About RiC

RiC

RiC is a German free-to-air children's and family television channel operated by Your Family Entertainment AG (YFE) from Munich. Launched in September 2012 and named after RiC the Raven — the animated character from the beloved children's series — it broadcasts European children's programming free and unencrypted via satellite, cable, and live stream. Positioned as the third private children's and family channel in German-speaking Europe, it offers a deliberate counterpoint to the American and Asian content dominating children's television: decelerated, non-violent, educational European programming for children aged 3 to 13 and their families.

Overview

RiC is children's television with a philosophy. Its schedule is built on European programming — series and films selected for quality, gentleness, and educational value — presented without the frenetic pacing of much children's TV. The channel describes its content as "decelerated": calm, non-violent, entertaining formats that parents can trust and children can enjoy without overstimulation.

The channel broadcasts free-to-air and unencrypted: via the Astra 19.2 degrees East satellite, on cable systems across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, and by live stream. At launch, its coverage reached 34 million households in the GAS (Germany-Austria-Switzerland) region. The target group is children aged 3 to 13 — and the household decision-makers, the parents who choose what their children watch.

RiC is operated by Your Family Entertainment AG, the Munich-based children's media company headed by Dr. Stefan Piëch — who founded the channel. YFE, a founder of Sat.1 in 1984 and one of Europe's largest independent children's programme libraries, also operates the pay-TV channel Fix & Foxi.

History

RiC commenced broadcasting in September 2012 as a free-to-air channel — YFE's answer to the gap in German children's television. The name came from RiC the Raven (RiC – Der Rabe), the blue raven from the 52-episode animated series co-produced by King Rollo Films and Ravensburger Film + TV — a character of such enduring popularity in Germany that YFE, the series' copyright owner, named its channel after him.

The channel's positioning was deliberate: as the third private children's and family channel in German-speaking Europe, it differentiated through origin and tempo — European content, decelerated pacing — against competitors' predominantly American and Asian programming. The strategy resonated with parents seeking alternatives to high-stimulation children's TV.

Distribution expanded steadily: unencrypted Astra satellite carriage, cable agreements across the GAS region, and live streaming. An international version — RiC International — extended the brand to Central and Eastern Europe in cooperation with A1 Telekom Austria Group, distributed via Eutelsat 16A. A Slovak feed serves the Slovak market alongside the German and international English feeds.

Recent developments include programming acquisitions such as The Fairly OddParents (announced for January 2025) and a frequency optimisation on Astra 19.2 degrees East — technical and editorial investments in the channel's second decade.

Programming and Content

European children's series are RiC's foundation: carefully selected programmes from the continent's producers — animated and live-action series chosen for educational value, gentleness, and quality. The "decelerated" philosophy shapes the selection: content that entertains without overwhelming, that respects young viewers' developmental needs.

The channel's library draws on YFE's extensive catalogue — one of the largest broadcaster-independent children's programme libraries in Europe, including series such as Enid Blyton adaptations, Fix & Foxi, and Altair — supplemented by acquisitions. The mix serves the 3-to-13 target range: preschool-friendly content for the youngest, adventure and comedy for older children, and family co-viewing in the evenings.

Non-violent, educational formats are the promise to parents: RiC positions itself as the channel parents can leave on — the safe choice in children's television. This trust positioning is the brand's commercial asset in a market where parental concern about screen content runs high.

Coverage and Audience

RiC TV broadcasts unencrypted via Astra 19.2 degrees East — receivable free with any satellite dish — on cable systems across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, and by live stream. The German-language feed serves the GAS region; Slovak and international feeds extend the brand.

The channel's audience is children aged 3 to 13 — and their parents, the gatekeepers who select the channel. The family co-viewing proposition — "family togetherness and transgenerational viewing," in YFE's description — extends the audience to the household. Detailed ratings are published by the industry's measurement bodies.

Ownership

RiC is owned and operated by Your Family Entertainment AG (YFE), headquartered in Munich, Germany — headed by Dr. Stefan Piëch, who founded the channel. YFE is a listed company (WKN A161N1) and one of Europe's leading independent children's media companies, operating the RiC free-TV channels and the Fix & Foxi pay-TV channels.

As a commercial broadcaster, RiC is licensed by the German state media authorities and operates within Germany's dual broadcasting system.

Your Family Entertainment: The Company Behind RiC

RiC's parent, Your Family Entertainment AG, is one of the veterans of German children's media. Headquartered in Munich and headed by Dr. Stefan Piëch, YFE was a founder of Sat.1 — Germany's first private broadcaster — in 1984, contributed to children's morning programming on Super RTL, and is a founding member of the private broadcasters' association VPRT. The company is a producer and license distributor with one of the largest broadcaster-independent children's programme libraries in Europe.

YFE's library — including Enid Blyton adaptations, Fix & Foxi, and Altair — provides RiC's programming foundation: decades of children's content, much of it European, available to the company's own channels. The pay-TV channel Fix & Foxi (named your family until December 2014) serves the subscription market worldwide — in German, Arabic, English, and Spanish feeds — while RiC serves the German-speaking free-TV market. Together, they give YFE a complete children's portfolio: pay and free, domestic and international.

Dr. Piëch's founding of RiC in 2012 reflected a conviction: that German-speaking families wanted — and would watch — a free children's channel built on European values: quality, gentleness, and education. The channel's endurance into its second decade suggests the conviction was sound.

Decelerated Television: A Parenting Proposition

RiC's "decelerated content" positioning is more than programming — it's a parenting proposition. In an era of parental anxiety about screen time, fast-paced children's programming, and algorithmic content feeds, RiC offers the opposite: calm, non-violent, educational European programmes at a gentle pace. The promise to parents: this is the channel you can leave on.

The positioning taps into real concerns: research on children's media consumption has fuelled debates about pacing, stimulation, and attention — and parents seeking slower alternatives have few dedicated options. RiC fills that niche: not educational television in the schoolroom sense, but entertainment that respects young viewers' developmental needs.

The European origin of the content reinforces the proposition: European children's programming traditions — from the gentle storytelling of classic series to the public-broadcasting ethos of quality — differ from the commercial intensity of much American and Asian children's TV. RiC curates the continent's gentler tradition into a 24-hour channel — and markets it to the household decision-makers who choose what their children watch.

Digital Presence

RiC TV streams live via its websites — rictv.de, rictv.at, rictv.ch — alongside its satellite and cable distribution. Wikipedia's attribution lists rictv.de as the channel's website — presented here as an attributed claim, as the domain could not be independently verified for this profile.

The channel's social-media presence engages the parent audience with programme highlights and scheduling. The live streams on rictv.de, rictv.at, and rictv.ch extend the free-to-air offering to every connected device, so the gentle alternative is available wherever families watch. For German-speaking families, RiC remains what it has been since 2012: the gentle alternative in children's television — European, decelerated, non-violent, and free, from the Munich company that has served young viewers for four decades.