Inhalt
A Powerful Location
Bavaria as a Media Location
Bavaria is the number one location for the media in Germany and one of the leading media locations in the whole of Europe. From the print media, through radio and television, to cinema, the Internet and multimedia, you can find everything in Bavaria.
Almost 23,000 firms in the media, communications and information sectors, with more than 250,000 full-time or part-time employees, are located in Munich and its surroundings alone. Media companies can find ideal basic conditions, ranging from modern print technology or film studios to highly qualified staff and interested audiences.
The "Medientage München" is the most important media trade fair in Europe and a major forum for the media industry. And Bavaria is always willing to embrace new developments. Innovative developments in the media, such as the digital radio DAB, the high-definition television HDTV, or the terrestrial digital television DVB-T, provide further impulses for the media sector and ensure that Bavaria maintains its leading position as a media location.
The German Hollywood
Cinema history is written in Bavaria. For years "Bavaria Film" in Geiselgasteig, just outside Munich, has been the premier film studio in Germany and one of the most important in Europe. Major cinema successes have been and still are filmed here, from Wolfgang Petersen's "The Boat" to ‘Bully' Herwig's "The Shoe of Manitou", the most successful German film of all times. Popular television hits such as the crime series "Tatort" or the daily soap "Marienhof" or the prize-winning documentary "Die Manns - Ein Jahrhundertroman" ("The Mann Family - the Novel of the Century") are also produced in the Bavaria studios.
Many producers, actors and actresses, and film artists live in and around Munich and make use of the excellent conditions for filming. With the "FilmFernsehFonds Bayern" ("Bavarian Film and Television Fund") Bavaria provides financial support totalling approximately 25 million Euros annually for new film productions from the script to distribution.
The up-and-coming film generation can also find optimal training conditions. Many internationally successful producers and directors, such as Bernd Eichinger, Roland Emmerich, Doris Dörrie and Wim Wenders, as well as our Oscar winners Florian Gallenberger and Caroline Link, all learnt their craft at the Munich Film and Television Academy. Final year films or debut films by graduates of the Academy or the Athanor Academy in Burghausen are supported financially by the "Bayerische Filmförderung" (the Bavarian film subsidy organisation). By the way, the company ARRI, the world's leading manufacturer of film cameras and studio technology, has its headquarters in Munich.
The Wide Variety of Radio and Television Stations
Approximately half the television programmes broadcast nationwide come from Bavaria. Apart from the publicly-run Bayerisches Fernsehen (Bavarian Television), its specialised subsidiary BR-alpha, and the regional studio of the ZDF, private television stations such as ProSieben, the sports channel DSF, Kabel 1, RTL II, Tele5 and Disney Channel broadcast from the media metropolis of Munich.
The two major German platforms for digital television are likewise located here: Premiere, the first German Pay-TV station, and the biggest European cable network operator, Kabel Deutschland with its digital programmes. Local television stations and the Bavarian slots on Sat.1 and RTL also contribute to the variety of programmes.
Radio broadcasting in Bavaria also covers a wide spectrum, from the five channels of the state-run Bayerischer Rundfunk (Bavarian Broadcasting Corporation), through the private station Antenne Bayern, which can be received throughout the state, to the more than 60 local radio stations. More than 30 per cent of all the private radio programmes in Germany are produced in Bavaria. The great variety of radio and television broadcasting in Bavaria means that a wide range of information and entertainment is available.
For the Diversity of Opinions
Bavaria has a broad range of print media, too. Approximately 250 newspapers are published in Bavaria. In addition, there are 450 magazine publishers. The range extends from the quality daily "Süddeutsche Zeitung" and the news magazine "Focus" to the numerous local newspapers and the many different specialist journals. Bavaria is also the prime location for the book sector. Every fifth publishing house in Germany has its head office here. With more than 150 publishers Munich is the most important city in the world for publishing after New York.
Film Prize and Co
Every year, much-coveted awards are presented in Bavaria for outstanding achievements in the cinema, television and the world of publishing. The Bavarian Film Prize can be seen as the German equivalent of the "Oscar". Famous recipients include Maximilian Schell, Volker Schlöndorff and Sir Peter Ustinov. Particularly successful television productions are presented with the "Blue Panther", the Bavarian Television Prize. The International Book Prize "Corinne" is conferred on works of outstanding quality and popular success. Finally, the Bavarian Print Media Prize rewards top-class achievements in the field of newspapers and magazines.
