About Deluxe Music

Deluxe Music

Deluxe Music is a German free-to-air music television channel owned by High View Holding and broadcasting via satellite from the Astra position. Founded in 2004 and on air since April 2005, it is one of Germany's longest-running music channels, dedicated to music videos, concerts, and music programming for an adult audience. In an era when music television largely abandoned videos for reality formats, Deluxe Music kept faith with the classic music-channel concept — and built a loyal audience of music lovers aged twenty-five and over.

Overview

Deluxe Music is Germany's premium music television brand. Its schedule is built around music videos, concerts, and music specials, curated for an adult audience that grew up with music television: daytime programming leans toward popular music, while nighttime slots explore specific styles — disco, rock, and other genres — in themed blocks. The channel broadcasts free-to-air via the Astra 19.2 degrees East satellite and on cable systems, financed by advertising.

The channel is operated by Just Music Fernsehbetriebs and owned by High View Holding, the Munich-based media group. Its target audience of twenty-five-year-olds and older distinguishes it from youth-oriented music channels: Deluxe Music programmes for viewers who want quality music curation rather than chart-chasing, spanning multiple decades and genres.

Deluxe Music is the flagship of High View's growing music portfolio, which now includes genre channels — Schlager Deluxe, Deluxe Dance by Kontor, Deluxe Flashback, Deluxe Rock, Deluxe Rap, and Deluxe Lounge — each serving a distinct musical taste within the free-to-air market.

History

Deluxe Music was founded in 2004 by the German media entrepreneurs Markus Langemann and Cosmin Ene, and it started broadcasting on 1 April 2005. The concept was deliberately contrarian: at a time when music channels were shifting toward reality television and non-music entertainment, Deluxe Music revived the classic music-television experience — twenty-four hours of music videos, concerts, and music programmes, presented with premium production values including, from an early stage, Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound.

The channel's early years established its reputation for curated quality, but the business faced difficulties: in January 2012, Deluxe Television filed for insolvency. In March 2012, the High View group acquired the channel, stabilising its operations and providing the backing for expansion.

Under High View, Deluxe Music modernised: a high-definition version launched in December 2012 as part of the HD+ package, thematic programming blocks were refined, and distribution expanded. The brand then multiplied: Schlager Deluxe, focused on the German Schlager genre, received its licence in January 2020 and launched full 24/7 broadcasting that December; in January 2023, High View agreed with Astra operator SES to lease additional capacity for four new free-to-air music channels — Deluxe Dance by Kontor, Deluxe Flashback, Deluxe Rock, and Deluxe Rap — which started on 1 February 2023; and Deluxe Lounge began free-to-air broadcasting in October 2023.

According to the advertising sales house Goldvertise, which takes over High View's television advertising sales in January 2027, Deluxe Music reaches up to 13.4 million viewers per month — a substantial audience for a music specialty channel.

Programming and Content

Music videos are the heart of Deluxe Music. The channel's daytime schedule plays popular music videos across decades and genres, curated for its adult audience, while themed blocks explore specific styles: disco nights, rock hours, and genre specials give each daypart its own character. The curation emphasises quality and variety over chart position — a haven for music lovers rather than a hit parade.

Concerts and live performances form the second pillar: full-length concerts, festival coverage, and live sessions showcase artists across genres, presented with the premium audio-visual quality that has been the channel's hallmark since its 5.1-surround launch. Music documentaries and specials — artist portraits, genre histories, and behind-the-scenes features — add depth for the engaged music fan.

The channel's genre siblings extend the offering: Schlager Deluxe for German Schlager music, Deluxe Dance by Kontor for electronic dance, Deluxe Rock for rock, Deluxe Rap for hip-hop, Deluxe Flashback for classics, and Deluxe Lounge for relaxed listening. Together, the portfolio covers the musical tastes of the German audience with a granularity no single channel could achieve.

Coverage and Audience

Deluxe Music broadcasts free-to-air via the Astra 19.2 degrees East satellite — unencrypted, receivable with a standard satellite dish — and on cable systems across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. A high-definition version is available through the HD+ package. The channel also streams through digital platforms.

The channel's audience is music lovers aged twenty-five and older — an adult demographic underserved by youth-oriented music channels. Its viewers value curation: the channel's playlists, themed blocks, and concert programming attract listeners who want trusted music selection rather than algorithmic feeds. The reported monthly reach of up to 13.4 million viewers reflects the brand's broad recognition. Detailed ratings are published by the industry's measurement bodies.

Deluxe Music's cultural role includes keeping the classic music-television format alive in Germany: in a media landscape where music videos migrated to YouTube, the channel preserves the curated, programmed, lean-back music experience for viewers who still want television to choose the music.

Ownership

Deluxe Music is operated by Just Music Fernsehbetriebs GmbH and owned by High View Holding, the Munich-based independent media group. Its sister channels include Schlager Deluxe, Deluxe Dance by Kontor, Deluxe Flashback, Deluxe Rock, Deluxe Rap, and Deluxe Lounge.

High View acquired the channel out of insolvency in March 2012 and has built it into the centrepiece of a growing music-television portfolio. Advertising sales for the High View channels were handled by Sky Media until the announced move to Goldvertise — itself acquired by High View at the end of 2025 — from January 2027.

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

High View's Music Channel Portfolio

Deluxe Music's expansion into a portfolio of genre channels is High View's answer to the fragmentation of music consumption. Where streaming services offer infinite choice through algorithms, High View offers curated choice through channels — each with a clear musical identity, a dedicated schedule, and the lean-back simplicity of television. The portfolio strategy lets viewers find their taste without leaving the Deluxe brand family.

The genre channels each occupy a distinct niche. Schlager Deluxe, which received its licence in January 2020 and began full 24/7 broadcasting that December, serves the massive German audience for Schlager — the genre that has sustained German popular music for decades and remains a ratings powerhouse in the German-speaking market. Deluxe Dance by Kontor, launched in partnership with the Kontor dance-music brand in February 2023, targets electronic dance fans. Deluxe Rock, Deluxe Rap, and Deluxe Flashback cover their respective genres, while Deluxe Lounge provides relaxed listening.

The February 2023 launch of four channels simultaneously — secured through a capacity agreement with SES on the Astra satellites — demonstrated High View's confidence in the music-television model. Deluxe Lounge's October 2023 debut completed the set. The portfolio also extends into FAST channels for connected-TV platforms, positioning the Deluxe brands for the streaming era while keeping the core free-to-air offering intact.

Advertising sales for the portfolio are handled by Goldvertise — itself acquired by High View at the end of 2025 — which takes over from Sky Media in January 2027, unifying the channels' commercial operation under the same corporate roof as their programming.

Digital Presence

Deluxe Music streams through digital platforms alongside its satellite and cable distribution, and the channel maintains an online presence with programme information and highlights. Its social media channels engage the music-fan audience with clips, playlists, and concert features.

The channel's genre siblings each maintain their own digital identities, and High View's expansion into FAST (free ad-supported streaming television) channels — including Deluxe Rap and Deluxe Dance — extends the music brands to connected-TV platforms. Goldvertise's connected-TV offering, spanning hundreds of FAST channels, positions the High View music portfolio for the streaming era.

For German speakers abroad, the unencrypted Astra signal makes Deluxe Music receivable across Europe with a standard dish, and its digital platforms extend that reach online. The channel's two-decade commitment to the classic music-television format — videos, concerts, curation — continues to distinguish it in a market where few others still fly the flag.