The Parliamentary TV channel of the German Bundestag has terminated its satellite distribution on Astra (23.5° East) on April 30, 2018.
The reason is an IT consolidation of the federal government as part of which the content is now distributed through the government’s video and audio network and no longer via satellite, a spokesman of the German Parliament told German industry magazine InfoDigital.
The Parliamentary channel had been broadcasting free-to-air on Astra (23.5° East) since January 2011, mainly targeting federal ministries and authorities across Germany. The service using the frequency 11,934 GHz V (SR 27,500, FEC 3/4) consisted of two channels: Deutscher Bundestag and Deutscher Bundesrat.
The line-up mainly comprises live coverage of plenary meetings and other sessions along with public hearings, interviews, discussion rounds, historic footage and reports on exhibitions in the Bundestag.
The Parliamentary channel continues to broadcast on Vodafone’s local cable network in Berlin, as a smart TV app, on smartphones and tablets through the Deutsche Bundestag app and as a live-stream on its website which also offers a catch-up service.