Das Erste

The name “Das Erste”, as it has been officially called since 1996, sums it up: ARD is the first German television station. The station was founded on June 5, 1950. After a lengthy test phase, the program went on air for the first time on December 25, 1952 under the name NWDR- Fernsehen. The abbreviation ARD stands for "Association of Public Broadcasting Corporations of the Federal Republic of Germany", i.e. an association of state broadcasting corporations. Currently these are BR, hr, MDR, NDR, Radio Bremen, rbb, SR, SWR, WDR and Deutsche Welle. Colloquially, ARD and Das Erste are often used interchangeably. The ARD is the association of state broadcasters and Das Erste is their joint program. Together with ZDF and Deutschlandradio, ARD forms the public broadcaster, which is financed by the broadcasting fee (until 2013: broadcasting fee). During its long broadcast time, ARD has invented several legendary formats that have shaped German television. First and foremost is of course the Tagesschau, which brings the news to households every day, not just at 8 p.m. The detailed daily topics complement the information on offer.