About Antenne Unna

Antenne Unna

Antenne Unna is the local radio station for the district of Unna in North Rhine-Westphalia, broadcasting a pop-based local format with district news, service information and entertainment. On air since 30 November 1991 under licence from the state media authority, the station produces twelve hours of local programming on weekdays and three hours each on Saturdays and Sundays from its studios on Ostring in Unna. It transmits via FM, DAB+ digital radio, cable and internet live stream across the district, which stretches from the eastern Ruhr area into the Hellweg region. The operating company, Antenne Unna Betriebsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, is a family business held by the Lensing-Wolff family, with Marco Morocutti serving as managing director. Editor-in-chief is Mathias Scherff.

Overview

Antenne Unna serves the Kreis Unna, a district of around 390,000 residents in the Arnsberg region, bordered by Dortmund, Hamm, the Soest district and the Märkischer Kreis. The district blends the eastern edge of the Ruhr metropolitan area — with towns such as Lünen, Werne and Bergkamen — with the more rural Hellweg communities around Unna, Fröndenberg and Holzwickede. The station's local programming reflects that mix: district politics, the structural transformation of the former mining towns, commuter life toward Dortmund, and the club and carnival culture of the Hellweg. The music format is mainstream pop, a companion service of current hits and familiar favourites.

The station's local output is substantial: twelve hours daily Monday to Friday, structured around the shows "Antenne Unna am Morgen", "Antenne Unna am Tag", "Antenne Unna am Nachmittag" and "Antenne Unna am Wochenende". From 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays — and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays — half-hourly bulletins carry world headlines, local news, local weather, traffic and speed-camera reports, with additional local service updates after the hourly news within the local shows. Few NRW local stations produce twelve hours of local programming on weekdays, and the station presents this local depth as its defining strength: a newsroom that knows the difference between Lünen's north and south, that follows the council debates in Schwerte and Werne as closely as those in Unna itself, and that treats the district's ten municipalities as ten distinct communities rather than a single broadcast area. The remaining hours and the hourly national news come from the Radio NRW framework programme, and the station carries an hourly statewide advertising block from Radio NRW. In the evenings from 9 p.m., the frequencies optionally carry Bürgerfunk citizen radio in accordance with state media law. As a commercial private broadcaster, Antenne Unna is financed through advertising.

History

Antenne Unna went on air on 30 November 1991 as the local radio for the Unna district, licensed by the Landesanstalt für Medien Nordrhein-Westfalen. It belonged to the first great wave of private local radio in Germany's most populous state, establishing a dedicated station for a district that sits at the transition between the Ruhr area and the Sauerland foothills. The operating company was set up as Antenne Unna Betriebsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, based at Westenhellweg in Dortmund, and structured as a family business with the Lensing-Wolff family as shareholders — the family behind the regional newspaper publishing tradition in the area.

Over more than three decades, the station has maintained its position as the district's commercial local radio, operating within the NRW two-pillar system with the Radio NRW framework supplying the non-local hours. The studios on Ostring in Unna have remained the station's home, housing the newsroom that covers the district's ten cities and municipalities. Mathias Scherff has served as editor-in-chief, leading the editorial operation, while Marco Morocutti has held the managing directorship. The family ownership has given the station continuity unusual in the consolidating German radio market: where many NRW local stations changed hands or merged their operations, Antenne Unna has remained under the same family roof since its 1991 launch, with the Lensing publishing tradition providing a journalistic culture that values local reporting. The station's distribution has expanded with the times, from FM and cable to DAB+ digital radio and the internet live stream.

Programming

The broadcast day is built around the four local programme strands. "Antenne Unna am Morgen" starts the district's day with music, local news, weather, traffic and speed-camera reports for the commuter routes toward Dortmund, Hamm and the Ruhr area. "Antenne Unna am Tag" carries listeners through the working day, "Antenne Unna am Nachmittag" accompanies the drive home, and "Antenne Unna am Wochenende" covers Saturdays and Sundays with a weekend mix of music, local stories and event tips. The local emphasis is explicit: the station puts district topics first, alongside the relevant national and international news.

Local news coverage spans the district's cities and municipalities: Lünen, Unna, Bergkamen, Schwerte, Werne, Selm, Fröndenberg, Bönen, Holzwickede and Kamen — council politics, the ongoing transformation of former coal-mining communities, business news, school and club life, and the cultural calendar. Service elements include local weather, traffic for the A1, A2 and A44 corridors that cross the district, and speed-camera reports that are a staple of German commercial radio. The evening Bürgerfunk strand from 9 p.m. gives local citizen groups airtime on the station's frequencies. The tone is neighbourly and service-oriented — the classic NRW local-radio proposition applied to the Hellweg district.

Organization and Ownership

Antenne Unna is operated by Antenne Unna Betriebsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, registered in Dortmund, a family business whose shareholders are the Lensing-Wolff family. The managing director is Marco Morocutti. Editorial leadership rests with editor-in-chief Mathias Scherff. The studios are located on Ostring in Unna, the district capital, housing the newsroom and presentation studios.

The station operates within the North Rhine-Westphalian two-pillar system, with the Radio NRW framework programme supplying the non-local hours and the hourly national news, in return for the hourly statewide advertising block. As a commercial private broadcaster, Antenne Unna is financed through advertising sold to businesses across the district. Regulatory oversight lies with the Landesanstalt für Medien NRW. The family-business structure gives the station an ownership profile distinct from the publisher-consortium model common among NRW local stations, keeping decision-making close to the region.

Digital Presence

The station's website at antenneunna.de is the digital hub, offering the live internet stream, district news articles, programme and presenter information, and event tips for the Unna district. The stream extends the FM and DAB+ footprint to former residents and commuters beyond the broadcast area. The station is listed on the major radio aggregator apps and smart-speaker platforms, and its DAB+ distribution provides digital terrestrial reception alongside FM and cable.

On social media Antenne Unna maintains channels with district news updates, traffic information, programme highlights and coverage of local events from town festivals to Christmas markets. The website functions as a compact district news portal, extending the Unna newsroom's output into text and images. Listener interaction runs through requests, greetings and on-air competitions, and the station's event presence — from town festivals to its own promotions — keeps the Antenne Unna brand visible across the district's ten municipalities. For a district station, Antenne Unna maintains the full digital toolkit of modern German local radio: stream, website newsroom, social channels and on-demand elements, complementing the FM signal that has served the Hellweg district faithfully since that November day in 1991.