3sat

3sat is the name of a public, advertising-free, television network in Central Europe. The programming is in German, and is broadcast primarily within Austria, Germany and Switzerland.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

3sat was established for cultural programming broadcasts, over satellite networks. The network was founded as a cooperative network by Germany's ZDF, Austria's ORF and Switzerland's SRG SSR id?e suisse (formerly SRG). 3sat's broadcasting began on 1 December 1984. The ZDF network provides leadership within the cooperative, though decisions are made through a consensus of the cooperative's partners.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1990, the former DFF (Deutscher Fernsehfunk - English: German Television Broadcasting) of the German Democratic Republic became a cooperative member of 3sat, and a name change to 4sat was considered. Eventually it was decided to keep the original 3sat name. DFF's membership was dissolved in 3sat on 31 December 1991 as the broadcaster itself ceased to exist per Germany's Unification Treaty.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As of 1 December 1993, ARD joined 3sat as a cooperative member. This followed ARD's creation of their satellite channel "Eins Plus" (One Plus). 3sat today broadcasts programming 24/7. 3sat is available on the European satellite Astra, cable television and digital terrestrial television.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Austria: The Republic of Austria (German: Republik ?sterreich) is a landlocked country in central Europe. It borders Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The capital is the city of Vienn...

Switzerland: The Swiss Confederation or Switzerland (Latin: Confoederatio Helvetica) is a landlocked federal republic in Europe, bordering Germany, France, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein. The country has a strong tradition of political and military neutrality, but also of international co-operation, and is hom...

Cooperative: A cooperative (also co-operative or co-op) is an association of persons who join together to carry on an economic activity of mutual benefit, in an egalitarian fashion....