About Radio Top 40

Radio Top 40

radio Top 40 is Thuringia's youth station — a private CHR broadcaster under the slogan "Top Vibes, Top Music!", licensed by the Thüringer Landesmedienanstalt to the Antenne Thüringen GmbH & Co. KG, with studio and technology integrated in the Antenne Thüringen premises in Weimar. Managing director is Christian Berthold; programme director Markus Poppe. In the ma 2025 Audio II it reached 24,000 listeners per average hour (Mo–Fr, 6–18 Uhr).

Overview

radio Top 40 is a private Thuringian broadcaster aimed primarily at teenagers and young adults, with regionally focused news, traffic and event information. Since around the end of 2008 the programme has been oriented as an alternative CHR format — its music distinctly different from other Thuringian stations, with the latest tracks and insider tips for the district plus highlights from music, fashion and lifestyle. Web channels include the radio TOP 40 LIVE Stream, CLUB SOUND and CHARTS streams; an ELECTRO stream ran from autumn 2008 and an URBAN stream (renamed "Hip Hop Selected" in early 2020) until 2021. Free apps exist for iPhone and Android.

History

radio Top 40 went on air on 28 April 1997 as part of the DAB pilot project Saxony — initially a joint project of Radio SAW, Antenne Thüringen and Radio PSR. A relaunch followed on 1 April 2000 in Weimar under Antenne Thüringen's lead. On 8 September 2003 Antenne Thüringen and Landeswelle Thüringen founded the "Jugendradio Thüringen GmbH & Co. KG" and continued operating the youth station together. Since around the end of 2008 the programme has been oriented as an alternative CHR format.

Programming

The CHR programme targets teenagers and young adults with the latest tracks, regional news, traffic updates and event information — "Top Vibes, Top Music!".

Coverage & Audience

radio Top 40 broadcasts on FM (88.6–107.2 MHz) and DAB+ across Thuringia and adjacent regions of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Hesse, Lower Saxony and Bavaria, via cable and worldwide livestream. In the ma 2025 Audio II it reached 24,000 listeners per average hour.

Ownership

The licence holder is the Antenne Thüringen GmbH & Co. KG, with studio and technology integrated in the Antenne Thüringen premises in Weimar.

Digital Presence

The station operates radiotop40.de with a livestream plus the CLUB SOUND and CHARTS web channels alongside apps for iPhone and Android and social media channels, extending its youth CHR programme beyond the terrestrial footprint. The digital offering carries the station's music, regional news and event information on demand.

A Three-State DAB Experiment

radio Top 40 went on air on 28 April 1997 as part of the DAB pilot project Saxony — initially a joint project of Radio SAW, Antenne Thüringen and Radio PSR, three private broadcasters from three neighbouring states testing the digital future together. The Thuringian media authority (TLM) assigned the broadcasting licence to the Antenne Thüringen GmbH & Co. KG, and studio and technology were integrated into the Antenne Thüringen premises in Weimar, where they remain. The experiment was a product of the late-1990s digital optimism, when DAB was expected to reshape German radio. A relaunch followed on 1 April 2000 in Weimar under Antenne Thüringen's lead, giving the station its permanent Thuringian home.

The Weimar Relaunch and the Youth Joint Venture

On 8 September 2003 Antenne Thüringen and Landeswelle Thüringen — the state's two private broadcasters — founded the "Jugendradio Thüringen GmbH & Co. KG" and continued operating the youth station together, an unusual cooperation between competitors for the young audience. Since around the end of 2008 the programme has been oriented as an alternative CHR format — "Top Vibes, Top Music!" — with music distinctly different from other Thuringian stations: the latest tracks plus insider tips for the district and highlights from music, fashion and lifestyle. Managing director Christian Berthold and programme director Markus Poppe lead the station, which in the ma 2025 Audio II reached 24,000 listeners per average hour (Monday–Friday, 6 a.m.–6 p.m.).

Streams, Apps and the Electro Offshoot

Already in autumn 2008 radio Top 40 launched an additional "radio TOP 40 ELECTRO" stream, offering parts of the traditional music programme unmoderated as a web channel; today the streams are the "radio TOP 40 LIVE" stream, "radio TOP 40 CLUB SOUND" and the "radio TOP 40 CHARTS" stream. A "radio TOP 40 URBAN" stream was renamed "radio TOP 40 Hip Hop Selected" in early 2020 and discontinued in 2021. Free apps exist for iPhone and Android. The station broadcasts terrestrially on FM (88.6–107.2 MHz) and DAB+ across Thuringia and adjacent regions of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Hesse, Lower Saxony and Bavaria, via cable and worldwide livestream.

History: From a DAB Pilot to Thuringia's Alternative CHR

Radio Top 40's story begins in a DAB pilot project: on 28 April 1997 it went on air as part of the Saxony DAB pilot as a joint project of Radio SAW, Antenne Thüringen and Radio PSR. The relaunch followed on 1 April 2000 in Weimar under the leadership of Antenne Thüringen, and since around the end of 2008 the programme has been positioned as an Alternative CHR format. It is operated by the Jugendradio Thüringen GmbH & Co. KG — a 100% subsidiary of the Antenne Thüringen GmbH & Co. KG since 23 November 2006 — licensed by the Thuringian media authority TLM as a music-sparten programme for young and young-adult listeners. Studio and technology are integrated in the Antenne Thüringen rooms in Weimar. The managing director is Christian Berthold, the programme director Markus Poppe; the reach is 24,000 listeners per average hour Monday–Friday 6 a.m.–6 p.m. (ma 2025 Audio II).

Programming: Normal Is Different

Text contributions are largely dispensed with: radio Top 40 is a youth-oriented music-sparten programme. The music strategy since 1 August 2008: current chart hits and alternative rock in the daytime, house and electro in the evenings; it presents itself under the claim "radio TOP 40 – Top Vibes, Top Music!" (earlier "normal ist anders!"). Once a month the band SONO and the DJ duo Lexy & K-Paul have their own radio shows on the station; the station produces its own comedy, Gangs of Erfurt-Nord, short humorous episodes from the life of the fictional couple Ronny and Mandy in an Erfurt tower block, voiced by Antenne Thüringen presenter Stefan Ganß. Beyond the main programme there are streams — radio TOP 40 LIVE, radio TOP 40 CLUB SOUND and the radio-TOP-40-CHARTS stream (earlier electro and hip-hop streams have been discontinued) — plus free apps for iPhone and Android. The programme is distributed mainly via comparatively weak FM transmitters in Thuringia's larger cities, plus DAB+, cable and livestream across the state and into neighbouring parts of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Hesse, Lower Saxony and Bavaria.

The Programme Directors' Carousel

The station's history includes a notable carousel of programme directors: first programme director Thomas Wetzel moved to Energy Sachsen on 1 April 2008; successor Marko Ramm (ex-Antenne Thüringen, ex-MDR) left at the end of 2008 and returned to the MDR on 1 February 2009; Carsten Hoyer, Antenne Thüringen's programme director, then also took programme responsibility for Radio Top 40. Nearly three decades after its DAB-pilot beginnings, radio Top 40 remains Thuringia's alternative youth programme: music-first, volunteer-free of text ballast, and digitally present.

Reception Today

Radio Top 40 can be heard via the station's webstream and apps anywhere in the world, alongside FM and DAB+ in Thuringia and the neighbouring regions, cable and radio aggregators. The programme's digital streams — LIVE, CLUB SOUND and CHARTS — extend the brand beyond the FM footprint, keeping the Alternative CHR promise for Thuringia's young audience on every device.