Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk

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Map of the nine regional broadcasting members of Germany's ARD radio/TV network.

Current logo of the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk.

Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk [Central German Broadcasting] (MDR) is the public broadcaster for the German Länder (States) of Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. Established in January 1992 with its headquarters in Leipzig, and regional studios in Dresden, Erfurt and Magdeburg.

MDR broadcasts its own television channel to the three states it serves (which is accessible to a wider audience by satellite), contributes to the first German TV channel (Das Erste) and also broadcasts various radio channels.

1 Studios and staff
2 Programming
- 2.1 TV programming
- 2.2 Radio programming
3 Musical organizations
4 Transmitters
- 4.1 Podcasts
5 History
6 Famous MDR productions
7 External links

[edit] Studios and staff

MDR has approximately 2000 employees. The main television studio is in Leipzig, and the main radio studio is in Halle. There are also radio studios in each of the three state capitals for the territory that MDR represents: Dresden (Saxony), Erfurt (Thuringia), and Magdeburg (Saxony-Anhalt).

[edit] Programming

MDR provides programs to various TV and radio networks, some done in collaboration with other broadcasters, and others completely independently.

[edit] TV programming

MDR Fernsehen (MDR TV) - Third TV channel for central Germany, with regional programming for Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia.
ARD - MDR contributes programming to Germany's main network.
Phoenix - collaborative network programming between the ARD and ZDF.
KI.KA - Children's network from the ARD and ZDF.
arte - Franco-german cultural network
3sat - Cultural network from the ARD, ZDF, ORF (Austrian Broadcasting), and SRG (Swiss Broadcasting).

[edit] Radio programming

MDR1 Radio Sachsen (MDR1 Radio Saxony) - Regional programming for Saxony
MDR1 Radio Sachsen-Anhalt (MDR1 Radio Saxony-Anhalt) - Regional programming for Saxony-Anhalt
MDR1 Radio Thüringen (MDR1 Radio Thuringia) - Regional programming for Thuringia
MDR Sputnik - "Programming for young people"
MDR Jump - Pop music
MDR Figaro - Cultural spoken programming and regional classical transmissions
MDR info - News and information
MDR Klassik (available on digital radios only) - classical music

[edit] Musical organizations

The MDR operates two musical organizations and a ballet.

The MDR Symphony Orchestra (German: MDR Sinfonieorchester) was originally founded in 1915 as "Orchester des Konzertvereins" ("Orchestra of the Concert Society"). It became the "Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Leipzig" ("Radio Symphony Orchestra Leipzig") in 1924. Music directors have included Herbert Kegel, Wolf-Dieter Hauschild and from 1996 through 1999 the triumvirate of Marcello Viotti with Fabio Luisi and Manfred Honeck.

The MDR Choir (German: MDR Chor) was founded in 1946 as the "Rundfunkchor Leipzig" ("Leipzig Radio Choir").

The MDR also has the lead management of the MDR TV Ballet (German: MDR Fernsehballett), the only TV ballet company in Europe. It was founded in 1962 as the "DFF-Fernsehballett", reorganized in 1992, and has 30 members.

[edit] Transmitters

MDR does not own its own transmission towers. Instead, they are leased through and operated by Deutsche Telekom.

[edit] Podcasts

Six podcasts produced by MDR are available through the iTunes Music Store. These are essentially repeats of regular radio programmes, including: "Figaro," "MDR Info," "Programming Highlights," "Riverboat," "Sputnik" and "Unter uns."

[edit] History

The Managing Director, since 1991, is Udo Reiter.

This section is a stub. You can help by expanding it.

[edit] Famous MDR productions

MDR produces several programs for the ARD, including crime drama episodes for the series "Tatort" (roughly: "Crime Scene") and "Polizeiruf 110" (roughly: "Police Emergency 110"). MDR also produces the successful hospital series "In aller Freundschaft" (roughly: "In friendship") and the animal series "Abenteuer Zoo" ("Adventure Zoo"), "Deutschlands wilde Tiere" ("Germany's Wild Animals") and "Europas wilder Osten" ("Europe's Wild East").

See also: German television