Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), the affiliate of German public broadcaster ARD serving federal state Bavaria, will rename its educational TV channel BR-alpha into ARD-alpha.
The name change through which the channel aims to raise more awareness on a nationwide scale will take place on June 28, 2014, according to a BR spokesman. The official launch of ARD-alpha will follow one day later at an event in Lindau at the Lake Constance.
The move which marks the first time for the ARD brand to appear in a channel name will also affect the schedule as ARD-alpha will increasingly screen programmes from fellow ARD affiliates. Instead of BR’s local newscast Rundschau, ARD’s flagship news programme Tagesschau will be shown in prime-time.
The responsibility and financing will remain in BR’s hands. Despite the nationwide aspiration, the technical distribution of the channel will not change for the time being, said the BR spokesman. BR-alpha is available via DTT and on analogue cable only in Bavaria.
Households in the other federal states can receive the channel in digital via satellite, cable and IPTV. On the BR website and at Zattoo, BR-alpha is offered as a live-stream.
