Welt (TV channel)

N24 Doku
Country	Germany
Broadcast area	Germany
Headquarters	Berlin, Germany
Programming
Picture format	1080i HDTV; (downscaled to 16:9 576i for the SDTV feed)
Ownership
Owner	WeltN24 GmbH
Sister channels	Welt; Bild
History
Launched	17 September 2016
Availability
Streaming media
n24.de	welt.de

Welt
Country	Germany
Broadcast area	Germany; Austria; Switzerland
Headquarters	Berlin, Germany
Programming
Picture format	1080i HDTV; (downscaled to 16:9 576i for the SDTV feed)
Ownership
Owner	WeltN24 GmbH
Sister channels	N24 Doku; Bild
History
Launched	24 January 2000
Former names	N24 (2000–2018)
Links
Website	welt.de
Availability
Terrestrial
Digital terrestrial television	Channel slots vary depending on location (HD)
Streaming media
n24.de	welt.de

Logo until 17 January 2018

Welt ([vɛlt], "World") is a German free-to-air television news channel owned by WeltN24 GmbH.

On 21 September 2017, WeltN24 announced that N24 would be rebranded as "Welt" on 18 January 2018. WeltN24 also publishes Die Welt, a conservative-leaning newspaper.^[1]

History

In the late 1990s, in the heat of the dot-com bubble ProSieben Media Group, then consisting of two TV channels (ProSieben and Kabel 1) whose programming largely consisted of US movies, sitcoms and series, tried to take over German television news channel n-tv, then owned by Handelsblatt and CNN. After the attempt failed, ProSieben Media purchased German newswire ddp (which later became dapd) and announced the launch of its own news channel soon afterwards, by consolidating ProSieben's news department. The channel was launched on 24 January 2000 at noon, from ProSieben Media's headquarters in Unterföhring near Munich. In collaboration with Bloomberg Television, N24 provided live coverage of financial markets around the world. Apart from running its own network, Welt also provided ProSieben and Kabel 1 with newscasts.

In the same year, ProSieben Media AG purchased rival channel Sat.1, located in Berlin, which had a news department of its own and ran a number of factual programmes. ProSieben Media AG renamed itself ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG afterwards. After the merger, N24 moved from Unterföhring to Sat.1's headquarters in Berlin in July 2001, and the news departments of Sat.1 and N24 were combined.

In 2002, ProSiebenSat.1's majority owner, KirchMedia, filed for bankruptcy. While ProSiebenSat.1 itself was not broke, an extended search for a buyer, during which ProSiebenSat.1 was effectively owned by KirchMedia's banks, created uncertainty at the company. This combined with the market crisis after the end of the dotcom bubble and 9/11, caused ProSiebenSat.1 to cut costs. It replaced a number of newscasts on N24, especially in the afternoons, the evenings and on the weekends, with cheaper documentaries. Business and stock market coverage was also cut dramatically, and remaining business reports were bought from CNBC Europe instead of producing them in-house.^[2] The reports featured CNBC's proprietary graphics. In 2007, N24 strengthened its business coverage, introducing daily programmes such as Börse am Mittag ["Stock Market Afternoon"] and Börse am Abend ["Stock Market Evening"]. The channel moved its headquarters in October 2008.^[3]

In 2008, ProSiebenSat.1 sold its property in Berlin and announced that Sat.1 would move to Unterföhring, where ProSieben and Kabel 1 were already based. N24 would relocate within Berlin. In 2010, ProSiebenSat.1 sold N24 to a group of private investors, led by former Der Spiegel editor Stefan Aust. N24 was contracted by ProSiebenSat.1 to continue providing Sat.1, ProSieben and Kabel 1 with newscasts at least until 2016. In 2013, N24 was acquired by Axel Springer SE and combined with Die Welt to form WeltN24.

On 17 September 2016, a sister channel called N24 Doku launched free to air, which is a one-hour delayed timeshift channel of Welt in the afternoon and replaces some news broadcasts by documentaries in the morning.

In early 2024, following the loss of contracts to supply Pro7Sat1 properties with news and the closure of Bild TV, changes were made to the programming lineup. These included less news at weekends and more sport.

Programming

Welt runs news on the hour, every hour.

Welt previously broadcast a variety of programming, with more than seven hours of live programming per business day. CNBC correspondents Silvia Wadhwa, Patricia Szarvas, Roland Klaus, Michael Mross and Bruni Schubert reported live from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the LSE and the NYSE throughout the day.

Anchors and reporters

Pia Ampaw
Robert Annetzberger
Dietmar Deffner
Marc Dickgreber
Ralf Finke
Michel Friedman
Astrid Frohloff
Petra Glinski
Ilka Groenewold
Hans-Hermann Gockel
Carsten Hädler
Hans-Peter Hagemes
Alexandra Karle
Andrea Kempter
Thomas Klug
Dieter Kronzucker
Peter Limbourg (chief editor)
Michaela Mey
Wenzel Michalski
Tatjana Ohm
Florian Otto
Gaby Papenburg
Petra Papke
Inge Posmyk
Milena Preradovic
Alexander Privitera
Christina Prüver
Julia Scherf
Katrin Sandmann
Sandra Schiffauer
Hajo Schumacher
Thomas Schwarzer
Steffen Schwarzkopf
Alexander Simon
Thomas Spahn
Stephan Strothe
Claus Strunz
Bruder Paulus Terwitte
Hans-Hermann Tiedje
Marcus Tychsen
Claudia von Brauchitsch
Alexander von Roon
Verena Wriedt

Programming

Talk

Studio Friedman, hosted by Michel Friedman (2004–present)

N24 Doku

On 9 June 2016, WeltN24 announced the launch of N24 Doku as the timeshift channel of N24 in the autumn of 2016. On 20 July 2016, it was announced that the broadcaster would start on 17 September 2016.

Austrian feed

On 27 April 2012 the SES Astra satellite platform has been showing an Austrian subfeed of N24 (transponder 3, 11,244 GHz horizontal, SR 22,000, FEC 5/6). Nothing has been reported to the press about the launch of the station. A few days later, the transmitter was switched off again. On 16 July 2012 the broadcasting code N24 HD Austria was launched. On 2 April 2016, N24 Austria started its broadcast via Astra 1N. On 18 January 2018 N24 Austria was replaced by N24 Doku Austria. On 1 February 2021, the Austrian feed was discontinued.