British Forces Broadcasting Service

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Logo of the BFBS

The British Forces Broadcasting Service ( BFBS ) is a network of radio and television stations, which by the Services Sound & Vision Corporation (SSVC) on behalf of the Ministry of Defense for the British troops as a soldier transmitter is operated.

British Forces Broadcasting Service (World)
Chalfont St. Peter
Chalfont St. Peter
Canada
Canada
Germany
Germany
Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Cyprus
Cyprus
Ops
Ops
Kathmandu (Gurkha)
Kathmandu (Gurkha)
Brunei
Brunei
Ascension Island
Ascension Island
Belize
Belize
BIOT
BIOT
Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
BFBS locations worldwide
British Forces Broadcasting Service (England)
Chalfont
Chalfont
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Scotland
Scotland
Catterick
Catterick
Colchester
Colchester
Brize Norton
Brize Norton
Salisbury Plain
Salisbury Plain
Aldershot
Aldershot
Blandford
Blandford
Shorncliffe (Gurkha)
Shorncliffe (Gurkha)
BFBS locations in the UK

BFBS worldwide

The first station of the later BFBS is generally considered to be the experimental station in Algiers (December 1943), although in 1940 Radio Gibraltar had already become the responsibility of the Gibraltar Defense Force . Broadcasting time via local radio services was acquired in Cairo ( Egyptian State Broadcasting ), Reykjavík ( Ríkisútvarpið ) and India ( All India Radio ). The program supplier was the Overseas Recorded Broadcasting Service (ORBS) set up by the Army Broadcasting Committee (1942) . a. used the HMV Abbey Road Studios and London theaters.

With the end of the Allied Expeditionary Forces program of the BBC on July 29, 1945, the British Forces Network was created from mobile transmission units in Italy (B 1 to 7, including the transmitter from Algiers) as well as Belgium and the Netherlands (BLA 1 to 4) ( BFN ) in Germany (headquarters from July 1945 in Hamburg, from February 1954 in Cologne) and Austria (1946–1955; headquarters in Klagenfurt, where Udo Jürgens also worked as a moderator and musician in 1952 ).

For the Middle East and Africa there was the Forces Broadcasting Service ( FBS ) with stations in Egypt (JCJC Cairo, Kabrit, Fayid ; 1944–56), Palestine (JCPA Jerusalem, 1944–48), Lebanon (JCLA Beirut , 1944–46), Iraq (JPFA Basra), Cyprus (since 1948), Malta (1948–79), Libya ( Benghazi 1946? –67, Tripoli 1947? –66, Tobruk 1964–70), Kenya (1948–64 ), Aden (1954 / 62–1967) and Sharjah (until 1971).

For South and Southeast Asia there were stations on Ceylon (ZOJ / Radio SAEC, 1945–49), then in Singapore (1952–1971 / 75) and Hong Kong (1971–97); the Gurkha program developed at the last two locations mentioned . British soldiers also participated in an Australian station in Kure , Japan (9AT, then WLKS) in the 1950s .

From 1960 there was a director for all stations (John Knott, 1963 Bryan Cave-Brown-Cave, 1971 Ian Woolf), which have been operating as BFBS since 1964 . With the privatization through the merger of BFBS and the Services Kinema Corporation in April 1982, the new operator was the Services Sound and Vision Corporation (SSVC; Peter McDonagh became Director of Broadcasting).

The television service began on September 18, 1975 as BFBS TV in Celle (name 1985-97: SSVC TV ). BFBS 2 started in 2001, BFBS 3 (for children) and 4 (films) in 2009 , until in 2013 they switched to taking over BBC One , BBC Two and ITV with a delay, supplemented by BFBS extra , BFBS sport and, since 2014, Forces TV (with the newscast British Forces News ).

The radio service today consists of three main programs ( BFBS the Forces Station - supporting program with regional windows; BFBS Radio 2 with news, sports, music, since 1990; BFBS Gurkha Radio ) as well as five pure online music channels ( Beats - Contemporary R&B, Dirt - Rock , Rewind - Classic Hits, Unwind - Chill-out, Samishran - Nepali / Hindi).

The programs are broadcast by satellite from the headquarters in Chalfont St. Peter (in Buckinghamshire ) and supplemented by several local studios in locations where the British Army is stationed. The BFBS now reaches around 130,000 members of the army and their families, mainly in Germany. In 2005 British soldiers received the BFBS in 23 countries around the world. Local radio studios are currently located in Germany (Paderborn- Sennelager ), Gibraltar , Cyprus , Brunei (since 1979), on the Falkland Islands (since 1982), in Northern Ireland (since 1994) and Canada (since 2000), in operational areas ( BFBS Ops , currently in Afghanistan ) and in seven locations in Great Britain (predecessor 2001–13: Garrison FM ). BFBS Gurkha has studios in Brunei, Kathmandu and Shorncliffe (Kent). Transmitters without a studio are located in Belgium ( Casteau ), the Netherlands ( Brunssum ) and Bosnia as well as the overseas areas of Ascension , Belize and BIOT . In addition, BFBS radio is received by troops in Naples / Italy and Stavanger / Norway as well as on ships of the Royal Navy , via the Eutelsat 28A satellite and online .

BFBS in Germany

history

Hamburg Music Hall (2014)
BFBS Germany, Cologne, Lindenallee 1 (1972)
Cologne, Parkstrasse 61 - Villa Tietz (1909)
Main gate of the Wentworth barracks in Herford. The BFBS studios were located in one of the buildings on the left of the picture from 1990 to 2009.

The broadcasting rights of today's BFBS Radio Germany go back to general stationing agreements between the Federal Republic of Germany and friendly states.

On July 29, 1945, the station began operating in the Hamburg Music Hall under the name of the British Forces Network (BFN) under occupation law . On August 25, 1945, Lale Andersen appeared in the music hall with her soldier song Lili Marleen , which was very well known among the predominantly British listeners. In the Laeiszhalle , a plaque commemorates the nine BFN years in Hamburg.

BFN's collaboration with the BBC began in October 1945 with BBC's Family Favorites , a liaison program between local British radio stations and the regional BFN stations (in the program until 1980). The BFN dance orchestra began as an independent ensemble in May 1946; there were also contacts to German musicians such as Bert Kaempfert or James Last .

On February 1, 1954, BFN moved from Hamburg to Cologne-Marienburg in the Cologne-Marienburg villa colony , where it occupied two former villas:

  • Lindenallee 1 : The administration and the technical warehouse were housed here. BFN received technical support from the NWDR for its establishment in Cologne .
  • Parkstrasse 61 : The Villa Tietz , built around 1909 for the department store owner Leonhard Tietz , burned to the ground on October 24, 1944. On the ground floor of the rebuilt house, BFN housed its extensive sound carrier collection ( English Record Library ), on the first floor Studios A (with a Steinway piano for studio recordings) and D (for live broadcasts).

For the opening on February 26, 1954, Brigadier Johnstone, accompanied by broadcaster Dennis Skuse, came to the studios on Parkstrasse 61, where the sign "BFN Broadcasting House" hung on the door. Chris Howland put on records during the opening ceremony. The first broadcast from the Cologne studios took place on February 26, 1954. BFN also hired German employees such as sound engineers and the librarian for the record archive for broadcasting operations. Since January 1, 1956, BFN programs have been broadcast exclusively via VHF from here. Here, BFN occupied several VHF frequencies, some of which were extremely far-reaching, which covered large parts of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. The technical VHF range in Germany therefore amounted to more than 15 million people, of whom 56,000 members of the Rhine Army were stationed in the entire former British zone and only 26,000 in North Rhine-Westphalia. Nevertheless, due to the NATO troop statute, the program may not be aimed at the majority of the German population. From January 4, 1964, BFN was called BFBS Germany .

After the end of the Cold War , there was controversy over whether the British military broadcaster should continue in Germany. Due to the stationing of British soldiers within the framework of NATO, the British Ministry of Defense decided to continue broadcasting and delivering editorial content. However, the BFBS studio in Berlin was closed on December 12, 1994 with the withdrawal of the Allies from the city, the Berlin frequencies of BFBS radio and SSVC TV were released.

In October 1990 the headquarters of the BFBS Germany was moved from Cologne-Marienburg to Herford on a barracks site. The programs were produced here and in five outdoor studios in Gütersloh , Hohne , Mönchengladbach , Osnabrück and Paderborn . In November 1991 the TV takeover point was moved from Rheindahlen to the SSVC headquarters in Chalfont St. Peter. On July 31, 2009, the headquarters was moved from Herford to Bergen-Hohne , on the edge of the military training area there. After the studio in Bergen-Hohne closed in the summer of 2015, the program was broadcast from the local studio in the Princess-Royal-Kaserne in Gütersloh. Since the beginning of 2016, the head office has been in a former car dealership in an industrial area in Paderborn- Sennelager . BFBS Germany will remain there until the British Armed Forces withdraw from Germany, which is to take place by 2020 at the latest.

Program format

The program is designed for the target group of British soldiers, with pop music always accounting for at least 80%. BFBS Radio is thus a music-oriented radio program. The selection of titles is mainly based on the current British and American music market. The moderation was always kept in a relaxed style and not informally instructive like most programs of the German public broadcasting company . “Anyone who makes a show at BFN makes it whole, he chooses the records, of which there are more than 70,000 in the house, writes his own texts and also sells everything in front of his own microphone. Hence the rare, but pleasant, natural contact with the listeners. ”The disc jockey format, which was only adopted on German public radio from around 1970, was favored by the fact that the moderators of the BFBS were not soldiers, as was the case with AFN . The first radio DJ's at BFN / BFBS were Chris Howland (until 1957), Keith Fordyce (1950), Keith Skues (1958–1960), David Hamilton (1958) and David Jacobs.

One of the best-known music programs and anchor programs in the 1960s were “Saturday Club” (on the BBC since October 4, 1958) and the “Top Twenty Show” produced in London (since 1958); from 1963 the instrumental title Sandstorm by the group " Johnny & the Hurricanes " was played as the signature melody for this hit parade . While the "Saturday Club" had a permanent presenter with Brian Matthew, the "Top Twenty Show" featured frequently changing presenters such as Don Moss, Colin Hamilton, Barry Alldis, Tony Hall, John Benson (around 1969) and Tommy Vance . These DJs came from or went to Radio Luxemburg or the English pirate stations .

Preferred program formats were very common, as they enabled the soldiers to combine their messages with a music request instead of letters ( Family Favorites made live connections to local British channels on Sundays). Only a very small part of the program was used for verbal contributions. The news was taken over by BFBS from the BBC, which also produced the radio play The Archers . A daily soap about the fictional North London street Waggoners' Walk (1969–1980) was also popular with British listeners . Sports broadcasts (especially soccer) will continue to be handled by the BBC.

BFBS Radio Germany is today - based on BBC Radio 1  - a music-oriented radio program. Special interest programs are broadcast in the evenings. The self-produced news from Chalfont Grove (headquarters of HQ SSVC) is taken over every hour, and an extended edition (Newsplus) at individual hours (Monday to Friday at 5, 8, 12, 2 and 6 p.m.). BFBS Radio Germany transmits on FM frequencies in Germany currently usually Monday to Friday from 7 to 10 am and from 14 to 17 o'clock, a locally produced program Sennelager . During the rest of the time, the supporting program will be taken over, which is usually broadcast live from Great Britain or Afghanistan.

Head is General Manager Stuart Holmes.

Monday - Friday Saturday Sunday
04:00 OPS Breakfast incl. 05:00 NewsPlus 04:00 OPS Breakfast 04:00 OPS Breakfast
07:00 BFBS Germany (Chris Keen) incl. 08:00 NewsPlus 07:00 Weekend Breakfast 07:00 Weekend Breakfast
11:00 Totally Connected incl. 12:00 NewsPlus 11:00 Nicky Smith 11:00 Access All Areas
14:00 BFBS Germany incl. 14:00 NewsPlus 15:00 Saturday Show 14:00 Forces Life
17:00 The Big Show incl. 18:00 NewsPlus; Mon 6:30 p.m. Sports Plus; Thu 18:30 Sitrep 16:00 BFBS Play
8:00 p.m. Nicky Smith 19:00 Club Culture 8:00 p.m. Nicky Smith
22:00 Music 22:00 Music 22:00 Music

German listeners

BFBS played a  key role in the broadcasting of modern music styles in post-war Germany, along with other military and pirate broadcasters. In the Federal Republic of Germany, during the 1950s and 1960s, no English-language pop music was broadcast in the programs of public broadcasters ( private broadcasters did not yet exist), especially on weekends and public holidays; German hits and French chansons were generally preferred - mostly played in cover versions by German dance orchestras . Many current hits in English were also presented by German orchestras as instrumental music on the radio. From around 1960, and with the advent of beat music from 1963, interest in English-language music increased enormously in Germany. Since public broadcasting ignored the recent developments, only Radio Luxemburg remained for interest in modern pop music on radio - on FM only in the Eifel , Saarland and around Cologne  - in medium or short wave quality, AFN , pirate stations and BFBS. The German broadcasters experienced a mass decline in German beat music fans to the more pop-friendly stations. The program magazine Hörzu found in 1966 that "Schoolchildren, apprentices, workers and sisters prefer foreign stations, mostly Radio Luxemburg, BFBS, AFN and Hilversum 3 on the Rhine and Ruhr ." , the new releases just released in Great Britain and the USA were played, so that hits could be heard several months earlier before they - if at all - were included in German radio programs or were officially released. Every day around 150,000 British military personnel, most of them between 18 and 34 years old, connected to the BFBS between the Rhine and Elbe. As an unrivaled English-language broadcaster, BFBS has a market share of 90 percent among British listeners. Civilian listeners are only allowed to watch the BFBS as "onlookers"; officially, the broadcaster is not allowed to include them in its programs. The NATO troop statute , the legal basis for operations, prohibits this. The British Broadcasting Corporation estimated up to 5 million additional listeners. The station estimated the number of listeners at up to two million a day. In the mid-1960s, BFBS Germany received around 3,000 audience letters per month, including 600 German audience letters. For example, around 12% of listeners tuned into soldier channels such as BFBS or AFN in 1977 as an alternative to German nighttime programs. In 1977 BFBS Germany underwent a program reform called “Format 77” with pre-produced programs from the headquarters in London. Since April 1, 1982, BFBS has been part of the non-profit “Services Sound and Vision Corporation” (SSVC).

Some BFBS presenters also became popular among the German “onlookers” of the station and used their fame for a second career, sometimes with their own programs on German radio stations. The best-known include Dave Lee Travis (co-host at the Beat Club ), the pop book author Alan Bangs , Steve Mason , David Rodigan and, up to their death, John Peel and Tommy Vance . Chris Howland made a legendary reputation for himself among the German population, who from 1948 initially worked in Hamburg and from 1954 at BFN Cologne as a music presenter. Most of the presenters had previously gained experience with the BBC, Radio Luxembourg or pirate channels.

Overall, BFBS was “a trendsetter in terms of swing, rhythm and blues, pop and dance floor. The introduction of the ARD pop waves in the mid-seventies was demonstrated by BFBS ”. The public service broadcasters tried to compensate for a dwindling audience, especially among young people, by adapting their program formats and using moderators such as Chris Howland or Mal Sondock (originally a moderator at AFN Munich ).

Moderators

Current and former VHF frequencies

BFBS Germany

BFBS Germany (until the beginning of 2020 BFBS the Forces Station), which has powerful VHF frequencies, is aimed at a younger audience and mainly broadcasts current pop and rock music, as well as information for members of the British military. The program consists of regionally produced programs as well as programs taken over from the BFBS network.

From January 12, 2008 to March 31, 2008, the former BFBS Radio 1 was digitally ( DAB ) available throughout Great Britain on a trial basis . A general broadcast via DAB took place from April 2009 to March 2017 for Great Britain. With the start of the broadcast via DAB, a designed website was also launched and the program sequence changed. In addition, BFBS Radio 1 is broadcast on Sky (Channel 0211) and Freesat (Channel 786). In order to better distinguish it from BBC Radio 1, the addition “1” has been dispensed with since then. The first program is now only called BFBS Radio and is also called this during the ongoing program operation and on its own websites. The name of the second program remained unchanged.

BFBS Radio 1 had several high-coverage frequencies available in Germany, which for several decades could largely supply Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony-Anhalt, Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen. Due to the troop withdrawal and austerity measures, the transmission area in Germany has now been reduced. The abandonment of several basic network transmitters made the use of several small transmitters necessary in order to be able to continue to supply troop bases and supply routes.

The table below has been updated based on the various sources listed in the sections "Literature" and "References and Notes". The channels available in May 2020 are printed in bold .

Frequency  
(MHz) 		Channel ERP  
(kW) 		Antenna pattern
round (ND) / directional (D) 		Polarization
horizontal (H) / vertical (V) 		business Remarks
since to
100.1 Bad Fallingbostel 0.05 ND V September 1, 2011 November 2015
98.75 Transmitter Olympiastadion (Berlin) 1 ND H 1951 12/12/1994 1951-54 on MW; approx. 1954–57 on 87.6 MHz (10 kW), from approx. 1956 to 99.0 MHz, from approx. 1959 to 94.3 MHz (3/6 kW), from approx. 1963 to 98.75 MHz (1 kW), from 1987 to 98.8 MHz (1.5 kW)
106.7 Bergen scorn 0.16 ND V September 1, 2011 February 18, 2016
103.0 Bielefeld / Hünenburg 70 D. H 2nd January 1986 April 26, 2020
99.8 Bonn-Venusberg 2 D. H 1956? August 1, 2010 1952-55 MW 1367 kHz; approx. 1956-57 on 96.5 MHz, approx. 1958-62 on 91.4 MHz; 1986/87 on 96.9 MHz, from 1987 to 2010 on 97.8 MHz with 0.5 kW
93.0 Braunschweig, transmitter Drachenberg 80 ND H 1954? December 31, 2015 approx. 1954-62 on 99.3 MHz; with 6 kW since the beginning of the 1990s, most recently with 40 kW
101.6 Great Gusborn Torii Tower 0.1 ND H circa 1993
106.0 Dortmund / Florian Tower 3.2 D. August 2, 2010 December 31, 2015
92.5 Dülmen 8th D. H August 2, 2010 August 31, 2016
91.7 Gütersloh-Friedrichsdorf 0.45 H February / March / April 2020
98.4 Hamburg 1956? 1958? previously on MW
99.3 Hameln-Holtensen 0.1 D. H 1970s / 1980s 2014/2015
99.0 Hanover 1956? 1957? previously on MW
95.4 Herford / Eggeberg 6th ND H 1954? 1987 previously on MW; approx. 1954–56 on 96.6 MHz (1 kW), approx. 1957–60 on 93.0 MHz, approx. 1961–62 on 92.9 MHz; last only with 0.25 kW
101.6 Herford / Eggeberg 1.4 D. H March 18, 2020 After the Herford BFBS transmitter was switched off in 1987, a BFBS transmitter on the 101.6 MHz frequency was put back into operation there in March 2020
97.3 Jever 0.3 ND H 1987 around 2000 last only with 0.05 kW
88.4 Kiel-Holtenau 0.04 D. H October 2016 switched off due to abandonment of the location
96.5 Langenberg 50 ND H 1956? August 1, 2010 previously on MW; approx. 1956-62 on 89.1 MHz; at times with 35, 50 or 60 kW, taken over by Deutschlandfunk Kultur
104.0 Niederkrüchten-Elmpt, Javelin Barracks 2.4 D. H August 2, 2010 November 2015 Takeover of Deutschlandradio
96.5 Nordhelle 15th 1956? 1970? approx. 1956–58 on 87.15 MHz, approx. 1959–62 on 89.15 MHz
106.5 Nordhorn 0.1 ND H circa 1989 around 2010
102.6 Osnabrück 0.1 ND H in the 1970s / 1980s
105.0 Paderborn-Sennelager 0.3 H April 20, 2020 BFBS 2 was broadcast on the frequency from Lippstadt until April 19, 2020
96.6 Porta Westfalica /
Jakobsberg 		0.03 H March 19, 2020
101.5 Rheinberg, AEZ Asdonkshof 0.5 D. H August 2, 2010 August 31, 2016
91.3 Rheindahlen 0.085 D. 2010 October 30, 2013
97.6 Verden 50 1956? 1974 approx. 1956-62 to 90.3; last with 60 kW
97.6 Visselhövede 30th ND H 1974 December 2011
87.8 Werl / Soest 0.25 D. H probably after October 18, 1970 May 31, 1985 then use of the frequency for WDR Radio Dortmund as part of the cable pilot project Dortmund
101.9 Wulfen 7.2 D. H August 2, 2010 August 31, 2016
107.7 Casteau SHAPE (B) 0.04 ND V
90.2 Brunssum (NL) 0.03 D. V
87.7 Maastricht (NL) 0.1 D. V

On August 2, 2010, the BFBS released the powerful and far-reaching Langenberg VHF frequency 96.5 MHz, which has since been used by Deutschlandradio Kultur as part of a frequency swap in North Rhine-Westphalia. On the same day, the 97.8 MHz frequency in Bonn was switched off. Since then, the BFBS-Radio-1 program in western and central North Rhine-Westphalia has been broadcast via a number of low-power transmitters (92.5 MHz (Dülmen), 104.0 MHz (Niederkrüchten), 101.9 MHz (Wulfen), 91.3 MHz (Rheindahlen Mönchengladbach) and 105.1 MHz (Rheinberg)). It remains in the Unitymedia cable network in North Rhine-Westphalia.

On December 16, 2011, a further and powerful frequency - the 97.6 MHz in Visselhövede  - was transferred to the NDR, which has been broadcasting its youth program N-Joy on it since then . In this area, BFBS Radio 1 could be received via small transmitters on 100.1 MHz (Bad Fallingbostel) and 106.7 (Bergen-Hohne) until November 2015 and February 18, 2016, respectively.

On January 1, 2016, BFBS also ceded its last 40 kW frequency of 93.0 MHz from the Drachenberg transmitter to N-Joy . After the frequencies in Bad Fallingbostel were switched off in November 2015, the remaining frequencies in Celle and Bergen-Hohne were also switched off on February 18, 2016.

On April 26, 2020, the last powerful and long-range transmitter on 103.0 MHz (Hünenburg near Bielefeld) was switched off. The last remaining transmitters are now 96.6 MHz (Porta Westfalica), 101.6 MHz (Herford), 105.0 MHz (Paderborn-Sennelager) and 91.7 MHz (Gütersloh-Friedrichsdorf).

Due to the frequency changes that have already been carried out and are still pending, the technical range of the BFBS is considerably reduced in many regions.

BFBS Radio 2

BFBS Radio 2, which has only been broadcast in cities with troop stations since the spring of 1990, takes over many sports and information broadcasts from the BBC and rather plays “older” music such as rock and pop music from the 1980s. Radio 2 therefore does not have broad-coverage basic network stations, but only weaker city stations. The coverage is only ensured in the immediate target area and, unlike Radio 1, does not reach large areas. The original planning provided for almost the same extensive coverage as in the first program (e.g. 107.5 Bielefeld, 70 kW), but the project could no longer be implemented due to the introduction of private radio and the resulting lack of frequency.

In the list below, the only remaining station in May 2020 is printed in bold .

Frequency  
(MHz) 		Channel ERP  
(kW) 		Antenna pattern
round (ND) / directional (D) 		Polarization
horizontal (H) / vertical (V) 		business Remarks
95.2 Bad Fallingbostel 0.05 ND V until November 2015
104.7 Bergen scorn 0.16 ND V until February 18, 2016
101.6 Bielefeld / Catterick Barracks 0.3 ND H Operation closed between February 11th and 13th, 2020 Return of the barracks on February 20, 2020
95.4 Celle / Hohe Wende 0.2 D. H September 9, 2003 to February 18, 2016
91.7 Gütersloh / Mensergh Barracks 0.28 D. H September 10, 2010 to the end of 2019 / beginning of 2020
106.8 Hameln-Holtensen 0.02 D. H ?
88.4 Kiel-Holtenau 0.04 D. H until October 2016 temporarily BFBS Radio 1
105.0 Lippstadt 0.3 until April 19, 2020 The frequency 105.0 MHz has been used for BFBS Radio 1 from the Paderborn-Sennelager location since April 20, 2020.
102.2 Muenster 0.3 ND H until October 2013
91.3 Niederkrüchten-Elmpt / Javelin Barracks 0.09 D. H October 30, 2013 to November 2015
106.3 Osnabrück-Dodesheide 0.1 until February 27, 2009 until December 31, 1992 on 104.8 MHz
91.2 Paderborn-Sennelager 0.1 ND H since April 20, 2020
104.3 Rheindahlen 0.3 until October 30, 2013

Future of the broadcaster

Due to planned troop withdrawals and necessary cost-saving measures, the transmitter network in Germany is facing a restructuring towards an increased use of inefficient local transmitters (see frequency table).

In October 2010, the British Prime Minister David Cameron announced in the British House of Commons that the approximately 20,000 British soldiers would be withdrawn completely from Germany by 2020, instead of the originally planned by 2035. In 2018 it was decided that a few hundred soldiers would remain in Germany until further notice, see British Armed Forces in Germany # Today's presence . This means that BFBS can still be received in Germany.

Television program

The television center was relocated from Celle to Werl in 1978 and on to Rheindahlen in 1980 . The television program of BFBS ( BFBS 1 and BFBS 2 ) also only had channels with lower transmission power. For technical reasons, a special audio adapter for receiving British television standard  I was necessary in older televisions in particular . The last analog TV channels in Germany were switched off in January / February 2008. BFBS 1 saw itself as a family channel with a correspondingly wide range. From 1985 to 1997 it was broadcast under the name SSVC Television . In contrast, BFBS 2 was purely an entertainment channel, designed for the needs of singles and soldiers in operational areas. The BFBS 2 program was repeated four times a day as a six-hour block. In the course of the DTH ( Direct-To-Home ) project, there was a switch to digitally encrypted broadcasting from six television stations. In addition to BFBS 1 and BFBS 2, Sky News , Sky Sports 1, Sky Sports 2 and the music channel The Hits have also been broadcast since then.

Satellite reception

In Germany, all BFBS radio stations and TV stations can also be received via Eutelsat 10A at 10.0 ° East . BFBS the Forces Station Germany is also freely available. All TV stations and BFBS Radio 2 are encrypted with Irdeto 2.
In addition, BFBS programs are broadcast via the following satellites:

Compared to other transmitters for soldiers deployed abroad

In contrast to AFN or the Bundeswehr program Radio Andernach , BFBS was and is not part of the British armed forces. The employees are not soldiers, but employees of the operator SSVC, even when the BFBS was assigned to the British Ministry of Defense .

See also

literature

  • The Link with Home - and the Germans listened . Allied Museum Berlin, 2001.
  • Oliver Zöllner : BFBS: "Friend in Foreign Countries": British Forces Broadcasting Service (Germany), the British military broadcaster in Germany. Cuvillier, Göttingen 1996, ISBN 3-89588-632-7 .
  • Oliver Zöllner (Ed.): BFBS verbatim. A documentation of research interviews and program analysis data from the British military broadcaster BFBS. Paragon, Bochum 1997, ISBN 3-932872-01-0 .
  • Oliver Zöllner : Organizational communication in the armed forces. The British military broadcaster BFBS as a medium for internal public relations. In: Rundfunk und Fernsehen, Volume 45 (1997) , Issue 3, pp. 336-350.
  • Oliver Zöllner : Great Britain's military broadcasting and the " westernization " of German listeners. The British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) as an unintended measure of British public diplomacy. In: Peter E. Fäßler, Andreas Neuwöhner & Florian Staffel (eds.): Brits in Westphalia. Occupiers, allies, friends? (Studies and sources on Westphalian history, Volume 86). Schöningh, Paderborn 2019, pp. 290-320, ISBN 978-3-506-79250-1 .
  • Alan Grace: This is the British Forces Network. The Story of Forces Broadcasting in Germany. Sutton, Stroud 1996, ISBN 0-7509-1105-0 ( limited preview in Google book search)
  • Wolfgang Rumpf: "Music in the air" - AFN, BFBS, Ö3, Radio Luxemburg and radio culture in Germany . Lit Verlag, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-8258-0329-2 ( limited preview in Google book search)
  • Doreen Taylor: A microphone and a frequency: forty years of forces broadcasting . Heinemann, London 1983, ISBN 0-434-75710-1 and ISBN 0-434-75711-X ( limited preview in Google Book Search)
  • Directory of the sound and television broadcasting stations in the Federal Republic of Germany and Berlin (West), as of July 1, 1981 (21st edition), published by: Telecommunications Central Office
  • Radio and television broadcasters in the Federal Republic of Germany including Berlin (West) (with annex: broadcasters in the GDR) as of January 1, 1987, compiled by the Wittmoor measuring and receiving station of the Norddeutscher Rundfunk, published by the Norddeutscher Rundfunk
  • Directory of sound and television broadcasting stations, 1989, published by the Deutsche Bundespost TELEKOM General Directorate, 5300 Bonn, edited by the Central Telecommunications Office, 6100 Darmstadt
  • Radio station in Germany, as of August 15, 1992. Wilhelm Herbst-Verlag, Cologne, insert in the Radio Journal magazine from September 1992

Web links

References and comments

  1. ^ Matthias Strohn: The Royal Gibraltar Regiment, p. 111
  2. ↑ a b c Doreen Taylor: A microphone and a frequency: forty years of forces broadcasting (1983; limited preview in the Google book search)
  3. ↑ udojuergens.de: Biography 1950–1959
  4. ↑ radioheritage.net: This is Station WLKT Miho , Fighting Voices from Downunder
  5. ↑ Video: BFBS TV 40: Home on the Box (2015)
  6. ^ British Forces News
  7. ↑ Video: BFBS Radio (Promo)
  8. ↑ bfbs.com: How to Listen ( Memento of the original from March 1, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ; terrestrial:  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bfbs.com
    place area BFBS the Forces Station BFBS Radio 2 BFBS Gurkha Radio
    Aldershot GB-HAM 102.5 MHz 1287 kHz
    Aldershot GB-HAM DAB
    Blandford GB-DOR 89.3 MHz 1287 kHz
    Bovington GB-DOR 1287 kHz
    Bramcote GB-WAR 1134 kHz
    Brecon GB-POW 1287 kHz
    Bulford GB-WIL 106.8 MHz
    Catterick GB-NYK 106.9 MHz 1134 kHz
    Colchester GB-ESS 107.0 MHz
    Edinburgh (Dreghorn) GB-SCT 98.5 MHz
    Edinburgh (Glencorse) GB-SCT 1287 kHz
    Fort George GB-SCT 87.7 MHz
    Inverness GB-SCT 87.7 MHz
    Maidstone GB-KEN 1287 kHz
    Portsmouth GB-HAM DAB
    RAF Brize Norton GB-OXF DAB
    Sandhurst GB-BRC 1134 kHz
    Shorncliffe GB-KEN 1278 kHz
    Stafford GB-STS 1278 kHz
    York GB-YOR 1251 kHz
    Aldergrove GB-NIR 106.5 MHz
    Holywood (Belfast) GB-NIR 101.0 MHz
    Lisburn GB-NIR 100.6 MHz
    Casteau BE 107.6 MHz
    SHAPE BE 107.7 MHz
    Brunssum NL 90.2 MHz
    Maastricht NL 87.8 MHz
    Bielefeld DE 103.0 MHz 101.6 MHz
    Gutersloh DE 91.7 MHz
    Sennelager DE 105.0 MHz
    North Mole GI 93.5 MHz 89.4 MHz
    O'Haras Battery GI 97.8 MHz 99.5 MHz
    Akrotiri Main CY 89.9 MHz 92.1 MHz
    Ayios Nikolaos CY 107.3 MHz 89.7 MHz
    Nicosia, UNPA CY 91.7 MHz 89.7 MHz
    Richmond CY 99.6 MHz 95.3 MHz
    Butmir Camp BA 102.0 MHz 106.9 MHz
    HKIA AF 104.0 MHz 105.8 MHz 107.5 MHz
    HQ RS AF 104.0 MHz 105.8 MHz 107.5 MHz
    Qargha AF 104.0 MHz 105.8 MHz 107.5 MHz
    Diego Garcia IO 96.3 MHz
    Diego Garcia (East) IO 90.7 MHz
    Kathmandu NP 105.7 MHz 105.7 MHz
    Seria BN 101.7 MHz 89.5 MHz
    Suffield (A-Line Site) CA 98.1 MHz
    Suffield (CHAT-TV Site) CA 104.1 MHz (CKBF-FM)
    Green Mountain SH 107.3 MHz 105.3 MHz
    Travelers Hill SH 100.9 MHz 97.3 MHz
    Belize BZ 94.3 MHz 96.3 MHz 98.3 MHz
    Byron Heights FK 102.4 MHz 104.2 MHz 106.0 MHz
    Mount Alice FK 102.4 MHz 104.2 MHz 106.0 MHz
    Mount Kent FK 102.4 MHz 104.2 MHz 106.0 MHz
    MPA West FK 98.5 MHz 93.8 MHz 96.0 MHz
    Mt Sussex FK 106.2 MHz 88.2 MHz
    Mt. William FK 106.8 MHz 88.8 MHz
    Port Howard FK 101.6 MHz 100.4 MHz
    Sapper Hill FK 91.1 MHz 94.5 MHz
  9. ^ Seán Street: Historical Dictionary of British Radio . 2015, p. 73
  10. ↑ radioheritage.net: Radio Broadcasting in Independent Borneo - Brunei
  11. ↑ CRTC Decision 2000-135
  12. ^ Theguardian.com of September 29, 2011: British Forces Broadcasting Service: Good morning Afghanistan! , from Angus Batey, accessed October 23, 2016
  13. ↑ www.garrisonfm.com
  14. ↑ ofcom.org.uk: BFBS Shorncliffe
  15. ↑ First of all, on the Bonn Treaties ( Federal Law Gazette 1955 II p. 301, 342 , 378) and since July 1, 1963 ( Federal Law Gazette II p. 745 ) on the NATO troop statute (Art. 60, Paragraph 5 of the Additional Agreement, Federal Law Gazette. 1961 II pp. 1183, 1218 , 1282)
  16. ^ Opening of BFN Studio Cologne 1954 British Pathé
  17. ^ International Handbook for Radio and Television 1986/87 . Hans Bredow Institute for Radio and Television at the University of Hamburg, 1986, p. C 102
  18. ↑ Mister Pumpernickel as a pioneer . In: Kölner Stadtanzeiger , July 28, 2005:
  19. ↑ Hugo Pruys (Ed.): Dictionary for Journalism , 1970, Kurt Koszyk / Karl p. 61 f.
  20. ↑ a b BFBS opens new studio . Neue Westfälische, January 25, 2016
  21. ↑ BFBS opens new studio complex in Germany .
  22. ↑ Oliver Zöllner: BFBS: Freund in der Fremde . 1996, p. 37
  23. ↑ Oliver Zöllner: BFBS: Freund in der Fremde . 1996, p. 39
  24. ↑ Kölnische Rundschau , September 24, 1955
  25. ↑ http://www.ssvc.com/techman/new_audio_files/News.mp3
  26. ↑ http://www.ssvc.com/techman/new_audio_files/Newsplus.mp3
  27. ↑ Service to the Nation . In: Der Spiegel . No. 42 , 1967, p. 218 ( online ).
  28. ↑ Oliver Zöllner: BFBS: Freund in der Fremde . 1996, p. 38
  29. ^ The Listener , British Broadcasting Corporation, Volume 88, 1972, p. 476
  30. ↑ Kölner Stadtanzeiger , 13./14. May 1967
  31. ↑ All kinds of night aches . In: Der Spiegel . No. 31 , 1977, pp. 133 ( online ).
  32. ^ Wolfgang Rumpf: Music in the Air: AFN, BFBS, Ö3, Radio Luxemburg and RadioKultur in Germany . 2007, ISBN 3-8258-0329-5 , p. 119; "Google Book Search"
  33. ↑ Oliver Zöllner: Fernseh-Information , 1/2004, p. 27
  34. ↑ bfbs.com: Presenters ( Memento of the original from May 4, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bfbs.com
  35. ↑ a516digital.com: BFBS CEASES national DAB programming
  36. ↑ Section “Historical station tables” with station tables from 1926 to 1994. dxradio-ffm; accessed on March 7, 2016
  37. ↑ FM frequencies in NRW. VHF / TV working group e. V .; accessed on March 7, 2016
  38. ^ Bye bye, BFBS . Radio scene, March 28, 2010; accessed on March 7, 2016
  39. ↑ Frequencies BFBS Germany, as of May 1, 2020
  40. ↑ radiowoche.de: British soldier broadcaster BFBS returns VHF frequency in East Westphalia with further information on BFBS, as of April 27, 2020
  41. ↑ Blog on thomastepe.de with lots of information about BFBS
  42. ↑ a b On the Rhine and Ruhr on a wave . Deutschlandradio Kultur 96.5; accessed on February 26, 2016
  43. ↑ BFBS Radio 1 no longer over 97.6 MHz Visselhövede ( Memento of the original from February 26, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. radiowoche.de, December 27, 2011; accessed on February 26, 2016  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / archive.radiowoche.de
  44. ↑ On this day the radio CAE , which was transmitting on the same frequency, was switched off. See archived copy ( memento of the original from June 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.eroc.de
  45. ↑ International radio and television chronicle ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed February 26, 2016 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.rfcb.ch
  46. ↑ BFBS Radio (Belgium) , as of May 1, 2020
  47. ↑ BFBS Radio (Netherlands) , as of May 1, 2020
  48. ^ BFBS Radio Frequency Change. ( Memento of October 14, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) BFGnet
  49. ↑ BFBS emits frequencies . Radio Week, July 2010
  50. ^ BFBS Radio Frequency Change. ( Memento of October 14, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) BFGnet
  51. ↑ BFBS no longer on 93.0 MHz . ( Memento of the original from January 1, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Radioeins, January 1st, 2016 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.radioeins.de
  52. ↑ BFBS changes VHF frequencies in East Westphalia to radiowoche.de, April 17, 2020
  53. ↑ BFBS-Sender on ukwtv.de, accessed on May 3, 2020
  54. ↑ Frequencies BFBS Radio 2, as of May 1, 2020
  55. ↑ The British close the last large barracks in North Rhine-Westphalia. The bell , February 20, 2020, accessed on February 21, 2020 .
  56. ↑ British withdraw: What will happen to the former barracks in OWL? Neue Westfälische , February 21, 2020, accessed on February 21, 2020 .
  57. ↑ Troop withdrawal earlier than planned . In: Westfälische Nachrichten , October 20, 2010
  58. ↑ British government fires thousands of soldiers . In: Basler Zeitung , October 20, 2010
  59. ↑ Satellite Re-pointing Guide . ( Memento of the original from October 30, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. BFBS Television @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bfbs.com
  60. ↑ Eutelsat 10A at 10.0 ° E. LyngSat, September 4, 2012, accessed September 10, 2012 .

Coordinates: 51 ° 35 ′ 17.5 ″  N , 0 ° 33 ′ 11.9 ″  W.