The Weather Channel Germany

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Der Wetter Kanal
Later logo of The Weather Channel Germany
Later ident varient of The Weather Channel Germany with updated logo
Broadcast areaGermany
HeadquartersDüsseldorf
Programming
Language(s)German
Picture format480i (SDTV)
Ownership
OwnerLandmark Media Enterprises
Holtzbrinck Publishing Group
History
LaunchedJune 1996
ClosedJanuary 1998

The Weather Channel Germany (German: Der Wetter Kanal) was a German-language television channel that aired from June 1996 to January 1998.[1][2][3]

The channel was owned by various partners, among the partners were Landmark Communications, then-owners of the American Weather Channel, with a 45% share; and the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group with a 25% share.[4] Landmark Communications was only able to take a minority stake in the channel due to German media regulations.[3] Jörg Kachelmann was named the channel's first director.[1] Difficulties in getting full-time coverage on cable networks, the lack of revenue from subscriber fees, and a poor advertising market all led to the station's closure in 1998.[2][3]

Programming

Segments on the Weather Channel included:[5][6]

  • Businesswetter (Business Weather), forecasts for business travelers.
  • Regionalwetter (Regional Weather), forecasts for regions of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland
  • Reise (Travel), a short travelogue on an destination.
  • Städtewetter (City Weather), with forecasts for major cities across Europe.
  • Weltwetter (World Weather), with international forecasts.
  • Wetterlexikon (Weather Lexicon), with weather trivia.
  • Wetterschau (Weather Show), the main weather forecasting segment.
  • Wochendewetter (Weekend Weather), forecasts for the upcoming weekend.

The station would also air short films about the impact of weather on society.[7] Much like the American Weather Channel, The Weather Channel Germany had Local Forecast segments that ran every 5 minutes. The Local Forecasts were initially powered by Weather Star 4000s, according to an official brochure,[8] but no Local Forecast footage from Germany has ever emerged.

Presenters

Presenters on the Weather Channel included:[6]

Meteorologists

  • Alexander Lehmann
  • Armin Mathes
  • Rolf Engels
  • Thomas Globig
  • Thomas Kessler

Presenters

  • Anja Bergerhoff
  • Claudia Kleinert
  • Frank Sitter

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Pieseln vom Himmel". Der Spiegel. April 15, 1996.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Schon übermorgen ist Sendeschluß". Berliner Zeitung. January 27, 1998.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Batten, Frank (2002). The Weather Channel: The Improbable Rise of a Media Phenomenon. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Publishing. pp. 174–181. ISBN 1-57851-559-9.
  4. "Blitz und Donner sind eingeschlagen beim Wetterkanal". Kress. Archived from the original on March 18, 2014.
  5. "Der Wetter Kanal (Deutschland) im Jahr 1996". YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. 6.0 6.1 Mathes, Armin (November 28, 2006). "Der Wetterkanal - Präsentation von Wetterinformationen" (PDF). Universiät Bonn.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. "Wetterkanal LTU Thilo Lange, Jürgen Noe 10.10.1997". YouTube. December 14, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. "Wetterkanal Infobroschuere". Retrieved April 26, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

See also

The Weather Channel in Europe:

External links