European Football Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...
High definition broadcast
On 28 January 2008, ORF started its
high-definition services. The first broadcast was a ski race called ''The Nightrace'' in
Schladming
Schladming is a small former mining town in the northwest of the Austrian state of Styria that is now a popular tourist destination. It has become a large winter-sports resort and has held various skiing competitions, including most notably the ...
. A special HDTV event, introducing HD technology, was scheduled in all regional ORF stations right after. The technological partner for HD productions is
Telekom Austria
A1 Telekom Austria Group is a provider of a range of fixed-line, broadband Internet, multimedia services, data, and IT systems, wholesale as well as mobile payment services. It is a subsidiary of Mexican telecommunications conglomerate América ...
. Test operations began on 1 May 2008: ten days later, these were made available to any households with an ORF card showing a trailer. Those who could receive ORF 1 HD would see a trailer which showed excerpts from sports footage, films and documentaries.
ORF 1 HD officially launched on 2 June 2008, five days before the start of
2008 UEFA European Football Championship
The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of Europea ...
.
Reception
ORF 1 HD is broadcast on Astra 19.2° east on 10,832 GHz horizontal (SR 22000, FEC 5/6). The channel is also available through Cable and IPTV.
Programming
Initially, the vast majority of programmes were
upscaled, save for some sporting events, movie premieres and American television series. However, this has gradually increased; more and more of ORF's productions have been in HD, and many older copies of movies and TV series were re-sourced and replaced with HD scans; for example, older episodes of
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...
have been remastered in HD and, as of 2017, are broadcast in this format on ORF 1.
Parental guidance
ORF abridges some movies due to child-protection rules, but less often than German stations. ORF identifies its programs with initials: X (not suited for children; parental guidance advised), O (adults only), or with no initial. The sign K+ (recommended for children) is shown only on teletext.
Branding

From 1968 until 1992, ORF 1 prominently featured the red "ORF eye" logo in its television idents alongside several stylised number "1" logos. In 1992, the first version of the "green cube" ORF 1 logo was introduced, designed by
Neville Brody. In 2000, ORF 1's logo was updated into a moving, soft-edged, gelatinous cube with the number 1 inside. This particular logo has been nicknamed "Jelli." In 2005, there was another update to ORF's on-screen design: to avoid the
logo
A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordm ...
being burnt in to plasma screens, it was changed from green to grey all-over.
In 2010, it was announced that ORF 1 would be rebranded as "ORF eins" from 8 January 2011.
On 26 April 2019, ORF eins was renamed back to ORF 1 with a brand new logo and on-screen design by design agency Bleed.
Logos
ORF1 logo.svg, 1992 – 2000 and August 2005 – 8 January 2011
ORF-1-Logo.svg, 2000 – 2005
ORF HD.svg, 2 June 2008 – 8 January 2011
ORFeins.svg, 8 January 2011 – 26 April 2019
ORFeins HD.svg, 8 January 2011 – 26 April 2019
ORF 1 2019.svg, 26 April 2019 – present
ORF 1 HD neu.svg, 26 April 2019 – present
References
External links
ORF eins TV listings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orf 1
Television stations in Austria
Television channels and stations established in 1955
1955 establishments in Austria
ORF (broadcaster)