Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk

Origins

The Mitteldeutsche Rundfunk AG (MIRAG) was founded on 22 January 1924 in Leipzig. It aired its first program on 1 March 1924 at 14:30 CET.

During the Gleichschaltung in the Nazi era, the MIRAG was transferred to the "Reichssender Leipzig" in 1934.

After the end of the Second World War, the Soviet Military Administration in Germany temporarily licensed "Radio Leipzig" in 1945, which only existed for a few months until the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk was founded again. In 1946 the new program "Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk, Sender Leipzig" started in the Springerstrasse broadcasting house.

In September 1952, the "Sender Leipzig" program was converted to the "Berlin III" entertainment program. In 1956 the regional program of Radio DDR (English: Radio GDR), "Sender Leipzig", was introduced.

On 31 May 1991, Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR) was founded as public broadcaster serving Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, and became a member of ARD. MDR began their first television transmission immediately after DFF's final closedown on midnight of New Year's Day 1992.

In August 2022 Ines Hoge-Lorenz, the managing director of the regional state branch of Saxony-Anhalt of the MDR was sacked because of her family ties to a corruption scandal ten years ago.

MDR produces several programs for the ARD, including crime drama episodes for the series Tatort ("Crime Scene") and Polizeiruf 110 ("Police Emergency 110"). MDR also produces the successful hospital series In aller Freundschaft ("In friendship") and the animal series Abenteuer Zoo ("Adventure Zoo"), Deutschlands wilde Tiere ("Germany's Wild Animals") and Europas wilder Osten ("Europe's Wild East"). MDR also has the primary responsibility for the children's TV channel KiKa headquartered in Erfurt, which has amassed a cult following in Germany and internationally due to their mascot Bernd das Brot, a chronically depressed loaf of bread which appears in the KiKa late-night loop.