About hr-info

hr-info

hr-info (official spelling hr-iNFO) is the news radio programme of Hessischer Rundfunk (hr), the public broadcaster of Hesse. Launched on 30 August 2004 as the successor to the business radio hr-skyline, it is a pure speech programme — no music — carrying rolling news, background reporting, and opinion from politics, business, education, sport, and culture. Its slogan is "Wer’s hört, hat mehr zu sagen." ("Whoever listens to it has more to say."). With 406,000 daily listeners (Monday to Sunday, 5 a.m. to midnight, listeners 14+), it has the largest daily reach of any information radio programme in the ARD relative to its broadcasting area.

Overview

hr-info broadcasts from Frankfurt am Main across Hesse on FM, cable, satellite, DAB+, and webradio. On weekday daytime it runs rolling news with bulletins every 20 minutes; at other times (except overnight) it broadcasts in-depth special reports on a range of topics alongside a news summary every half hour. Its exclusively researched content is also prepared for other information outlets of Hessischer Rundfunk. Programme direction is shared by Ulli Janovsky and Eberhard Nembach; the hr intendant is Florian Hager.

History

hr-info's predecessor was hr-skyline, a business-oriented information radio launched on 5 January 1998 as one of the hr's "Plus-Programme". To underline its economic focus, hr-skyline's studios were located in Frankfurt's banking district — on the 54th floor of the Main Tower. From 2002 the station, which had initially still played music, was rebuilt toward an information programme, broadcasting no music on weekdays; from 30 June 2003 to 30 August 2004 it could also be received on the medium wave frequency 594 kHz.

In 2004, after hr-skyline moved from the Main Tower studios to the Funkhaus am Dornbusch, the station was expanded into a full-fledged information radio and renamed hr-info, launching on 30 August 2004. Since then it has continuously grown its audience and expanded its programme into science, education, and culture. The medium wave frequency was subsequently used for the "hr-info plus" medium wave programme until medium wave was switched off on 1 January 2010.

In July 2009 hr-info made a radical programme change: economic and sports columns were de-emphasised, and from Monday to Friday, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., the station ran 20-minute news wheels covering many topics according to the time of day — the rolling-news format that still defines it.

Since April 2024, hr-info and SWR Aktuell — the news radio of Südwestrundfunk — have run a joint evening and weekend programme, pooling the resources of the two ARD news waves for the hours when both audiences are smallest.

The hr-skyline Years: Radio from the 54th Floor

hr-skyline deserves its own chapter, because few radio stations have ever had a more literal address for their format. Launched on 5 January 1998 as "hr4 plus" and soon renamed hr-skyline, the station was the hr's business radio — and its studios sat on the 54th floor of Frankfurt's Main Tower, in the heart of the Bankenviertel. From that height, above the trading floors and headquarters of Germany's financial capital, the station reported on markets, companies, and the economy with the skyline of Frankfurt as its studio backdrop and its brand.

The Main Tower location was more than symbolism: it placed the station's reporters within walking distance of the European Central Bank, Deutsche Börse, and the Bundesbank. But business radio proved a narrow format, and from 2002 hr-skyline was rebuilt toward a general information programme, dropping music on weekdays entirely. The 2004 move from the Main Tower to the Funkhaus am Dornbusch — the hr's traditional broadcasting house — marked the end of the business-radio experiment and the beginning of hr-info: the studios came down from the 54th floor, and the format came down to earth as a full-service news radio.

The medium wave frequency 594 kHz, which hr-skyline had used from June 2003, passed to the "hr-info plus" medium wave programme — a reminder of the era when medium wave still carried public radio's information offer, until it was switched off on 1 January 2010.

The 2009 Reform: The News Wheel

The July 2009 programme change was hr-info's decisive formatting moment. Until then, the station had carried substantial economic and sports columns — a legacy of the hr-skyline years. The reform cut these back and installed the rolling-news wheel: Monday to Friday, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., news every 20 minutes, with the topic mix shifting through the day — the morning's commuter headlines giving way to midday depth and the evening's analysis.

The 20-minute wheel is the grammar of modern news radio, and hr-info's adoption of it put the station in the company of the format's international exemplars. For the hr, it also clarified the division of labour within the radio family: hr1 and hr3 carry music with news inserts; hr-info carries news, full stop. The station's subsequent audience growth — to the 406,000 daily listeners that lead the ARD's information radios — suggests the clarity worked.

ARD's Inforadio Landscape

Every ARD broadcaster runs an information radio, and hr-info's claim — the largest daily reach of any of them relative to its broadcasting area — is a point of institutional pride. The competitors include WDR 5 and NDR Info in the large western and northern states, BR24 in Bavaria, SWR Aktuell in the southwest, rbb24 Inforadio in Berlin-Brandenburg, and MDR Aktuell in central Germany. That the smallest of the large ARD broadcasters' news wave leads this field per capita speaks to the format's fit with Hesse: a compact, economically dense state with a strong regional identity and a commuter culture that rewards 20-minute news wheels.

The April 2024 joint evening and weekend programme with SWR Aktuell is the logical next step: two neighbouring news radios pooling resources for the hours when staffing two full operations makes least sense, while keeping their daytime identities distinct. It is also a preview of the cooperation the ARD's ongoing reforms are expected to demand more broadly.

Programming

hr-info is a pure word programme: news, background information, and opinion pieces from politics, business, education, sport, and culture. The weekday daytime rolling news — bulletins every 20 minutes — serves the at-work and in-car audience; the evening and weekend hours carry in-depth special reports, with a news summary every half hour. Exclusively researched programme content is also prepared for other information offers of Hessischer Rundfunk, making hr-info the hr's newsroom as well as its news station.

Coverage and Audience

hr-info broadcasts in Hesse via FM (RDS: HR-INFO), DAB+, cable, satellite, and webradio, with podcasting extending its reach. The station's 406,000 daily listeners (Monday–Sunday, 5:00–24:00, 14+) give it the largest daily reach of all ARD information radio programmes relative to its broadcasting area; the Media-Analyse II/2026 wave cited 276,000 listeners.

Ownership and Funding

hr-info is operated by Hessischer Rundfunk, the public-law broadcaster for the state of Hesse and a member of the ARD, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main. Like the hr's other programmes, it is financed through the broadcasting licence fee. The hr intendant is Florian Hager.

Digital Presence

hr-info's online presence is integrated into the hr's digital platforms, with livestream, podcasts, and programme information; programme directories list it under hr-inforadio.de. Because the official domain has not been independently load-verified, the website field of this profile is left empty pending verification.