German-language TV set for US launch

[Kellanved]

MUNICH - With an eye on an estimated one million German speakers in the United States, the ProSiebenSat.1 Group is planning the January launch of a German language TV channel in the US market via Echostar Communication's Dish Network, a leading satellite platform.

The announcement came in the wake of a balance report for the German company's first three quarters during the current year, which saw revenues increase to EUR 1.294 billion, up four percent.

The private group's principal shareholder and supervisory board chairman is US West Coast media entrepreneur Haim Saban, who obtained control of the company last year after the collapse of the Kirch media empire.
...

Germany's public TV networks ARD and ZDF, along with Deutsche Welle (the Voice of Germany), have been broadcasting a public Pay-TV channel between New York and San Francisco since 8 April 2002. With some 70,000 subscribers needed to reach break-even, but with only 9,000 signed up, the channel is about EUR 20 million in the red, the paper said.
http://www.expatica.com/source/site_article.asp?subchannel_id=26&story_id=14195&name=German%2Dlanguage+TV+set+for+US+launch

I wonder why they evven bother; Pro7 is garbage. Almost totally Americanized, the programming mostly consists of cheaply made copycats of US shows. The Public TV package is far more interesting, including news and documentaries IMHO far ahead of the usual History channel etc fare.

:shrug:

[Joy Anne]

1. Deutsche Welle

runs on Harrisburg (Pennsylvania) public TV in alternate German and English. At least I assume it's still running after midnight--I don't stay up late much these days. A lot of German speakers live in this area, but a large proportion of them are Amish and Old Order Mennonites who don't have electricity in their homes, let alone TVs.

I'm surprised there wasn't already a German-language satellite TV station in the U.S. I know people who get this service in Polish and Japanese.

[Kellanved]

2. there is the "German TV" channel

An attempted "best of public broadcasting".

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

3. You are right , ProSieben sucks ...

but RTL and RTLII sucks even more ... Oh God how I miss Germany .