In a global first this August, the German capital will become a digital-only city for television, when the licensing body MABB switches off the analogue signal completely.
BBC World – an AIB member – the BBC’s 24-hour international news and information channel, is the only foreign TV network to be awarded a digital terrestrial (DVBT) frequency in Berlin.
To date, 25 stations have won licences to broadcast on the new digital spectrum but BBC World will be the only non-German channel to have been granted a frequency.
BBC World has been broadcasting on terrestrial analogue television in Berlin since 1996, when it broke new ground as the first and only overseas station ever to be given such a licence.
Patrick Cross, BBC World Managing Director says: “It is a great honour and a reflection of the quality of BBC World that we are the only news channel to have been granted this highly sought-after digital frequency in Berlin. I am delighted that viewers will continue to have access to our unrivalled, impartial news coverage.”
BBC World Service radio – also an AIB member – broadcasts in Berlin on FM.