Television in Germany began in Berlin on March 22, 1935, broadcasting for 90 minutes three times a week. Nowadays, 95% of German households have at least one television receiver. All the main German TV channels are free to air. It was not until 1987 that German television viewers had the option of viewing anything other than the three public TV channels (ARD, ZDF and the “Third Program” regional channels). Germany's competitive television market is the largest in Europe, with some 34 million TV households.

To help finance the public radio and television stations, the Austrian, German, and Swiss governments collect fees for the use of radio and television sets. In Germany each household pays a single fee, no matter how many radios or TV sets there may be in the house, but children with their own income pay an additional fee. It doesn’t matter who owns the device, the determining factor is who has access to the radio or TV. If you have a car radio, there is no extra fee, provided you or your spouse are already paying the household fee and the car is registered in your name. Portable radios used mostly at home are exempt. Most people pay their Rundfunkgebühren by automatic withdrawal (Lastschrift) from their bank account. Fees can be paid annually, every six months, or quarterly. The forms for registering a radio or TV can be picked up at any post office.

The many regional and national public broadcasters compete for audiences. Each of the 16 Länder regulates its own private and public broadcasting. Around 90% of German households have cable or satellite TV, and viewers enjoy a comprehensive mix of free-to-view public and commercial channls. This has acted as a brake on the development of pay-TV. Germany is home to some of the world's largest media conglomerates, includinge Bertelsmann and the publisher Axel Springer. Some of Germany's top free-to-air commercial TV networks are owned by ProSiebenSat1, a consortium led by a US billionnaire. Germany has completed the switch to digital terrestrial TV broadcasting. Public broadcasters ZDF and ARD offer a range of digital-only channels. While the press and broadcasters are free and independent, the display of swastikas and statements endorsing Nazism are illegal. By March 2011 nearly 80% of Germans million people - were online, Internetworldstats reported. The leading social network is Facebook, with more than 20 million users. Its rivals include wer-kennt- wen and meinVZ.

Hier kann man allerlei Informationen über das Fernsehprogramm herausfinden.

Viele Fernsehsender haben Webseiten für Kinder. Das bedeutet, dass sie vor dem Computer sitzen, wenn sie nicht fernsehen. Ist das gesund? Was sollten Kinder machen, statt vor dem Fernseher oder Computer zu sitzen? Ist ein Fernsehapparat eine Lebensnotwendigkeit? Lernen Kinder, wenn sie stundenlang vor der Glotze sitzen? Man kann im Internet und auf dem Handy fernsehen. Wie findest du das?