ORF (broadcaster) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Österreichischer Rundfunk

ORF-Zentrum Küniglberg (headquarters), designed by Roland Rainer and constructed from 1968 to 1975
Type	Television and radio network
Country	Austria
Availability	Austria; parts of Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Liechtenstein, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland
Headquarters	ORF-Zentrum, Hugo-Portisch-Gasse 1, 1136 Wien, Vienna
Key people	Roland Weißmann [de] (Director General)
Launch date	1 August 1955; 69 years ago (1955-08-01)
Former names	Ravag (Radio Verkehrs AG)
Official website

Österreichischer Rundfunk (which means 'Austrian Broadcasting'), or ORF for short, is Austria's main public TV and radio company. It gets money from a special fee people pay for their TVs and radios, and also from some ads. ORF is very important in Austrian media. For a long time, Austria was one of the last countries in Europe to have only public TV. Other countries had private TV channels much earlier.

How Broadcasting Started in Austria

The old War Ministry building in Vienna, where RAVAG started broadcasting in 1924.

The first radio tests in Austria began on April 1, 1923. A radio fan named Oskar Czeija started these tests. He used his telephone factory in Vienna for the first broadcasts. Later, a stronger transmitter was put on top of an old War Ministry building.

The Early Days of Radio: RAVAG

In February 1924, a company called Radio-Verkehrs-Aktiengesellschaft (RAVAG) got the official permission to broadcast. Oskar Czeija became its director. Regular radio shows started on October 1, 1924. They broadcast from the War Ministry building, which became known as Radio Wien.

By the end of 1924, 30,000 people were listening. By January 1925, this number grew to 100,000. By 1934, new transmitters were built across the country. This meant everyone in Austria could listen to Radio Wien. People paid a small monthly fee to listen.

Early radio shows were for educated audiences. They played classical music, read literature, and gave lectures. In 1925, the first live broadcasts from places like the Vienna State Opera happened. News was not a big part of the shows at first. But sports broadcasts began in 1928. By 1930, RAVAG had about 500,000 listeners. It had become a very popular way to get information.

The Funkhaus Wien building in Vienna, where many radio programs are made today.

In 1934, during a time of political change in Austria, the RAVAG studios were affected. A new building for broadcasting, called Radiokulturhaus, was built from 1935 to 1939. The Austrian government used RAVAG to share its messages.

Broadcasting During World War II

In 1938, Austria became part of Nazi Germany. RAVAG was closed down. A new station called Reichssender Wien took its place. This station was controlled by the German national broadcasting network in Berlin. One of the last RAVAG broadcasts was a farewell speech by the Austrian leader. Hours later, the new station broadcast speeches by Nazi leaders.

During World War II, listening to "enemy radio stations" was very dangerous. But many people still listened to stations from Switzerland, the BBC, and Voice of America. These stations gave people real information. The Funkhaus broadcasting center was damaged by bombs in 1945. The Reichssender Wien stopped broadcasting on April 6, 1945.

The Return of Austrian Radio

After the war, Austrian radio broadcasting started again on April 24, 1945. A new Radio Wien station was created. It broadcast from the Funkhaus Wien building. Because Vienna was divided into different zones by the Allied forces, each zone had its own radio stations. The Western Allies (like the US and UK) had popular stations. The Soviet zone's station was seen by some as promoting communism.

More radio stations started broadcasting in different parts of Austria. Radio became very popular. By 1952, there were 1.5 million radios in Austrian homes. In 1955, all the different regional stations came together. This group was called Österreichisches Rundspruchwesen. In 1958, it became Österreichischer Rundfunk GmbH, which is the company we know today as ORF.

ORF Radio Channels

ORF has several radio channels for different tastes:

• Ö1 – This is ORF's main channel for culture and news.
• Hitradio Ö3 – This channel plays popular music.
• FM4 – This channel is for alternative music and youth culture.

The old Ö2 channel has been replaced by nine regional channels. Each of Austria's federal states has its own radio channel:

You can listen to all these radio channels on FM radio. They are also available digitally through satellites. All of ORF's radio channels can also be streamed online. There is even an extra 24-hour news channel, Ö1 Inforadio, which is only available online.

ORF also has an international version of Ö1 called Ö1 International. It broadcasts worldwide on short wave radio and by satellite in Europe. It even has some shows in English and Spanish.

ORF Television Channels

ORF offers several television channels:

• ORF 1
• ORF 2 (which includes regional shows)
• ORF 2 Europe
• ORF III
• ORF Sport +
• 3sat (this channel is a partnership with other broadcasters from Germany and Switzerland)

You can watch ORF television channels through regular TV antennas or via satellite. For ORF 1 and ORF 2 via satellite, you need to be an Austrian resident and pay the TV license fee. This is because these channels are encrypted, meaning they are scrambled so only authorized viewers can watch them. ORF 2 Europe, however, is not encrypted and can be watched across Europe.

ORF also supports a new technology called Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV). This allows your TV to combine regular TV broadcasts with online content. Since March 6, 1995, ORF has been broadcasting 24 hours a day.

ORF Regional Studios

ORF has a regional studio in each of Austria's nine states. Each studio creates its own radio and TV programs for its state. These regional TV shows are broadcast on ORF 2. For example, the studio in Tyrol also makes TV and radio shows for German-speaking people in South Tyrol, Italy. Even though each state has its own studio, many ORF shows are made in Vienna.

How ORF is Funded

ORF gets its money from a special television license fee. This fee is managed by a company called Gebühren Info Service [de] (GIS). The amount you pay for this fee is different in each state. For example, in 2022, Styria had the highest annual TV license cost.

Here's a table showing the annual fees from July 2022:

Starting in January 2024, the GIS organization will be closed. The TV license fee will be replaced with a new, required household tax for ORF. This new system will make sure that everyone contributes to ORF's funding. Before, some people tried to avoid paying the fee by removing the antenna from their TVs. This will no longer be possible with the new tax.

Popular ORF Personalities

Many well-known TV stars in Austria work for ORF. One of the most famous TV presenters is Armin Assinger. He used to be a skier and now hosts Millionen-Show, which is Austria's version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. Mirjam Weichselbraun, who used to be an MTV presenter, co-hosts Dancing Stars.

A very popular comedy show on ORF is Wir sind Kaiser ('We Are Emperor'). In this show, comedian Robert Palfrader plays a funny emperor. He invites famous guests and jokes with them. Some of the best-known news anchors include Ingrid Thurnher, who has won many awards. Armin Wolf is known for his tough interviews on the late-night news show ZiB 2. Gabi Waldner hosts a weekly political show called Report.

ORF Logos Through the Years

The first logo for ORF was designed in 1968 by Erich Sokol. It was called the 'ORF eye'. This logo was sometimes compared to the 'CBS Eye' logo used by an American TV company. In 1992, a British designer named Neville Brody created ORF's current logo. People soon started calling it the 'ORF bricks'. The old 'ORF eye' logo was still used sometimes until 2011, when it was completely replaced by the new one.

See also

In Spanish: ORF para niños

• Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra