About Radio Paradiso

Radio Paradiso

Radio Paradiso is Germany's first 24-hour private Christian radio station — a regional private full programme broadcasting in Berlin, Frankfurt (Oder), northern Germany and NRW. Launched on 12 February 1997, it is a community enterprise of the Radio Paradiso GmbH & Co. KG with 26 shareholders from churches, the Diakonie and private individuals, financed exclusively by advertising revenue. Under managing director Matthias Gülzow and programme director Thorsten Wittke it combines soft pop — the best hits from the 1980s to today plus Radio Paradiso classics — with local news and Christian values: charity and tolerance.

Overview

Radio Paradiso is segmented into three independent regional versions: Berlin/Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern/Hamburg and North Rhine-Westphalia. It defines itself as a Christian radio programme with local news and features, standing for the values underlying society. The Berlin programme, 98.2 Radio Paradiso, offers an adult magazine-style full programme whose listeners, per the marketer, are distinguished by high education and above-average income; 833,000 listeners regularly tuned in (ma 2020 Audio II, WHK figure).

History

Radio Paradiso has broadcast in Berlin since 12 February 1997. A regional studio opened in Frankfurt (Oder) in 2006; in 2007 it acquired a frequency in Eisenhüttenstadt. Northern expansion followed: Ahrenshoop on 15 September 2015 (103.3 MHz, after the local-radio licence was returned), Rostock on 25 November 2015, Schwerin and — from 19 May 2016 — Stralsund. The northern programme Radio Paradiso Nord is operated by the Evangelischer Presseverband Norddeutschland, the NRW version by Radio Paradiso Berlin with the von Bodelschwinghschen Stiftungen Bethel and the Evangelischer Presseverband für Westfalen und Lippe; the complementary company is the Radio Paradiso Verwaltungsgesellschaft. In April 2017 the Herder publishing house took a stake in Radio Paradiso.

Programming

The full programme combines soft pop — the best hits from the 1980s to today plus Radio Paradiso classics — with local news and features in magazine style, 24 hours a day. The programme stands for Christian values such as charity and tolerance while remaining a mainstream adult AC offering.

Coverage & Audience

Radio Paradiso broadcasts on FM and DAB+ in Berlin (98.2 MHz), eastern Brandenburg (Frankfurt/Oder, Eisenhüttenstadt, Guben), Hamburg, Rostock, Schwerin and Stralsund, and in North Rhine-Westfalen, plus cable, satellite and worldwide livestream. The Berlin programme reported 833,000 regular listeners in the ma 2020 Audio II survey.

Ownership

Radio Paradiso is a community enterprise of the Radio Paradiso GmbH & Co. KG with 26 shareholders from churches, the Diakonie and private individuals. In April 2017 the Herder publishing house took a stake. The northern programme is operated by the Evangelischer Presseverband Norddeutschland; the NRW version by Radio Paradiso Berlin with the von Bodelschwinghschen Stiftungen Bethel and the Evangelischer Presseverband für Westfalen und Lippe.

Digital Presence

The station operates paradiso.de with a livestream alongside apps and social media channels, extending its Christian adult programme to listeners beyond the terrestrial footprint. The digital offering carries the station's soft-pop music, local news and features on demand.

The Church Shareholders

Radio Paradiso's ownership is unique in German private radio: the station is backed by 26 shareholders, predominantly Protestant and Catholic churches, the Diakonie and other church-affiliated institutions. The church connection is not just financial — it shapes the programme's values: a positive, life-affirming tone aimed at 30-to-59-year-olds, with soft pop and oldies rather than the harder CHR sound of the Berlin competitors. In April 2017 the Herder publishing house took a stake, adding a Catholic publishing voice to the shareholder circle. The station thus stands as the churches' answer to commercial radio: professionally produced, musically mainstream, but with an ethical compass rooted in its owners.

Three Regional Versions

Radio Paradiso broadcasts in three regional versions: the Berlin programme on 98.2 MHz, the northern version for the Rostock/Schwerin region, and a further regional edition — each with its own regional news, service and advertising windows. The regionalisation gives the station local roots in both the capital and the north-east, while the shared music and brand create a consistent "Paradiso" sound. The station is received on FM in its regions, on DAB+, via cable and as a worldwide livestream.

Twenty-Five Years of Soft Pop

Since its launch on 12 February 1997 Radio Paradiso has served the 30–59 audience that the youth-oriented Berlin stations leave behind: soft pop, classic hits and a calm, friendly presentation. In the Media-Analyse 2020 Audio II the station reached 833,000 listeners — a remarkable figure for a values-based niche station in the competitive Berlin-Brandenburg market. The 25th anniversary in 2022 confirmed the concept's longevity: a church-backed station playing feel-good music for the middle generation, steady in a market of constant format changes.

Germany's First Christian Private Radio

Radio Paradiso is Germany's first private Christian radio station broadcasting around the clock. On air via FM in Berlin since 1997, it stands for the Christian values — charity and tolerance — that underlie society, packaged as a soft-oriented adult-contemporary full programme in magazine style: the best hits from the 80s to today plus "Radio Paradiso Klassiker" around the clock. The target group is 30 to 49 years old. It is owned by 26 members — churches, diaconia and individuals — with the Radio Paradiso Verwaltungsgesellschaft as general partner; in April 2017 the Freiburg-based Herder publishing house took a stake. Managing director Matthias Gülzow, also head of the Evangelischer Presseverband Nord and a professor of media management at Macromedia University, leads the station from Berlin.

From Berlin to the North Coast

The station's growth story is regional expansion. A regional studio opened in Frankfurt (Oder) in 2006, with FM frequencies in Frankfurt (Oder) and Guben added that year and Eisenhüttenstadt in 2007. From 15 September 2015 to 30 September 2018 the station also broadcast on FM in Ahrenshoop on the Baltic coast; on 25 November 2015 a Rostock FM frequency was added; Schwerin went terrestrial and on 19 May 2016 Stralsund followed. Today Radio Paradiso produces three programmes: 98.2 Radio Paradiso in Berlin (soft-oriented AC), Radio Paradiso Brandenburg in Frankfurt (Oder), Eisenhüttenstadt and Guben, and Radio Paradiso Nord in Hamburg, Rostock, Schwerin and Stralsund — the northern version regionalised from a Schwerin studio, also replacing the previous Berlin feed on Hamburg's DAB+. In the internet the station runs web channels: Radio Paradiso 80er, Love Songs, Klassiker, PUR, Summer Feeling and the seasonal Weihnachtsradio.

Reception and Audience

Radio Paradiso can be received on FM in Berlin (Scholzplatz, 98.2 MHz), Frankfurt (Oder) 105.9, Guben 90.4, Eisenhüttenstadt 95.5, Schwerin 103.9, Stralsund 103.6 and Rostock 89.7 MHz, in regional cable networks, on DAB+ (block 11C in Hamburg for Radio Paradiso Nord, 9D in North Rhine-Westphalia, 7B in Berlin — moved from channel 12D to the Berlin ensemble on 7B by MABB decision of 3 November 2020), by satellite and via livestream, with podcasting alongside. The audience is distinctive: a widest audience of 763,000, 537,000 listeners per week and 235,000 per day (ma 2024 Audio II); 54.4% of listeners are female, 51% are between 30 and 59 years old, 79.5% hold a middle to higher educational qualification and 55.7% live in households with a net income of €3,000 and above — the educated, affluent urban listener the station's advertisers seek.

As a station carried by church institutions, Radio Paradiso occupies a unique position in the German radio market: no other private full programme pairs an explicitly Christian self-understanding with a mainstream AC format. The combination of magazine-style daytime programming, Christian reflections and service elements — plus the six music web channels — makes it the reference point for "values radio" in Germany, with reach from the capital's FM dial to the Baltic coast and the Hamburg DAB+ block.