About Kölsch Radio

Kölsch Radio

Kölsch Radio — stylized "Kölsch Radio – 100 % Kölsche Musik" — is Cologne's dialect music station: a private radio broadcaster that plays exclusively Cologne music, from BAP and the Höhner via Brings and Querbeat to Miljö and Zeltinger — the cathedral city's songbook as a radio format, the Kölsch dialect as the only language on the playlist — the linguistic purity as the programme, the city's tongue as the station's tongue — the Kölsch-only rule, the dialect's radio fortress. "100 % Kölsche Musik für Hätz un Siel" — for heart and soul — is the promise. Since 29 December 2025 the station has broadcast statewide in North Rhine-Westphalia on DAB+ (channel 9D, 208.064 MHz, in the audio.digital NRW multiplex operated by Media Broadcast), on Vodafone cable via DVB-C and as a web stream — taking over the DAB slot previously held by Kulthitradio, the Studio Gong NRW station that had occupied the statewide multiplex since November 2021 — the seamless succession on 9D, the multiplex's re-tuning to Kölsch — the overnight switch, the dialect's digital debut — the 29 December's quiet but complete radio revolution, on air. The concept is unique in German radio: a full-time station dedicated to one city's music, in one city's dialect — no other German city has a 24/7 station for its own songbook, the Kölsch Radio as the format pioneer — the dialect format's German premiere, the Cologne model for the regional music station. The Karneval capital's soundtrack, 24/7: the Kölsche Tön as the programme, the Domstadt's identity as the format — the fifth season's music all year, the city's self-confidence on the dial — the Karneval as the year-round identity, the 100 % as the civic pride.

Overview

Kölsch Radio is received via DAB+ on channel 9D (208.064 MHz) in the statewide digital radio multiplex of audio.digital NRW (operated by Media Broadcast), via DVB-C in the Vodafone cable network and as a web stream — the reception area effectively all of North Rhine-Westphalia and adjacent regions. The programme is the promise: exclusively Cologne music — the Karneval bands (Höhner, Brings, Querbeat, Miljö), the rock legends (BAP, Zeltinger), the newcomers — in the Kölsch dialect, for heart and soul. No other format, no compromise: the 100 % as the brand — the playlist as the manifesto, the dialect as the quality seal — the 100 % as the contract with the listener, the Kölsch as the guarantee. The Kölsche Musik tradition is one of Germany's richest regional music cultures: BAP took the dialect to the national charts in the 1980s, the Höhner and Brings fill the Karneval halls, Querbeat brought the brass-band energy to a new generation — and Kölsch Radio gathers them all on one frequency — the generations of the Kölsche Musik united, the tradition's radio home.

The station fills a gap Cologne's radio market always had: Radio Köln — the city's local station on 107.1 MHz — plays Kölsche Musik only on the important Karneval days; Kölsch Radio plays it every day. The dialect as the format, the city as the playlist — the 365-day Karneval of the airwaves, the Domstadt's music without the calendar's permission — the November-to-February season extended to twelve months, the Alaaf as the everyday greeting.

History

Kölsch Radio went on air on 29 December 2025, replacing Kulthitradio on the statewide DAB+ slot — the changing of the guard on channel 9D, the dialect's arrival on the state's multiplex — the 29 December 2025 as the handover date, the new year's eve of the dialect. Kulthitradio — the Studio Gong NRW station, on air since 2 November 2021 with contemporary hits of the past decades for the 30-to-59 core target group — had ended its moderated programmes in August 2025 and ceased operations at year-end 2025; the DAB slot went to Kölsch Radio — the four-year Kulthitradio era ending, the Kölsch era beginning, the statewide multiplex's new voice — the contemporary hits giving way to the Cologne hits, the 9D's rebranding. The launch made the dialect station instantly receivable across NRW — the youngest station in the Cologne market, the oldest music in the Cologne market — the DAB+ footprint as the launchpad, the whole state as the broadcast area from day one — no local frequency's slow growth, the statewide multiplex as the instant network.

Programming

The programme is the 100 %: Kölsche Musik around the clock — the Karneval hits, the BAP classics, the Brings anthems, the Querbeat energy, the Miljö sound, the Zeltinger edge — the Cologne songbook as the rotation, the city's greatest hits as the only hits. Auerbach opens the alphabet, Zeltinger closes it — the station's own description of the range, the A-to-Z of the Domstadt's music — the alphabetical promise, the completeness as the concept. The dialect is the presenter: "für Hätz un Siel" as the address — for heart and soul, the Kölsch promise in Kölsch words, the station speaking the city's language about the city's music — the dialect's self-description, the "Hätz un Siel" as the mission statement. Detailed programme and presenter information is not publicly confirmed in the sources consulted — the station is young, the format is the star — the music as the moderator, the 100 % as the personality — the songs doing the talking, the format as the star presenter.

Organization and Ownership

Kölsch Radio is a private broadcaster based in Cologne — the Domstadt's own dialect station, the private radio's bow to the city's culture — the commercial station with the cultural mission, the market's homage to the Kölsch. The DAB+ slot it occupies was previously held by Kulthitradio, whose operating company was the Studio Gong NRW GmbH & Co. Studiobetriebs KG (wholly owned by Studio Gong, the Nuremberg-based radio holding founded in 1983, with managing director Andreas Lang). Whether the same operating company runs Kölsch Radio is not publicly confirmed in the sources consulted — the slot's history is documented, the new station's operator is not, the handover's details await the public record — the transparency's gap, the young station's pending disclosure. The multiplex operator is audio.digital NRW (Media Broadcast) — the statewide digital radio multiplex on channel 9D, the platform that carries the dialect across NRW — the audio.digital NRW mux, the Media Broadcast infrastructure, the dialect's digital autobahn. Detailed ownership and management information for Kölsch Radio itself is not publicly confirmed in the sources consulted — the young station's corporate face still emerging — the ten-month-old broadcaster, the ownership story yet to be told.

Digital Presence

Kölsch Radio streams as a web stream — the 100 % Kölsche Musik worldwide, the Domstadt's diaspora included — the exiled Kölner in Berlin, Munich or New York tuning home, the dialect's global reach via the internet — the homesickness cured by the stream, the Domstadt's embassy on the web. The DAB+ carriage on channel 9D gives the stream its terrestrial backbone: the statewide multiplex as the distribution, the web as the extension — the 208.064 MHz as the foundation, the stream as the roof, the hybrid reception of the digital age — the DAB+ radio in the car, the app on the phone, the 100 % everywhere. The station's digital face is its format: the Kölsche Tön on every device, "für Hätz un Siel" — for heart and soul — the youngest station with the oldest songs, Cologne's music 24/7 — the dialect's digital home, the 100 % on the smartphone — the Kölsch Radio as the pocket Domstadt, the city's music in the palm.