About Rockland Sachsen-Anhalt

Rockland Sachsen-Anhalt

Rockland Sachsen-Anhalt (formerly Rockland Digital) is Saxony-Anhalt's private rock station — a music-specialist programme with a rock focus, based in Magdeburg and part of the VMG Verlags- und Medien group alongside Radio SAW. Launched on 1 May 1999 first on DAB as the first German programme in digital radio, FM followed on 1 July 2000. Since October 2015 the programme targets an adult audience (25–59) with arena rock, occasionally featuring regional bands. Managing director Michael Mezödi; programme director Ronny Schulz. Presenters include Aike Lange, Ted Stanetzky, Warren Green and Frank Abel.

Overview

Rockland Sachsen-Anhalt programmes mainly rock music for Saxony-Anhalt and adjacent states. The programme is received in Saxony-Anhalt on FM in selected cities and statewide on cable and DAB (channel 11C), plus in Leipzig (Saxony) on channel 6C. FM frequencies include Bernburg 95.0, Dessau 94.1, Halle 98.3, Harz 107.2, Köthen 97.1, Magdeburg 98.7, Naumburg 99.6 and Weißenfels 88.0.

History

The station began on 1 May 1999 on DAB as the first German programme in digital radio; FM broadcasting followed on 1 July 2000. From 1 May 2004 to 1 May 2005 the programme also aired as "Rockland Thüringen" in Thuringia on DAB. Between 2018 and 2022 it was also heard on DAB+ in Berlin and Brandenburg. Since October 2015 the programme has targeted adults (25–59) with arena rock.

Programming

The rock-specialist programme plays mainly arena rock for a 25–59 adult audience, occasionally featuring regional bands. Radio 21 and its partner Rockland Radio were among the first German stations to analyse the Canadian Jack FM variety-hits format (August 2009).

Coverage & Audience

Rockland Sachsen-Anhalt broadcasts on FM in Bernburg, Dessau, Halle, Harz, Köthen, Magdeburg, Naumburg and Weißenfels, statewide on cable, on DAB channel 11C in Saxony-Anhalt (and 6C in Leipzig), plus worldwide livestream.

Ownership

The owner is the VMG Verlags- und Medien GmbH & Co. KG; managing director Michael Mezödi. The same house operates Radio SAW.

Digital Presence

The station operates rockland.fm with a livestream alongside apps and social media channels, extending its rock programme beyond the terrestrial footprint. The digital offering carries the station's arena rock and regional-band features on demand.

Germany's First Programme in Digital Radio

Rockland Sachsen-Anhalt — then Rockland Digital — made German radio history on 1 May 1999: it started operations on DAB as the first German programme in digital radio, two years before the FM launch on 1 July 2000 brought it to analogue airwaves in Bernburg, Dessau, Halle, the Harz, Köthen, Magdeburg, Naumburg and Weißenfels. The digital-first launch reflected the ambitions of its owner, the VMG Verlags- und Medien GmbH & Co. KG — the Magdeburg publishing and media house that also operates Radio SAW, Saxony-Anhalt's first private radio. From the start the station was conceived as a music-specialist programme with a rock focus, complementing SAW's broad AC "Superhits" format. Managing director Michael Mezödi and programme director Ronny Schulz lead the station from Magdeburg, with presenters including Aike Lange, Ted Stanetzky, Warren Green and Frank Abel.

Rockland Thüringen and the DAB Expansion

The Rockland brand briefly crossed state borders: from 1 May 2004 to 1 May 2005 the programme was also distributed in Thuringia on DAB as "Rockland Thüringen". And between 2018 and 2022 the programme could additionally be heard on DAB+ in Berlin and Brandenburg, extending its digital footprint into the capital region. Today the programme is received in Saxony-Anhalt on FM in the cities listed above and statewide on cable and DAB (channel 11C), plus in Leipzig, Saxony, on channel 6C — alongside the worldwide livestream. The station thus remains a primarily digital-era rock brand: born on DAB, expanded on DAB+, and at home online.

Arena Rock for the Adult Audience

Since October 2015 the programme has targeted an adult audience of 25-to-59-year-olds with arena rock — the big-guitar sound of the rock mainstream — while occasionally featuring regional bands from Saxony-Anhalt. The music selection, as documented in the station's profile, is 70% rock and 30% pop with a range from the 1960s to today. Radio 21 and its partner Rockland Radio were the first German stations to adopt the Canadian Jack FM variety-hits format in August 2009, a sign of the group's willingness to experiment with international format ideas. As the rock specialist in the VMG portfolio, Rockland Sachsen-Anhalt gives the Magdeburg media house a two-brand strategy: Radio SAW for the broad mainstream, Rockland for the rock audience.

Germany's First Digital Radio Programme

Rockland Sachsen-Anhalt — formerly Rockland Digital — launched on 1 May 1999 on DAB, as the first German programme on digital radio. FM transmission followed on 1 July 2000. From 1 May 2004 to 1 May 2005 the programme was also distributed in Thuringia as Rockland Thüringen via DAB, and between 2018 and 2022 it could additionally be heard on DAB+ in Berlin and Brandenburg. The owner is VMG Verlags- und Medien GmbH und Co. KG; managing director Michael Mezödi, programme director Ronny Schulz; the station is based in Magdeburg. Since October 2015 the programme has targeted an adult audience of 25- to 59-year-olds with arena rock — occasionally featuring regional bands. Presenters include Aike Lange, Ted Stanetzky, Warren Green and Frank Abel. FM frequencies: Bernburg 95.0, Dessau 94.1, Halle 98.3, Harz 107.2, Köthen 97.1, Magdeburg 98.7, Naumburg 99.6 and Weißenfels 88.0; the programme is also carried statewide on cable and on DAB channel 11C in Saxony-Anhalt plus channel 6C in Leipzig (Saxony).

The Rockland Brand

Rockland Sachsen-Anhalt shares its brand with Rockland Radio in Rhineland-Palatinate — on air since August 1998 as that state's first and only rock station, with seven FM frequencies and a sharp 14–49 target group (46,000 listeners per average hour and 365,000 per day per ma 2012 Radio I). The two stations give the "Rockland" name a presence across central and western Germany, each rooted in its own state: Magdeburg's Rockland for Saxony-Anhalt, with the state's cities from Halle to Dessau and the Harz on FM; the Rhineland-Palatinate Rockland reaching into Rhine-Main (Hesse) and Rhine-Neckar (Baden-Württemberg). Together they form one of Germany's few cross-state rock radio brands — a format that has remained a niche in the German market, where most private stations play AC pop. In Saxony-Anhalt, Rockland complements the pop-oriented statewide privates (Radio SAW, 89.0 RTL, Radio Brocken) as the dedicated rock alternative.

The VMG Family and the DAB Expansion

Rockland Sachsen-Anhalt is operated by the VMG Verlags- und Medien GmbH & Co. KG — the Magdeburg media house also behind radio SAW and 1A Deutsche Hits. The managing director is Michael Mezödi, the programme director Ronny Schulz; among the presenters are Aike Lange, Ted Stanetzky, Warren Green and Frank Abel. The station is receivable on FM in the state's cities — Bernburg 95.0, Dessau 94.1, Halle 98.3, Harz 107.2, Köthen 97.1, Magdeburg 98.7, Naumburg 99.6, Weißenfels 88.0 — plus nationwide cable, DAB channel 11C (and 6C in Leipzig). From May 2004 to May 2005 the programme was also distributed in Thuringia as Rockland Thüringen on DAB, and between 2018 and 2022 on DAB+ in Berlin and Brandenburg. The DAB+ network keeps growing: on 3 June 2024 a new transmitter site at Pettstädt near Weißenfels went on air, bringing the VMG programmes to the Burgenland district in crystal-clear digital quality — a quarter century after Rockland first proved that digital radio could carry a rock programme.