About Radio Charivari München

Radio Charivari München

95.5 Charivari is Munich's feel-good music station, a private 24-hour broadcaster on air since 1 April 1986. The hot-AC programme of music titles from the last 25 years, regional reporting, Munich local news, event tips and listener promotions targets 25-to-49-year-olds under the claims "feel good music" and "Das Leben ist ein Hit" (life is a hit). Broadcasting from the Pressehaus Bayerstraße near Munich's main station, the station is co-owned by the Oschmann family's Neue Welle group and the Münchner Zeitungs-Verlag/Merkur tz group. Its domain (charivari.de) is referenced in directories but was not independently load-verified during research, so no official website is asserted here.

Overview

95.5 Charivari produces a 24-hour hot-AC programme: mainstream entertainment music with a focus on pop and rock hits from the 1980s to current chart titles. The station describes itself as a "Gute-Laune-Sender" (good-mood station). Between 5:30 a.m. and 11 p.m. there are hourly news bulletins with a Munich focus, half-hourly in the morning. The editorial offices are in the Pressehaus Bayerstraße near the Hauptbahnhof. The managing director is Till Coenen and the programme director Heiko Seeringer.

History

The station launched on 1 April 1986 as Radio Charivari. In the early years the daytime schedule carried a mix of light pop music, with specialist music programmes in the evenings that were discontinued in the mid-1990s. Shortly after launch, the Neue Welle Bayern — previously heard as Radio 1 (Munich) on 89.0 MHz — was absorbed into the station. The station was founded by the Münchner Merkur and tz newspapers, which had also been involved in Radio Gong 2000 before launching Charivari on its own frequency.

From summer 2004 to summer 2024 the station carried the suffix "Münchens Hitradio" (Munich's hit radio); since then only the claims "feel good music" and "Das Leben ist ein Hit" are used. A major relaunch in January 2012 changed the music format — previously only a few current titles ran, now they make up most of the rotation — and brought a new station logo. Prominent staff of past years include Armin Laschet, Susanne Rohrer, Valerie Haller, Ludwig Spaenle and Ingo Nommsen. The morning show has been a station institution: the weekday "Herold Show" hosted by programme director Jan Herold, and more recently "Markus, Larissa und Du" and the "München-Morgenshow" formats. The Friday and Saturday evening "Party-Hitmix" with DJ Enrico Ostendorf — described as Bavaria's most famous radio DJ — is a long-running specialty, also released as a 15-part audio CD series, alongside the Sunday-evening "Sonntagskuschler" ballads-and-lounge show.

Programming

The hot-AC programme combines mainstream music from the last 25 years with Munich local news, regional reporting, event tips and listener-binding promotions. The morning show anchors the day, the party hitmix owns the weekend evenings, and the Sunday ballad show serves the wind-down audience. The 2012 format shift toward current titles refreshed the station's sound while keeping its feel-good positioning.

Coverage & Audience

95.5 Charivari broadcasts on FM 95.5 MHz from the Olympiaturm in Munich, on DAB+ in the Munich area since late 2012, via cable and as a worldwide livestream. Separately published audience figures were not available in the sources consulted.

Ownership

The owners are the Neue Welle – Antenne München Rundfunk-Programmanbieter-Gesellschaft mbH (the Oschmann family) and the Münchner Zeitungs-Verlag GmbH & Co. KG / Merkur tz Redaktions GmbH & Co. KG (the Münchner Merkur and tz newspapers), each with 50 percent. The newspaper co-ownership links the station to Munich's regional press and underpins its local-news operation.

Digital Presence

The station operates a website and livestream alongside apps and social media channels, carrying the feel-good programme, Munich news and event tips to listeners beyond the FM footprint. The digital offering extends the station's local journalism and music formats into on-demand and mobile listening for the Munich audience.

Radio Charivari: The 1986 Launch

95.5 Charivari went on air on 1 April 1986 as Radio Charivari — one of Munich's first private stations from the city's pioneering licence round. In the early years the daytime programme was a music mix of light pop, with specialist music shows in the evenings (discontinued in the mid-1990s). Shortly after launch the Neue Welle Bayern — previously heard at times as Radio 1 (München) on 89.0 MHz — merged into the station. The owners are the Neue Welle – Antenne München Rundfunk-Programmanbieter-Gesellschaft mbH, the Münchener Zeitungs-Verlag and the Merkur tz Redaktions GmbH — the publishers behind the "Münchner Merkur" and "tz". The studios are in the Pressehaus on Bayerstraße, near Munich's main station. Managing director Till Coenen and programme director Heiko Seeringer lead the station.

Münchens Hitradio — and the 2012 Relaunch

From summer 2004 to summer 2024 the station carried the tag "Münchens Hitradio"; since then the claims "feel good music" and "Das Leben ist ein Hit" ("Life is a hit") have been used. A major relaunch in January 2012 changed the music format — previously only a few current titles ran, now they make up most of the rotation — and brought a new logo. The Hot AC programme plays music of the last 25 years for 25-to-49-year-olds, with regional reporting, local news, event tips and listener promotions; the station sees itself as a "Gute-Laune-Sender" (feel-good station). Prominent staff of past years include Armin Laschet, Susanne Rohrer, Valerie Haller, Ludwig Spaenle and Ingo Nommsen.

Podcasts and the Munich Briefing

95.5 Charivari has built a digital audio portfolio around its Munich identity: "Das München-Briefing" — Munich's first news podcast — delivers the day's most important Munich topics daily in five minutes, and the Wiesn-Podcast covers the Oktoberfest each year. The station is received on FM 95.5 MHz in Munich and surroundings, on DAB+, via cable and worldwide livestream — Munich's feel-good station since April 1986.

History: On Air Since 1 April 1986

Sendestart was 1 April 1986 on FM 95.5 MHz — initially shared with Radio 2Day, which moved to 89.0 MHz in 1988, leaving Charivari alone on the frequency. In the early years a light pop mix ran during the day, with specialist music shows in the evenings that were dropped in the mid-1990s. The Neue Welle Bayern — previously heard at times as Radio 1 Munich on 89.0 — was absorbed into the station. Charivari launched simply as Radio Charivari; from summer 2004 to summer 2024 it carried the tag "Münchens Hitradio", since when only the claims "feel good music" and "Das Leben ist ein Hit" (life is a hit) are used. A big relaunch came in January 2012 with a changed music format and a renewed station logo. Prominent employees of past years include Armin Laschet, Susanne Rohrer, Valerie Haller, Ludwig Spaenle and Ingo Nommsen.

Ownership and the 2026 Restructuring

The owners are the Neue Welle – Antenne München Rundfunk-Programmanbieter-Gesellschaft mbH (the Oschmann family), the Münchener Zeitungs-Verlag GmbH & Co. KG and the Merkur tz Redaktions GmbH & Co. KG — the Bavarian media families around Gunther Oschmann and Dirk Ippen, each holding 50% together. The managing director is Till Coenen, the programme director Heiko Seeringer; the studios are in the Pressehaus Bayerstraße near Munich central station, with around 40 staff including volunteers and freelancers. In 2026 the station made headlines with a restructuring plan including a programme cooperation with fellow Munich station Radio Arabella; the BLM said it would watch closely to ensure the local identity of each station is preserved. The planned cooperation was presented as a restructuring concept to secure that local identity.

Programming and Reception

The AC programme plays hits from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s to today, with regional reporting, Munich local news — hourly between 5:30 a.m. and 11 p.m., half-hourly in the morning — event tips and listener-bonding actions; the station sees itself as a "feel-good broadcaster". The morning show is "Die Good-Morning-Show" with Larissa Lannert and Markus Pürzer, and on Friday and Saturday evenings DJ Enrico Ostendorf's party hit mix runs. Alongside the main programme there are ten internet-radio streams in different genres. Reception is on FM 95.5 MHz, cable (97.8 MHz), DAB+ on Munich channel 11C (since end of 2012) and worldwide via livestream — one of Munich's best-known media brands in Germany's third-largest city.