As you may expect, the actual story of German TV is an interesting tale.  Of course, the Deutsch Republic is today one of the most culturally and technologically sophisticated locations in the entire world, and their television business definitely reflects this.  What you may not know is that Germany was one of the true pioneers of this new-fangled medium.

The origins of German Internet Television actually initiated in Berlin in March of 1935 with the development of their fist over-the air network.  Their complete schedule consisted of broadcasting for 90 minutes, three times a week . Genuinely a humble starting point!.  As it turns out, the Germans were nearly ten years ahead of the rest of the globe with their transmission efforts.  Truth be told, the German television industry was actually a fortunate advancement that emerged from horribly unfortunate situations.  Specifically, it was the Nazis who identified the communication (and propaganda) advantages of tv, and as such were its earliest proponents.  

The next milestone happened in 1948, when the English Occupation forces (having vanquished the Nazis 3 years before) re-generated the German Tv business.  It ought to be noted that it was an effort only for the benefit of English troops, and also the programming was only created in English.  Nevertheless, the Brits planted the seed for the future; seeds that would later spawn the most significant tv market in Europe.  About the same period, the East German government was starting its own tv service, structured on the Soviet design.

 Fast forward to 1963:  the very first true German television network came into existence, and was (confusedly) named ‘Second German Television’.   Unlike prior efforts, which was regionalized and was based largely on radio programs, this second German Television station (ZDF) was a centrally structured channel devoted solely to tv. The West Germans launched colour programming in 1967, with their Eastern brethren doing the same 2 years later.

It was in the late 1980s that the re-joining of East and West Germany occurred, which influenced an additional landmark in German tv history.  After reunification, the Tv stations from the German Democratic Republic had been dissolved and also the remnants were utilized to create new regional networks, e.g. the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (Central German Broadcasting). In addition, more private Television stations opened, becoming available via cable, satellite, and in some cases, over the airwaves. Now all the Germans needed was to add digital satellite technologies and also the the birth of the web, two events that would help make German Web Television a reality.

Digital satellite technology has actually been available in Germany since 1996, with rapid growth happening within the last 5 years.  And with the arrival of web technologies, German speaking individuals from every corner of the globe can now access their favorite programming on their computers.

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