DFF Länderkette

DFF Länderkette
Logo of the second channel from 1976 until the early 1980s.
CountryEast Germany
Germany (1990–1991)
Broadcast areaEast Germany
NetworkDeutscher Fernsehfunk (DFF)
HeadquartersEast Berlin (1969–1990)
Berlin (1990–1991)
Programming
LanguageGerman
Ownership
OwnerDeutscher Fernsehfunk
Sister channelsDFF1
History
Launched3 October 1969; 57 years ago (1969-10-03)
Closed31 December 1991; 34 years ago (1991-12-31)
Replaced byN3 (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern)
B1 (Berlin)
ORB Fernsehen (Brandenburg)
MDR Fernsehen (Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, Thuringia)
Former namesDFF2 (1969–1972)
DDR2 (1972–1990)

DFF Länderkette (States' Network) was a television channel owned by Deutscher Fernsehfunk. Originally, it was founded in 1969 as DFF's second channel, and the first one to broadcast in colour. On 15 December 1990, it became DFF's single channel after DFF1 was used to carry ARD, until DFF's dissolution on 31 December 1991.

History

DFF2 opened on 3 October 1969 with Walter Ulbrecht saying "The Second Programme is open". The date coincided with the twentieth anniversary of the founding of the DDR.

What initially set DFF2 apart from the newly-renamed DFF1 was the fact that it broadcast in colour, in the French SECAM system employed by the Warsaw Pact countries, in opposition to West Germany, which developed its own system, PAL. This made it the first of the USSR's satellite states to have a full colour service.: 181  It was also ahead of other "second channels" in the region, as it offered a full-week schedule, while others did only for three or four nights a week at most.: 194  The channel's initial goal was more cultural, compared to the open-formatted first channel.: 198 

An upsurge in viewers came after a 1982 programming decision to acquire TV series and feature films produced in capitalist countries such as France, Italy and the United States with most of the new viewer base came from border areas in West Germany. Elf 99 started airing on this channel on 1 September 1989.

On 15 December 1990, DFF was reformed following reunification and converted to PAL. Both channels coexisted that day until 20:00 when the former DFF1 subsequently handed over to ARD. DFF2's UHF network was kept and was used for the new Länderkette. The new channel opened at 07:00 of that day with a fifteen-minute introductory programme; this was repeated on DFF1 at 18:45 in preparation for the channel's closure an hour later. Aktuelle Kamera was replaced by a new news service, Aktuell, inserted as part of a 90-minute news block known as Das Abendjournal ZDF began broadcasting on 2 December, using a third network. This was a transitional measure until DFF's dissolution at the end of 1991, in line with Article 36 of the Unification Treaty which forsaw such dissolution. The name Ost 3 (East 3) was initially mooted, but was rejected by DFF staff due to its apparent similarities with "a third ARD channel on equal footing". With the end of Article 36 on 31 December 1991, Länderkette was shut down and its frequencies were used by MDR Fernsehen, ORB Fernsehen and an expansion of NDR Fernsehen to cover Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

References

  1. ↑ Susanne Vollberg; Claudia Dittmar (2003). ""Wiederholungssender", "Russenprogramm" oder alternatives Massenprogramm? Zur Konzeption und Realisation des zweiten Programms des DDR-Fernsehens". Das Ende der Langeweile? Programmgeschichte des DDR-Fernsehens. Leipziger Universitätsverlag. pp. 169–170. ISBN 978-3-936522-59-4.
  2. ↑ A brief history of the GDR television programme, DDR-Museum, 3 December 2015, retrieved 13 October 2026
  3. ↑ Juliane Bonkowski, "Gute Alte Zeit" Wie Wille Schwabes rumpelkammer das Fernsehen der DDR prägte, Tag24, 23 June 2021, retrieved 13 October 2026
  4. ↑ "Zweites Programm im Fernsehen der DDR". Zeitklicks (in German). 3 October 1969. Retrieved 13 October 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 Timothy Green (1972). The Universal Eye: World Television in the Seventies (PDF). The Bodley Head. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 December 2024.
  6. ↑ Colitt, Leslie (15 August 1983). "East German TV goes capitalist". The Business Times. Financial Times. Retrieved 14 October 2026 – via NLB.
  7. ↑ Hörnig, Annette (1 September 2024). "Start von "Elf99" im DDR-Fernsehen: Eine Zeitreise". SuperIllu (in German). Retrieved 13 October 2026.
  8. ↑ "Wo finden Sie was?" [Where can you find what?]. Neue Zeit (in German). Berlin, Germany. 15 December 1990. p. 15. Retrieved 16 February 2025 – via Berlin State Library.
  9. ↑ Ein Kessel Bunters für die ARD, TAZ, 14 December 1990, retrieved 13 October 2026
  10. ↑ "The Unification Treaty between the FRG and the GDR" (PDF). CVCE. 31 August 1990. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 January 2026. ...shall be dissolved in accordance with the federal structure of broadcasting...or converted to agencies under public law of one or more Länder...but no later than 31 December 1991...
  11. ↑ Christina Oberst-Hundt (1 February 2001). "Abwickeln – Abschmelzen – Abschalten]". Ver.di (in German). Retrieved 13 October 2026.