About Rockland Radio

Rockland Radio

Rockland Radio is Rhineland-Palatinate's first and only rock station — a private adult-oriented-rock broadcaster from Mainz, under the motto "bester Rock 'n Pop" since October 2013. Launched on 1 August 1998 (the national musicians' programme for Rhineland-Palatinate), it plays mainly 1960s–1980s rock and guitar-driven pop; 70% rock, 30% pop, from the 1960s to today, for a 30–55 core target group. The owner is the Radio Rockland GmbH & Co. KG; managing director Sara Laier. Famous patrons: fellow musicians Marius Müller-Westernhagen, Scorpions, Peter Maffay and Klaus Lage founded the Deutsches RockRadio association in the late 1990s to promote rock in a pop-oriented radio landscape.

Overview

Rockland Radio is a private rock-specialist programme from Mainz (Wallstraße 1), laid out as a local programme network: the programme splits up to fifteen times per hour to carry different regional content — advertising, news and features per region — financed by local ad blocks. Regional news airs half-hourly or hourly depending on the time of day (externally pre-produced, updated hourly). It has seven FM frequencies in Rhineland-Palatinate (taking over the former Energy Rheinland-Pfalz frequencies in 1998) and is also received in neighbouring Hesse (Rhine-Main) and Baden-Württemberg (Rhine-Neckar). In the ma 2012 Radio I it reached 46,000 per average hour and 365,000 listeners per day in the 14–49 target group. On 31 May 2008 six local stations (Antenne Bad Kreuznach, Antenne Pfalz, Antenne Kaiserslautern, Antenne Landau, Radio Pirmasens, Radio Idar-Oberstein) launched on Rockland's old frequencies, working together under The Radio Group. Radio 21 and Rockland Radio were the first German stations to adopt the Canadian Jack FM variety-hits format in August 2009.

History

In the late 1990s fellow musicians Marius Müller-Westernhagen, Scorpions, Peter Maffay and Klaus Lage founded the Deutsches RockRadio association; on 1 August 1998 the national musicians' programme Rockland Radio started in Rhineland-Palatinate. On 31 May 2008 six local stations launched on Rockland's old frequencies.

Programming

The adult-oriented-rock programme plays mainly 1960s–1980s rock and guitar-driven pop (70% rock, 30% pop), with regional news, local ad blocks and specialist shows.

Coverage & Audience

Rockland Radio broadcasts on seven FM frequencies in Rhineland-Palatinate plus parts of Hesse and Baden-Württemberg, on cable, DAB+ and worldwide livestream. In the ma 2012 Radio I it reached 46,000 per average hour.

Ownership

The owner is the Radio Rockland GmbH & Co. KG; managing director Sara Laier.

Digital Presence

The station operates rockland.de with a livestream alongside apps and social media channels, extending its rock 'n pop programme beyond the terrestrial footprint. The digital offering carries the station's rock music and regional content on demand.

The Musicians' Station

Rockland Radio — until October 2013 Rockland Radio, with the slogan "bester Rock 'n Pop" ("best rock 'n pop") — launched on 1 August 1998 in Rhineland-Palatinate as the first and only rock station in the state. Behind it stood the "Deutsches RockRadio" association, founded in the late 1990s by Marius Müller-Westernhagen, the Scorpions, Peter Maffay and Klaus Lage — some of Germany's biggest rock names giving their weight to a rock radio. The station took over the FM frequencies of the former Energy Rheinland-Pfalz, and the Energy Rheinland-Pfalz GmbH now operates Rockland Radio and its sister station Antenne Koblenz. The music mix is 70% rock and 30% pop, from 1960s to 1980s rock and guitar pop: an adult-oriented rock programme with a core audience of 30-to-55-year-olds.

A Local Network, Fifteen Splits an Hour

Rockland Radio's defining feature is its regionalisation: the network programme from Mainz (Wallstraße 1) is interrupted by programme splits from the local stations — up to 15 splits per hour. Regional news comes from the local radios, half-hourly in the morning and hourly thereafter, in part externally pre-produced. The regional desks are Antenne Bad Kreuznach (Bad Kreuznach, Meisenheim, Rüdesheim), Antenne Kaiserslautern (Kaiserslautern, Landstuhl), Antenne Landau (Südpfalz: Landau, Bad Bergzabern, Germersheim), Antenne Pfalz (Neustadt, Haßloch, Schifferstadt, Speyer, Frankenthal, Ludwigshafen, Worms, Grünstadt), Radio Pirmasens (Pirmasens, Zweibrücken, Rodalben, Dahn), Radio Idar-Oberstein (Idar-Oberstein, Birkenfeld, Baumholder, Kirn, Herrstein) — all launched on 31 May 2008 on the former old Rockland frequencies — plus the separate local stations Antenne Koblenz 98.0 and Antenne Koblenz 106.4. Via seven FM frequencies plus transmitters in Hesse (Rhine-Main) and Baden-Württemberg (Rhine-Neckar), the programme reaches well beyond Rhineland-Palatinate; the Media-Analyse 2012 Radio I showed 46,000 listeners per hour and 365,000 listeners daily in the 14–49 group.

Jack FM and the Format Experiments

In August 2009 Radio 21 and its partner Rockland Radio became the first stations in Germany to adopt the Canadian Jack FM format — the "playing what we want" variety-hits format — a sign of the group's willingness to experiment with international concepts. The owner is the Radio Rockland GmbH & Co. KG; the managing director is Sara Laier. As the rock specialist of the Rhineland-Palatinate private market, Rockland Radio complements the broader AC offerings of its sister stations with a guitar-driven adult-rock format anchored in one of the densest local-split networks in German radio.

History: The Musicians' Station

Rockland Radio has famous godfathers: at the end of the 1990s the musician colleagues Marius Müller-Westernhagen, the Scorpions, Peter Maffay and Klaus Lage founded the Gesellschaft Deutsches RockRadio with the declared aim of promoting rock music in a pop-oriented radio landscape. On 1 August 1998 the musicians' first state-wide programme went on air in Rhineland-Palatinate — the first and only rock station in the state. The operator is the Radio Rockland GmbH & Co. KG, based at Wallstraße 1 in Mainz; the managing director is Sara Laier. Since October 2013 the station has advertised with the motto "bester Rock 'n Pop".

A Local Programme Network

Rockland Radio's programme is laid out as a local programme network: the programme is split regionally up to fifteen times per hour, so regional content such as advertising, news and features is broadcast differently per region, financed by local advertising blocks. Regional news is broadcast half-hourly or hourly depending on the time of day, pre-produced externally and updated hourly. The music selection is 70% rock and 30% pop, spanning the 1960s to today; the core target group is 30- to 55-year-olds. The station has seven FM frequencies in Rhineland-Palatinate and is also receivable in neighbouring Hesse (Rhine-Main) and Baden-Württemberg (Rhine-Neckar), plus DAB+ and livestream. The station presents interviews with rock stars — from Bon Jovi, Slash and KISS to the Scorpions, Campino and Joe Elliott — and special programmes such as the annual rock-year review. It is a media partner of 1. FSV Mainz 05: partner since 2018, extended through 2026, visible on the LED boards in the MEWA ARENA, and, according to the club, with over 1.1 million people reached. For the Rheinland-Pfalz-Tag 2022 in Mainz the station staged a big tribute festival with the legends of rock — AC/DC, Guns N' Roses and Queen.

Ownership and Digital Presence

The Radio Rockland GmbH & Co. KG brings rock and radio expertise together as shareholders. The rockland.de portal carries the live programme, podcasts and interviews with the artists of the rock world, alongside regional event information and contact channels. Nearly three decades after its launch by Germany's rock royalty, Rockland Radio remains the only dedicated rock programme in Rhineland-Palatinate — a musicians' idea that became a media brand.

From Westernhagen's idea to a statewide rock brand: Rockland Radio plays the best rock 'n' pop of five decades, regionalised for Rhineland-Palatinate and its neighbours.