In linear TV there will soon be one TV station less. The Austrian private broadcaster ServusTV has confirmed that broadcasting in Germany will be discontinued by the end of the year.
It’s not uncommon for TV stations to disappear from linear television every now and then. With ServusTV, however, this time it is a fairly well-known offer. After the first reports of a possible end in April, the broadcaster has now officially confirmed the end.
ServusTV program not without controversy
ServusTV justified the step by saying that in the future they wanted to concentrate on their home country and digital distribution. In Austria, ServusTV came loud extra last year to a market share of 4.3 percent, behind the two frontrunners ORF 2 and ORF 1. The private broadcaster belongs to Red Bull Media House and has been broadcasting its programs since October 1, 2009 under the name ServusTV. It was launched in Germany on September 1, 2010 – with different content compared to Austria. Due to various rights, ServusTV in Germany concentrates primarily on programs from the entertainment sector.
The ServusTV program is not without controversy. Talk shows and documentaries in particular have repeatedly caused criticism in the past. Among other things, the broadcaster was accused of spreading right-wing populism and false information during the corona pandemic.
The end of 2023 is the end of broadcasting in Germany
The first reports of a possible end of ServusTV in Germany came in 2016. The reason for this was the difficult economic situation. There was talk of a deficit of between 40 and 50 million euros. The broadcaster then looked for investments. According to Dietrich Mateschitz, founder of the Red Bull Media House, the aim is “to be sustainably successful in the long term”. Before his death in October 2022, he nodded off a new major project that started in Germany at the beginning of 2023. In this context, special news series “Servus Deutschland Nachrichten” and “Guten Abend Deutschland” have been established for Germany in cooperation with Welt N24.
But even the new program could not save the station. After ServusTV had already ceased operations in Switzerland at the end of 2021, the broadcaster has now announced the end of broadcasting in Germany at the end of the year. In the future, ServusTV would like to concentrate primarily on the digital program “ServusTV On” in this country. In Austria, however, the station can still be received via linear TV.