About Radio Schlagerparadies

Radio Schlagerparadies

Radio Schlagerparadies is a German private radio station devoted exclusively to German schlager music, broadcasting nationwide via DAB+ digital radio on channel 5C as well as through its app and webstream. Part of the RMNradio group based in Kleinblittersdorf, Saarland, and licensed by the Saarland media authority, the station plays German schlager around the clock and reports an average daily audience of 862,000 listeners. Its history traces an unusual path from a provocatively named internet radio to a fully licensed national DAB+ programme.

Overview

Radio Schlagerparadies is a single-genre music station: its programme consists exclusively of German-language schlager, from current hits to timeless legends and party anthems. The main feed is moderated, with regular news bulletins providing a light information framework, and the station's app offers a family of thematic streams — "Hitparty", "Hitmix der Nacht", "Oldie-Express", "Kuschelzeit", "Frisch gepresst" and an instrumental channel — letting listeners match the music to their mood. Music requests can be sent through the app and are worked into the moderated programme where possible. The station is operated within the RMNradio group; Frank Brach serves as managing director of Radio Schlagerparadies and programme director of RMNradio.

History

The station was founded in 2005 as an internet radio under the deliberately cheeky name "RMN Schlagerhölle" (schlager hell) — a wink at the genre's divisive reputation. On 9 August 2007 the Saarland media authority (LMS) granted it a nationwide broadcast licence without allocating transmission capacity, a licence that in principle allowed distribution via DAB+, FM, satellite and cable; from that point the programme was fed, independently of the internet, into numerous broadband cable networks across Germany. On 1 September 2013 the station was renamed Radio Schlagerparadies, with the new website going online two days earlier.

The decisive chapter concerned national DAB+ distribution. In January 2014 RMNradio signed a programme-supply contract with the Regiocast radio group, enabling Schlagerparadies to take over the slot of the discontinued football station 90elf in the nationwide DAB multiplex. The regulatory path was dramatic: on 21 January 2014 the licensing commission ZAK initially rejected nationwide distribution, but Regiocast began broadcasting the programme at its own risk under a toleration arrangement on 31 January 2014; on 18 February 2014 the ZAK reversed its decision and granted an unlimited licence for the former 90elf slot. When Regiocast announced in February 2016 that it would return part of its Bundesmux capacity — including the capacity units carrying Schlagerparadies under the cooperation with the Saarland operator — the ZAK re-tendered the capacity; on 21 June 2016 it assigned 42 capacity units directly to Radio Schlagerparadies, which won the tender and has since used its multiplex capacity independently.

The station's corporate development continued into 2026: in January 2026 Radio Schlagerparadies joined Ballermann Radio of Wetter as a shareholder, becoming — together with BR Beteiligungs GmbH, backed by the Teutocast investment company — the largest shareholder of the party-music station. Ballermann Radio, on nationwide DAB+ since summer 2025 with a party-music focus, reported 1.26 million monthly streaming sessions in the third quarter of 2025. Managing director Frank Brach called the combination "a perfect match", noting the complementary audiences and a shared vision of fun, music and entertainment for all generations; the two national DAB+ programmes plan close cooperation on events, marketing and content development.

Programming

The programme's promise is uncomplicated: lots of music and only the information listeners really need, 24 hours a day. The moderated main programme mixes current schlager with legendary hits and genuine party anthems, carried by regular news. The six app streams segment the genre by mood and tempo — from the "Hitparty" and night-time hit mix to the "Oldie-Express" for classics, "Kuschelzeit" for romantic schlager, "Frisch gepresst" for the newest releases and an instrumental channel. Listener interaction runs through music requests via the app and greetings to friends, family and colleagues read out on air. The station's Facebook presence keeps the community updated with star reports, interviews, competitions and team content.

Coverage & Audience

Radio Schlagerparadies is receivable nationwide via DAB+ on channel 5C, through the station's app and worldwide on the web. The station states an average daily audience of 862,000 listeners. Its distribution history mirrors the growth of German digital radio: from internet-only beginnings through cable-network carriage to a coveted slot on the first national DAB+ multiplex — a slot once occupied by the football station 90elf, whose collapse after losing Bundesliga rights in 2013 opened the door for the schlager programme's national breakthrough.

Ownership

Radio Schlagerparadies belongs to the RMNradio group of Kleinblittersdorf, Saarland, and is licensed by the Landesmedienanstalt Saarland. The parent station RMNradio was founded on 23 August 2002 as an internet radio; its managing director is Herbert Pjede. RMNradio's own programme targets 19-to-59-year-olds with pop and rock from the 1970s to today, current chart titles and specialist music including alternative, chill-out, black music and independent rock, with particular emphasis on promoting young German bands — it was the first German station to commit to filling 30 percent of its music programming with German-produced music. Since January 2026 the group has also held a major stake in Ballermann Radio alongside BR Beteiligungs GmbH/Teutocast, extending its portfolio into party music.

Digital Presence

Digital platforms are the station's lifeblood: it began as an internet radio and remains app- and stream-centric. The Radio Schlagerparadies app carries the live programme, all six thematic streams, music-request functions and greeting features, while the website schlagerparadies.de offers programme information, team profiles and additional topics. Social media — notably Facebook — serves the schlager community with star news, interviews and competitions. Nationwide DAB+ reception on channel 5C gives the digital offering a broadcast backbone, making Radio Schlagerparadies available on DAB+ radios, smartphones, smart speakers and computers across Germany.

From "Schlagerhölle" to the National Schlager Station

Radio Schlagerparadies is the nationwide schlager station of the RMNradio group, licensed by the Saarland media authority LMS, broadcasting from Kleinblittersdorf in the Saarland. It was founded in 2005 as an internet radio under the name RMN Schlagerhölle. On 9 August 2007 the LMS granted it a nationwide licence without assigned transmission capacities — enabling distribution via DAB+, FM, satellite and cable; from that point the programme was fed internet-independently into numerous German broadband cable networks. On 1 September 2013 the RMN Schlagerhölle was renamed Radio Schlagerparadies (the new website had gone online two days earlier).

The Fight for the Federal Multiplex

In January 2014 RMNradio concluded a programme-supply contract with Regiocast, enabling the Schlagerparadies to take over the slot of 90elf (the former football radio) in the nationwide DAB multiplex. In its session of 21 January 2014 the ZAK (the commission for licensing and supervision) rejected the nationwide distribution; Regiocast was initially only able to broadcast the programme at its own risk under a "Duldung" (toleration) until a re-tender of the slot — which it did from 31 January 2014. In its session of 18 February 2014 the ZAK reversed its first decision and granted Regiocast an unlimited licence to distribute the Schlagerparadies on the former 90elf slot in the federal mux. In February 2016 Regiocast announced it would return some of its federal-mux capacity — the CUs on which the Schlagerparadies programme was then broadcasting in cooperation with the Saarland organiser RMN Radio — and on 21 June 2016 the ZAK assigned 42 CUs to the Schlagerparadies programme.

Programme and Digital Presence

The slogan is "Radio Schlagerparadies ist das Schlagerradio für Deutschland" ("…here I feel at home"): the best schlager of the last 40 years around the clock — from Jürgen Drews to Beatrice Egli in the Schlagerfrühstück and Musikcafé, Andrea Berg to Vincent Gross in the Schlagerparade, current schlager-chart hits and party hits for the night owls. Besides the moderated livestream, the app offers genre streams — Schlagerparty, Hitmix der Nacht, Oldie-Express, Kuschelzeit, Instrumental, Frisch gepresst — plus music requests via the app and podcasts ("Zeitmaschine", "Daher kommt's", "Treffpunkt Schlager"). Receivable nationwide via DAB+ on channel 5C, in many cable networks and worldwide via the app and web — the schlager specialist from the Saarland, on air since 2005.