KiKA (contraction of ''Der KinderKAnal von ARD und ZDF''
ARD_and_ZDF.html" ;"title="ARD_(broadcaster).html" ;"title="he Children's Channel of ARD (broadcaster)">ARD and ZDF">ARD_(broadcaster).html" ;"title="he Children's Channel of ARD (broadcaster)">ARD and ZDF]) is a German free-to-air television channel based in Erfurt, Germany. It is managed by a joint venture by public-service broadcasters
ARD and
ZDF
ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...
. Its intended audience is children and the youth, and it is generally watched by children 3 to 13.
The channel also repeats shows, such as ''
Tabaluga tivi'' from ZDF's main service.
Mascot
![Bernddasbrot-puppenspieler](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Bernddasbrot-puppenspieler.jpg)
KiKA's
mascot
A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...
is the puppet character
Bernd das Brot
Bernd das Brot ( en, Bernd the bread) is a puppet character, star mascot and cult figure of the German children's television channel KI.KA, currently featured in the programs ''Bernd das Brot'', '' Bravo Bernd'', and the KI.KA late night loop pr ...
, a chronically
depressed loaf of bread.
Announcers
The channel uses live continuity announcers. Four of the most popular announcers were Juri Tetzlaff (1997–2010), Karsten Blumenthal (1997–2004), Singa Gätgens (1997–2010), and Lukas Koch (2003-2009).
History
In the channel’s early years, the program consisted mostly of series and shows that were already being broadcast on ARD and ZDF. Whole programs were being broadcast simultaneously on the mother channels and the children’s channel, for example the afternoon program of ZDF. KiKa showed German as well as international series, like cartoon classics from the 1970s and 80s (''
Heidi
''Heidi'' (; ) is a work of children's fiction published in 1881 by Swiss author Johanna Spyri, originally published in two parts as ''Heidi: Her Years of Wandering and Learning'' (german: Heidis Lehr- und Wanderjahre) and ''Heidi: How She Use ...
'', ''
Biene Maja'', ''
Wickie'' or ''
Nils Holgersson''). Classics of children’s TV like film versions of
Astrid Lindgren books or the
Augsburger Puppenkiste
The Augsburger Puppenkiste (German for: Augsburg Puppetchest) is a marionette theater in Augsburg, Germany.
It is located at the former Heilig-Geist-Spital in the historic center of Augsburg. Since 1948, the "Augsburger Puppenkiste" had been pro ...
were also regularly being broadcast.
After a time, more original broadcasts started appearing in KiKa’s program, like ''
Schloss Einstein
''Schloss Einstein'' is a long-running, popular German television series which is designed as a teenage soap opera. It portrays the lives of teenagers in Schloss Einstein (Castle Einstein), a fictional boarding school. The intended audience is 10 ...
'', ''
The Tribe'', and ''
Teletubbies
''Teletubbies'' is a British children's television series created by Anne Wood and Andrew Davenport for the BBC. The programme focuses on four differently coloured characters known as the Teletubbies, named after the television screens on t ...
''.
The all-girl
popular music
Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fu ...
band
Saphir was formed of the 2007-2010 winners of the talent show ''KI.KA LIVE — Beste Stimme gesucht!'' (Best Voice Wanted).
There have been some changes in the programming in recent years. Although it had been one of the channel's original aims to broadcast both
animated
Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...
and
live-action
Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ...
series, the former now predominate (85%). Apart from the numerous
animated series
An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have eith ...
, the afternoon
soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
''
Schloss Einstein
''Schloss Einstein'' is a long-running, popular German television series which is designed as a teenage soap opera. It portrays the lives of teenagers in Schloss Einstein (Castle Einstein), a fictional boarding school. The intended audience is 10 ...
'' is currently almost the sole
live-action
Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...
series in KiKA's lineup during the day. There are only two other live-action shows, one of which is aired in the afternoon and the other in the evening.
The channel sometimes offers continuous rebroadcasts of series that have come to an end. Similar to the procedure of private commercial stations, these series are broadcast as double features. But most of the older series, which had been repeatedly broadcast from 1997 to 2004, are currently excluded from the lineup. The fact that ARD and ZDF no longer own the appropriate broadcasting rights partly accounts for this.
The difference between the weekday and the weekend programming keeps vanishing steadily, since many series are aired daily. Thus some series, such as ''
Pet Alien
''Pet Alien'' is a French-American computer-animated series produced by Mike Young Productions, Taffy Entertainment, Antefilms Productions, and John Doze Studios in 2005. It was created by Pajanimals creator Jeff Muncy and the episodes are ma ...
'', ''
Being Ian
''Being Ian'' is a Canadian animated series produced by Studio B Productions and Nelvana Limited for YTV, focusing on 12-year-old Ian Kelley, who aspires to become a filmmaker. It originally aired from April 26, 2005, to October 11, 2008.
The ...
'', and ''
Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks
''Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks'' (or simply ''Jakers'' in Europe) is a computer-animated children's television series. The series was broadcast on PBS Kids in the United States, and on CBBC and CBeebies in the United Kingdom. It was a ...
'', are almost continually part of the programme.
''
Augsburger Puppenkiste
The Augsburger Puppenkiste (German for: Augsburg Puppetchest) is a marionette theater in Augsburg, Germany.
It is located at the former Heilig-Geist-Spital in the historic center of Augsburg. Since 1948, the "Augsburger Puppenkiste" had been pro ...
'', a rather old German television programme which had always been on the air on Saturday and Sunday mornings, ceased being broadcast on KiKA for four years but returned to the channel's lineup in April 2008. Many programmes, especially older series, such as ''
Pan Tau
Pan Tau (Czech for "Mr. Tau") is a character created for a children's television series. There were 33 episodes in 3 series made by the Czechoslovak Television (ČST) in cooperation with Barrandov Studios and the West German TV network Westdeuts ...
'', ''
Pippi Longstocking
Pippi Longstocking ( sv, Pippi Långstrump) is the fictional main character in an eponymous series of children's books by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. Pippi was named by Lindgren's daughter Karin, who asked her mother for a get-well story wh ...
'', and ''Es war einmal'', can be seen only on the ZDF and regional channels.
Two children's movies are aired on KiKA, on Fridays and Sundays; these are more often animated films rather than live-action films.
The channel on 8 July 2020 announced that they will participate in the
Junior Eurovision Song Contest
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest (often shortened to JESC, Junior Eurovision or Junior EuroSong) is an international song competition which has been organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) annually since 2003. It is held in a diff ...
for the first time with the
2020 edition in
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
, the entry will be chosen in a national selection by members
ARD and
ZDF
ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...
, it will also be written by singer-songwriter Levent Geiger, a finalist in a children's show ' in 2015 and 2019.
Kikaninchen
![2021-08-15 WikiEule in Erfurt 1DX 9598 by Stepro](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/2021-08-15_WikiEule_in_Erfurt_1DX_9598_by_Stepro.jpg)
Kikaninchen is a little blue friendly
rabbit
Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...
that is airing on KiKA on working days only, between 6:00 and 10:15. His
friends
''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...
are Anni, Jule and Christian. He also loves playing fun and educational games with other kids.
Logos
File:Kinderkanal Logo alt.svg, (1997–2000)
File:Ehemaliges KI.KA-Logo.svg, (2000–2005)
File:KIKA-Logo.svg, (2005–2008)
File:KI.KA 2008.svg, (2008–2012)
File:Kika 2012.svg, Current logo since 14 February 2012
Programming
* ''
Beutolomäus''
* ''
Bernd das Brot
Bernd das Brot ( en, Bernd the bread) is a puppet character, star mascot and cult figure of the German children's television channel KI.KA, currently featured in the programs ''Bernd das Brot'', '' Bravo Bernd'', and the KI.KA late night loop pr ...
''
* ''
Berndivent''
* ''
Chili TV''
* ''
Dein Song
Dein is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Dick Dein (1889–1969), Australian politician
* David Dein (born 1943), former vice-chairman of Arsenal Football Club and the Football Association
*Gavin Dein, the founder and CEO of R ...
''
* ''
Die Pfefferkörner
''Die Pfefferkörner'' (English: ''The Peppercorns'') is a German television series produced by KIKA, featuring 17 seasons.
The Peppercorns are five friends from Hamburg: Jana Holstein Coutre (Anna-Elena Herzog), Natasha "Tascha" Jaonzäns (Vije ...
''
* ''
Die Sendung mit der Maus
' (''The Show with the Mouse''), often simply ' (''The Mouse''), is a German children's television series, popular nation-wide for its educational content.Bernhard Borgeest"Von Mäusen und Machern"''Focus, official website. (March 12, 2001) Retr ...
''
* ''
Fortsetzung folgt''
* ''
Junior Eurovision Song Contest
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest (often shortened to JESC, Junior Eurovision or Junior EuroSong) is an international song competition which has been organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) annually since 2003. It is held in a diff ...
''
* ''
Kikaninchen''
* ''
KiKA Baumhaus''
* ''
KiKA Kummerkasten''
* ''
KiKA Live
KiKA (contraction of ''Der KinderKAnal von ARD und ZDF'' ARD and ZDF">ARD_(broadcaster).html" ;"title="he Children's Channel of ARD (broadcaster)">ARD and ZDF]) is a German free-to-air television channel based in Erfurt, Germany. It is man ...
''
* ''
KRIMI.DE, Krimi.de''
* ''
logo!''
* ''
Löwenzahn
Löwenzahn (''Dandelion'') is a children's television series produced and aired by German public broadcaster ZDF on German television. Originally conceived and hosted by Peter Lustig, the first episode aired on 7 January 1979, then titled ''Pu ...
''
* ''Odo''
* ''
Sandmännchen
''Unser Sandmännchen'' ("Our Little Sandman"), ''Das Sandmännchen'' ("The Little Sandman"), ''Der Abendgruß'' ("The Evening-Greeting"), ''Abendgruß'' ("Evening-Greeting"), ''Der Sandmann'' ("The Sandman"), ''Sandmann'' ("Sandman"), ''Sandm ...
''
* ''
Schloss Einstein
''Schloss Einstein'' is a long-running, popular German television series which is designed as a teenage soap opera. It portrays the lives of teenagers in Schloss Einstein (Castle Einstein), a fictional boarding school. The intended audience is 10 ...
''
* ''
Sonntagsmärchen''
* ''
Willi wills wissen
Willi wills wissen (German for "Willi wants to know it") was a children's program focused on factual issues and everyday occurrences, produced by Megaherz Film und Fernsehen on behalf of the Bayerischer Rundfunk with the Institut für Film und ...
''
* ''
Wissen macht Ah!''
* ''
Wunderkind Little Amadeus
''Wunderkind Little Amadeus'', commonly referred to as ''Little Amadeus'', is a German historical television series (known as ''Die Abenteuer des jungen Mozart'' – "The Adventures of Young Mozart") is a German TV series produced by ARD and KiKa ...
''
Third Party series
* ''
AstroKids'' (UK)
* ''
Bitz & Bob
''Bitz & Bob'' is a children's animated television series that originally aired on CBeebies.
Premise
Bitz, a problem solving girl, and her younger brother, Bob, love to make stuff, imagine extraordinary adventures and engineering. They expl ...
'' (Canada)
* ''
Being Ian
''Being Ian'' is a Canadian animated series produced by Studio B Productions and Nelvana Limited for YTV, focusing on 12-year-old Ian Kelley, who aspires to become a filmmaker. It originally aired from April 26, 2005, to October 11, 2008.
The ...
'' (Canada)
* ''
Clifford the Big Red Dog
''Clifford the Big Red Dog'' is an American children's book series about the adventures of a precocious girl named Emily Elizabeth and her titular pet: a giant, red-furred dog named Clifford. It was first published in 1963 and was written by No ...
'' (US)
* ''
Cosmic Quantum Ray
''Cosmic Quantum Ray'' is a CGI- animated television series. The series premiered in the United States on November 5, 2007 on Animania HD, then in 2009 in Germany on KI.KA, and then later on October 10, 2010 on The Hub (later in 2014 became D ...
'' (France)
* ''
The Cramp Twins
''The Cramp Twins'' is an animated television series created by cartoonist Brian Wood based on his 1995 graphic novel of the same name. The show was produced by Sunbow Entertainment (in season 1), Telemagination (in season 2), and TV-Loonland AG, ...
'' (UK)
* ''
Doki'' (Canada)
* ''
Fireman Sam
''Fireman Sam'' (Welsh: ') is a Welsh animated children's television series about a fireman named Sam, his fellow firefighters, and other residents in the fictional Welsh rural village of Pontypandy (a portmanteau of two real towns, Pontypridd ...
'' (UK)
* ''Lloyd of the Flies'' (UK)
* ''Step Up! (UK)
* ''
Super Wings
''Super Wings'' ( ko, 출동! 슈퍼윙스, Chuldong! Syupeo Wingseu, zh, s=超级飞侠, p=Chāojí fēi xiá) is an animated television series created by Gil Hoon Jung and produced by the company made by himself, FunnyFlux Entertainment, i ...
'' (South Korea, also see:
Super RTL
Super RTL is a German free-to-air television network owned by the RTL Group. The channel originally launched in 1995 as a joint venture between RTL Group predecessor company CLT-UFA and Disney's Buena Vista International Television Investments ...
)
* ''
Wunschpunsch
''Wunschpunsch'' (french: Wounchpounch, german: Der Wunschpunsch) is a children's animated fantasy television series, co-produced by Saban International Paris, CinéGroupe and TF1, with the participation of Ventura Film Distributors B.V. and A ...
'' (Canada)
* ''
Titeuf
''Titeuf'' (known sometimes as ''Tootuff'' in English) is a French comic series created by Swiss comic books creator Zep in 1992, which was adapted into a 2001 animated TV series and a 2011 film of the same name. It also appears in the dedica ...
'' (Switzerland)
* ''
Zoé Kézako'' (France)
* ''
The Smurfs
''The Smurfs'' (french: Les Schtroumpfs; nl, De Smurfen) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. ''The Smurfs'' was first created and in ...
'' (Belgium)
* ''
The Three Friends and Jerry
''The Three Friends and Jerry'' ''( sv, De tre vännerna och Jerry)'' is a children's animated television series produced by Happy Life and TMO Film GmbH (Germany) in association with Nickelodeon UK and Nickelodeon Germany. The show was created b ...
'' (Sweden)
* ''
The Travels of the Young Marco Polo'' (Ireland)
See also
*
List of German language television channels
The List of German-language television channels includes the following channels:
Austria
Germany
Italy
: South Tyrol
* Rai Südtirol
* Südtirol Digital Fernsehen
* Südtirol Heute
Liechtenstein
Switzerland
Other countries
Programme ...
References
External links
*
Tabaluga tivi's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ki.Ka
Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk
ARD (broadcaster)
ZDF
Children's television networks
Television stations in Germany
Mass media in Erfurt
Television channels and stations established in 1997
1997 establishments in Germany
German-language television stations