Radio Forces Françaises de Berlin (Radio FFB) was a broadcaster catering to the French military contingent in the French Sector of

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

. It was located in the Quartier Napoléon near

Tegel Airport Berlin Tegel "Otto Lilienthal" Airport (german: link=no, Flughafen Berlin-Tegel „Otto Lilienthal“) was the primary international airport of Berlin, the federal capital of Germany. The airport was named after aviation pioneer Otto Lilienth ...

in the French sector.''World Radio TV Handbook''
Volumes 45-46, O. Lund Johansen, 1991, page 80

Radio

Radio broadcasts began on 8 May 1957. FFB began broadcasting on 93.6 MHz FM in 1959. Most programmes were from the French national broadcaster RTF (later ORTF). This was initially a mixture of

France Inter France Inter () is a major French public radio channel and part of Radio France. It is a " generalist" station, aiming to provide a wide national audience with a full service of news and spoken-word programming, both serious and entertaining, li ...

France Culture France Culture is a French public radio channel and part of Radio France Radio France is the French national public radio broadcaster. Stations Radio France offers seven national networks: * France Inter — Radio France's " generalist" sta ...

and

France Musique France Musique is a French national public radio channel owned and operated by Radio France. It is devoted to the broadcasting of music, both live and recorded, with particular emphasis on classical music and jazz. History The channel was launch ...

, but by the 1980s, only France Inter programmes were being broadcast. On 15 September 1963, the French-language programmes were supplemented with

German-language German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is also a ...

broadcasts to listeners in the

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

area. Consisting of hour-long programmes aired between 1800 and 1900 local time, these were later produced by the German service of

Radio France Internationale Radio France Internationale, usually referred to as RFI, is the state-owned international radio broadcaster of France. With 37.2 million listeners in 2014, it is one of the most-listened-to international radio stations in the world, along with ...

. There were also locally produced short bulletins for members of the French garrison in Berlin. The departure of the Allies from Berlin in 1994 signalled the end of the FFB radio service. The 93.6 MHz frequency has been used ever since by

, meaning that from July 1995, French radio broadcasts could still be received in

and

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 sq ...

on 93.6 MHz and 106.0 MHz.

TV

In 1980, a TV station, Télévision Française à Berlin, was established, for which, like the radio station, programming was acquired from the French domestic channels, TF1 and Antenne 2 (now

France 2 France 2 () is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group, along with France 3, France 4 and France 5. France Télévisions also participates in Arte and Euronews. Since 3:20 CET on 7 A ...

). From 1984, the international French-language channel TV5 (now

TV5Monde TV5Monde (), formerly known as TV5, is a French public television network, broadcasting several channels of French-language programming. It is an approved participant member of the European Broadcasting Union. The network is available across ...

) was carried. In addition to programming from TF1 and Antenne 2, it also carried programming from FR3 (now

France 3 France 3 () is a French free-to-air public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5 and France Info. It is made up of a network of regional television services provi ...

). The service was available in West Berlin over the air on channel 31 (SECAM G, after December 1990: PAL G) and also via

cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...

, but only in the French Sector.

End of broadcasts

Following the withdrawal of French forces from the reunified Berlin, FFB radio and TFB television broadcasts ceased in June 1994.''Radio und Musik von und für Soldaten: Kriegs- und Nachkriegsjahre : 1939-1960''
Günter Grull, Herbst, 2000, page 15

References

External links

La présence française à Berlin

Supplément du 31 juillet 1980, la télévision française à Berlin.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Radio forces francaises de Berlin Mass media in Berlin Radio in Germany Radio in France Television in France Television in Germany Television networks in France French-language television stations International broadcasters Military of France Radio stations established in 1957 Radio stations disestablished in 1994 1957 establishments in Germany 1994 disestablishments in Germany Military broadcasting Military communications of France Television channels and stations established in 1980 Television channels and stations disestablished in 1994

Radio

TV

End of broadcasts

See also

References

External links