About Rock Antenne

Rock Antenne

Rock Antenne is a German rock radio station and a specialist spin-off of Antenne Bayern, broadcasting from Ismaning near Munich. On air since 1995, it plays rock music across the full spectrum — from soft rock and classic rock to heavy metal and the newest releases — under the motto "Der beste Rock nonstop!" (the best rock, non-stop). What began as a digital-only Bavarian niche programme has grown into a multi-regional brand with FM outlets, nationwide DAB+ carriage, a Hamburg offshoot and even an Austrian sister station.

Overview

Rock Antenne is a private, commercially funded station whose format is uncompromisingly rock-focused. Unlike its parent station Antenne Bayern, which serves a broad adult-contemporary audience, Rock Antenne addresses rock fans of all ages with a 24-hour full programme. The schedule is moderated from Monday to Saturday for most of the day; on Sundays, public holidays and at night a computer-controlled non-stop music programme runs. News, weather and traffic air hourly, with local news on the half hour and the latest from the rock music scene. The station is part of the Antenne Bayern group and shares its Ismaning broadcast centre with the parent station and the oldies channel Oldie Antenne.

History

Rock Antenne's history is closely tied to the birth of digital radio in Germany. It participated in the DAB pilot project as early as 1994 and began regular broadcasting in April 1995 as a DAB-only programme in Bavaria — a pioneering move at a time when digital radio was still experimental. Regular operation formally started on 18 October 1999, and satellite distribution followed, extending reception beyond Bavaria's borders.

Cable carriage across large parts of Bavaria came in April 2000. A first FM foothold arrived on 1 April 2002 (officially 2 April), when Rock Antenne took over the Augsburg frequency 87.9 MHz after the local station Radio Kö 87,9 ceased operations for economic reasons. In January 2011 the station acquired a majority stake in Radio Hitwelle, converting five transmitter sites north and east of Munich — Erding, Freising, Ebersberg, Moosinning and Isen — into Rock Antenne outlets.

The year 2017 brought major expansion. In August, Rock Antenne was allocated capacity in Baden-Württemberg's statewide DAB block 11B and went on air there on 1 December 2017. In Munich, the station took over the FM frequency 94.5 MHz on 1 September 2017, previously used by the youth station M94.5, as a support frequency for the metropolitan area; the transmitter sites north and east of Munich were sold to Top FM (Amperwelle) in the process. In December 2017 Rock Antenne acquired 49 percent of the Hamburg station Alsterradio; Alsterradio's own operation ended on 1 April 2018, and Rock Antenne Hamburg launched on its slot on 9 April 2018 at 5 a.m. Since March 2024 the Hamburg programme has been produced from the Semperhaus at Spitalerstraße 10, together with Radio Hamburg and Oldie Antenne Hamburg.

Digital growth continued: the programme has been on DAB+ in Hesse since July 2018, and in Austria a dedicated "Rock Antenne Österreich" feed launched on the national Bundesmux I on 28 May 2019, with new DAB+ channels in Berlin and Brandenburg following about a month later. Nationally, Rock Antenne is carried on the second DAB+ Bundesmux operated by Antenne Deutschland.

Programming

The music policy covers the entire rock universe: soft rock, classic rock, hard rock, heavy metal, punk and current releases all have their place. Daytime presenters include Alex Schmidt and Lilly Roberts on the morning "Frühschicht" and Lars Lorenz on the afternoon "Homerun", alongside specialist shows such as the Wednesday-night slot hosted by Dubi of the band Serum 114. Hourly news, weather and traffic keep the station's full-service character, while half-hourly local news windows serve the regional FM areas.

Beyond the main feed, Rock Antenne operates an unusually large family of genre streams: Alternative, Cover Songs, Punk Rock, Heavy Metal, Young Stars, Soft Rock, Rock 'n' Roll, Classic Perlen, Deutsch Rock, Munich City Nights, Melodic Rock, X-Mas Rock, Live Rock and 80er Rock. These thematic channels allow listeners to drill into specific rock niches around the clock and are available across the station's digital platforms.

Coverage & Audience

Rock Antenne's distribution reflects its evolution from DAB pioneer to multi-platform brand. In Bavaria it is receivable statewide via DAB+, on FM in Augsburg (87.9 MHz) and Munich (94.5 MHz), via cable and satellite, and nationwide through the second DAB+ Bundesmux. Additional DAB+ coverage exists in Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, Berlin and Brandenburg, and the station streams worldwide online. In Austria, Rock Antenne Österreich is carried on the national digital multiplex. In Hamburg, the Rock Antenne Hamburg offshoot serves the metropolitan market from its Spitalerstraße studios. Audience figures for the individual Rock Antenne feeds are reported within the Antenne Bayern group's portfolio data rather than as standalone national numbers in the sources consulted.

Ownership

Rock Antenne belongs to the Antenne Bayern group, headquartered in Ismaning. The group operates Bavaria's leading commercial radio station, Antenne Bayern, alongside Rock Antenne and the oldies station Oldie Antenne, which is also distributed nationally via DAB+. The Hamburg operation grew out of the 2017 investment in Alsterradio, and the Austrian feed extends the brand beyond Germany's borders. The group's stations share commercial, technical and programming infrastructure, giving the rock brand the backing of one of Germany's largest private radio organisations.

Digital Presence

Digital platforms are central to Rock Antenne's strategy — fitting for a station that began life as a digital-radio experiment. The main livestream and all fourteen genre streams are available through rockantenne.de and the station's apps, alongside podcasts and on-demand content. The website carries presenter profiles, rock news, concert information and ticket offers, while social media channels extend the brand's community of rock fans. The Hamburg and Austria feeds maintain their own regional online presences within the brand family. From its origins in the 1994 DAB pilot to today's multi-stream digital offering, Rock Antenne has remained a testbed for how specialist music radio can thrive on digital distribution.

History: From DAB Pioneer to National Rock Brand

Rock Antenne began in April 1995 as a rock offshoot of Antenne Bayern, distributed in Bavaria only via digital radio DAB (after first tests in the DAB pilot project), moving to regular operation on 18 October 1999. It was the second programme of Antenne Bayern — an independent brand within the Antenne Bayern Group with its own programme, management and company (Rock Antenne GmbH & Co. KG), based in Ismaning near Munich, playing everything from soft rock to heavy metal in the AOR (Album Oriented Rock) format under the motto "Der beste Rock nonstop!"

The terrestrial story began in Augsburg: after the local station Radio Kö 87.9 went bankrupt, the frequency became free, and on 1 April 2002 (officially 2 April) Rock Antenne went on air on FM 87.9 MHz in the greater Augsburg area; since April 2000 it had already been on cable across Bavaria, and satellite followed. On 21 January 2011 Rock Antenne took a majority stake in Radio Hitwelle, creating five transmitter sites north and east of Munich (Erding, Freising, Ebersberg, Moosinning, Isen) — later sold to Amperwelle/Top FM. In December 2017 the company took 49% of Hamburg's Alsterradio, whose operation ended on 1 April 2018; from 9 April 2018 Rock Antenne Hamburg took over Alsterradio's slot. On 1 September 2017 the station got the former M94.5 FM frequency 94.5 MHz in Munich. Since July 2018 the programme is on DAB+ in Hesse; in Austria Rock Antenne Österreich launched on 28 May 2019 nationwide in Mux I; Berlin and Brandenburg followed about a month later. Reception is now nationwide via DAB+, on FM in Augsburg (87.9), Munich (94.5), Gießen (88.0), Kassel (104.1), Marburg (104.9) and Wetzlar (100.5), plus satellite, cable, webradio and app. According to the Antenne Bayern Group the network reaches 448,000 listeners per average hour and 2.949 million listeners per day — with 18 million people in Germany aware of the brand. Subgenre streams (Classic Rock, Heavy Metal, Deutsch Rock) and the annual Top 666 listener vote extend the offer; marketing is handled by SpotCom.

Programming and Digital Presence

Monday to Saturday the station broadcasts a largely moderated daytime programme; on Sundays, holidays and at night a computer-controlled nonstop music service runs. Hourly there are news, weather and traffic, and on the half hour local news and the latest from the rock scene. The target group is 25- to 49-year-olds. The rockantenne.de portal carries the live programme, the subgenre streams and the app. From a Bavarian DAB experiment of 1995 to a national rock brand with stations in Germany and Austria: Rock Antenne is the loudest voice in the Antenne Bayern family.