(; "Berlin-Brandenburg Broadcasting"), commonly shortened to RBB (; stylized as rbb), is an institution under public law (national broadcaster) for the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

states of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

, based in Berlin and

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

. RBB was established on 1 May 2003 through the merger of (SFB) and (ORB), based in Potsdam, and is a member of the Association of PSBs in the Federal Republic of Germany ( ARD). Aside from its two main studios in Berlin and Potsdam, RBB also has regional studios in

Cottbus Cottbus () or (;) is a university city and the second-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after the state capital, Potsdam. With around 100,000 inhabitants, Cottbus is the most populous city in Lusatia. Cottbus lies in the Sorbian ...

and

Frankfurt (Oder) Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (, ; Central Marchian: ''Frankfort an de Oder,'' ) is the fourth-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after Potsdam, Cottbus and Brandenburg an der Havel. With around 58,000 inh ...

, and regional offices in

Perleberg Perleberg (; North Brandenburgisch dialect, Margravian: ''Perlberg'') is the capital of the district of Prignitz, located in the northwest of the Germany, German state of Brandenburg. The town received German town law, city rights in 1239 and as of ...

and

Prenzlau Prenzlau (; ) is a town in Brandenburg, in north-eastern Germany, the administrative seat of Uckermark District. It is also the centre of the historic Uckermark region. Geography The town is located on the Ucker river, about north of Berlin. ...

. RBB also operates ARD's studio in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

; the responsibility changes every five years between RBB and

WDR WDR may refer to: * Waddell & Reed (stock ticker: WDR), an American asset management and financial planning company * Walt Disney Records, an American record label of the Disney Music Group * WDR neuron, a type of neuron involved in pain signalli ...

(). RBB also plays out ARD's digital channels from a center in Potsdam. RBB and WDR are jointly responsible for ARD's television studio in Berlin.

History

RBB was founded on 25 June 2002 on the basis of a state treaty between the states of Berlin and Brandenburg. As a result, RBB is required to treat both states equally "with respect to the regional content needs". In 2022 there were complains about nepotism of rbb-director Patricia Schlesinger. The public prosecutor started an investigation and Schlesinger stepped back from the office as ARD-director and rbb-director.

Organization and finances

RBB Directors-general

The first director-general of the RBB was

Dagmar Reim Dagmar may refer to: People * Dagmar (given name), a feminine Scandinavian and German given name * Berthe Dagmar (1884–1934), French film actress * Dagmar (actress) (1921–2001), main stage name of American actress Virginia Ruth Egnor * Dagma ...

, from 1 May 2003 to 30 June 2016, at an annual salary of €220,000. Her successor

Patricia Schlesinger Patricia Schlesinger (born in Hanover, Germany) is a German journalist, television presenter, former director of national broadcaster Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB), and former chair of public broadcast network ARD. In 2022, Schlesinger res ...

has been in office since 1 July 2016 and the annual salary has risen to €257,000.

Finances

Every household in Germany is legally required to pay monthly €18.36 licence fee -the "Rundfunkbeitrag" (broadcast contribution) to finance the public broadcast system. The fee is collected by '' Beitragsservice von ARD, ZDF und Deutschlandradio''. RBB's revenues from the licence fee amounted to * €376.535 million in 2013 * €430.722 million in 2014 * €413.004 million in 2015 * €401.915 million in 2016

Number of employees

In 2016 RBB had an average number of 1,938 permanent employees.

Channels

Television

* RBB Fernsehen – Berlin and Brandenburg's regional public-broadcasting TV channel (successor to SFB 1 and ORB TV channels). Between 19.30 and 20.00, the channel transmits separate regional news programmes for Berlin ("Abendschau") and Brandenburg ("Brandenburg Aktuell") *

Das Erste Das Erste (; "The First") is the flagship national television channel of the ARD (broadcaster), ARD association of public broadcasting corporations in Germany. ''Das Erste'' is jointly operated by the ARD (broadcaster)#Institutions and member org ...

– Germany's main television network, of which RBB – as a member of ARD – contributes 7% of programming hours * Phoenix – ARD and

ZDF ZDF (), short for (; ), is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany ( ...

's joint news, events and current-affairs channel *

KiKA Kika may refer to: People * Kika de la Garza (1927–2017), American politician * Kika Edgar (born 1985), Mexican actress and singer * Kika Karadi (born 1975), American contemporary artist * Kika Markham (born 1940), English actress * Kika M ...

– ARD and

's joint children's channel *

arte Arte (, , ; ' ('), sometimes stylised in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European Union, European public service Television channel, channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based Europea ...

– European cultural channel *

3sat 3sat (, ''Dreisat'') is a free-to-air German-language public service television channel. It is a generalist channel with a cultural focus and is jointly operated by public broadcasters from Germany ( ZDF, ARD), Austria ( ORF) and Switzerlan ...

– cultural channel from ARD, ZDF,

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 the g ...

(Austrian Broadcasting), and SRG (Swiss Broadcasting)

Radio

* – radio station for Berlin from Berlin *

Antenne Brandenburg Antenne Brandenburg is a German, public radio station owned and operated by the Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (rbb) for the state of Brandenburg. It plays an adult contemporary format with a focus on 70s and 80s music and regional news. It launche ...

– public station for Brandenburg from

with regional information from the studios in Potsdam,

and

* – radio station for people aged 25 and above * – station aimed at 14- to 24-year-olds * – cultural channel from Berlin * – news channel from

Sorbischer Rundfunk The Sorbischer Rundfunk ( , ) is the Sorbian language program of Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR) and Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB), both of which are regional public broadcaster in Germany. It is the only broadcast in a national minority l ...

– a joint channel with

MDR MDR may refer to: Biology * MDR1, an ATP-dependent cellular efflux pump affording multiple drug resistance * Mammalian diving reflex * Medical device reporting * Multiple drug resistance, when a microorganism has become resistant to multiple drugs ...

in the Sorbian language *

COSMO Cosmo may refer to: Business and media * ''Cosmopolitan'' (magazine), a magazine for women, sometimes referred to as "Cosmo" * ''Cosmo'' (book), 2012 short story collection * Cosmo On-Line, a Brazilian generic Internet portal * Cosmo Radio, ...

– station from

for Germans and foreigners, produced in cooperation with

Radio Bremen Radio Bremen (), shortened to RB () is Germany's smallest Public broadcasting, public radio and television broadcaster and the legally mandated broadcaster for the city-state Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (which includes Bremerha ...

and RBB, (replaced RBB's own station, , on 31 December 2008)

Notable productions

RBB produces episodes of the crime series ''

Tatort ("Crime Scene") is a German-language police procedural television series that has been running continuously since 1970 with 30 feature-length episodes per year, making it the longest-running German TV drama. Developed by the German public-se ...

'' and ''

Polizeiruf 110 ''Polizeiruf 110'' ("Police call 110") is a long-running German-language detective television series. The name refers to the emergency telephone number of the ''Volkspolizei''. The first episode was broadcast 27 June 1971 in the German Democratic ...

'' for ARD. It also produces ', a political show and the satirical show ' (formerly ''Satiregipfel'' and ''

Scheibenwischer (German language, German for ''windshield wipers'') was the name of a long-running Germany, German Kabarett show. It was founded in 1980 by Dieter Hildebrandt and produced by Bayerischer Rundfunk, BR / Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg, RBB to be broa ...

'') for ARD. From 2003 to 2005, RBB broadcast the

Kurt Krömer Alexander Bojcan (born 20 November 1974), known professionally as Kurt Krömer, is a German comedian and actor. Life Krömer was born in West Berlin. He works as actor, comedian and podcast host in German television and film. From 2003 to 200 ...

Show, which attracted attention nationwide. RBB has produced the show's successor, ''Bei Krömers'', for ARD since 2005. The regional news show ' has a high profile in the capital region. Since 1958, initially with a slot in ARD including nationwide transmission of the Berlin visit of

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

, and later distributed under SFB-frequency, ''Abendschau'' reports on politics, economy, sports in Berlin and as well as news from the various districts and boroughs of the city. RBB produces ', aimed at an audience of four and eight-year-olds.

Logo history

File:RBB Logo alt.svg, 2003–2004 File:RBB Dachmarke Logo bis 2017.svg, 2004–2017 File:Rbb Logo 2017.08.svg, Current logo since 28 August 2017

References

External links

rbb Homepage
(in German) {{Authority control ARD (broadcaster) Mass media companies of Germany Television networks in Germany Television stations in Germany Radio stations in Germany Organisations based in Berlin Brandenburg German-language television networks 2003 establishments in Germany Radio stations in Berlin Mass media in Potsdam