About R.SH

R.SH

R.SH (Radio Schleswig-Holstein, styled R.SH) is Germany's first statewide private broadcaster — a private radio station from Kiel, on air since 1 July 1986, under the slogan "Zusammen sind wir Schleswig-Holstein" ("Together we are Schleswig-Holstein"). Owned by Regiocast, it is a typical AC station playing the most popular modern pop music for 14–49-year-olds. Managing directors are Rainer Poelmann (speaker) and Marc Strüßmann; programme director Dirk Klee. In the Media-Analyse 2021 Audio it achieved a 24.1% weekly market share in Schleswig-Holstein (Mo–So, German-speaking population 14+).

Overview

R.SH is a statewide private broadcaster for Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, parts of Lower Saxony and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and parts of Denmark. The first words on air ("Es ist fünf vor zwölf") were spoken by moderator Ines Barber; the first song played was The Beach Boys' "Do It Again". The station was built by Klaus Schmidt-Ulm as managing director and Hermann Stümpert as programme director; its seat, the Funkhaus Wittland, had previously been a tobacco warehouse. Stümpert, finding NDR 2's hourly news a weakness, shifted R.SH's news slightly off the hour so listeners could switch between stations — a offset that still exists. Besides the main channel, digital niche channels play 1980s and 1990s music. Until January 2017 the station was also distributed via YouSee's Danish cable TV network.

History

R.SH took up programming on 1 July 1986 — Germany's first statewide private broadcaster (RPR1 appeared similarly on 30 April 1986, but shared its frequency with three other programmes). Very quickly R.SH oriented toward an adult-contemporary audience. It sought to distinguish itself from main competitor NDR 2, including at news level. The station shared its Kiel studios with sister radios delta radio and Radio NORA, all targeting 14–49. The 1986 "Final Countdown" New Year's Eve show ran for 25 years until New Year's Eve 2011. R.SH was originally owned by the same regional newspaper publishers (40% of Regiocast); the more local stations were closed in 2003 for economic reasons. The station no longer has its own newsroom; bulletins come from Regiocast Radioservices (formerly ANN). In northern Schleswig-Holstein the regional daily Flensborg Avis produces a bulletin for the Danish-speaking minority.

Programming

The AC full programme plays popular modern pop for 14–49-year-olds, with national/international news, regional bulletins several times daily and a Danish-minority bulletin from Flensborg Avis in the north.

Coverage & Audience

R.SH broadcasts on FM, cable and DAB+ across Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, parts of Lower Saxony and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and parts of Denmark. In the Media-Analyse 2021 Audio it achieved a 24.1% weekly market share in Schleswig-Holstein.

Ownership

The owner is Regiocast; the company is itself 40% owned by Schleswig-Holstein regional newspapers. Originally R.SH belonged directly to these publishers.

Digital Presence

The station operates rsh.de with a livestream alongside digital niche channels (80s, 90s) and social media, extending its Schleswig-Holstein programme to listeners beyond the terrestrial footprint. The digital offering carries the station's pop music and regional news on demand.

The First Private Station in the North

Radio Schleswig-Holstein (R.SH) went on air on 1 July 1986 from Kiel — Germany's second statewide private radio after RPR1., and the first in northern Germany with a 24-hour full programme. The opening was deliberately upbeat: the Beach Boys' "Do It Again" was the first song, and early presenters included Ines Barber, who became one of the station's defining voices. The launch gave the northernmost federal state its own private alternative to the public NDR — a statewide station for the land between the seas, from the North Sea coast to the Baltic. In the Media-Analyse 2021 Radio the station held a 24.1% market share — the clear private market leader in Schleswig-Holstein.

Regiocast and the Network

R.SH is operated by the R.SH Radio Schleswig-Holstein GmbH & Co. KG and belongs to Regiocast, one of Germany's largest private radio groups — the same group behind Radio PSR, R.SA and Radio Bob. The Regiocast connection gives the Kiel station access to group-wide marketing, events and digital know-how while keeping its programme firmly Schleswig-Holsteinian. The station broadcasts from Kiel with a statewide FM network, on DAB+, via cable and as a worldwide livestream, under the slogan "R.SH – Das Radio für Schleswig-Holstein".

Moin: The Morning Institution

The morning show — greeting listeners with the northern "Moin" — is the station's flagship, setting the tone for the day with regional news, service and the music mix that has kept R.SH at the top of the Schleswig-Holstein market for nearly four decades. As one of the two pioneers of statewide private radio in Germany (alongside RPR1.), R.SH remains the model of the successful regional full programme: local enough for the villages of Dithmarschen and Angeln, big enough to lead the state's ratings.

Germany's First Statewide Private Radio

Radio Schleswig-Holstein took to the air on 1 July 1986 — regarded as Germany's first statewide private radio station with a 24-hour full programme and no frequency splitting with other providers. (RPR1 had launched two months earlier, on 30 April 1986, but shared its frequency with three other programmes.) The station's first words — "Es ist fünf vor zwölf" ("It's five to twelve") — were spoken by presenter Ines Barber; the first record played was "Do It Again" by The Beach Boys. The new station had been built up by Klaus Schmidt-Ulm as managing director and Hermann Stümpert as programme director; its home, the Funkhaus Wittland in Kiel, had previously been a tobacco warehouse. The target group is 14- to 49-year-olds, and according to Media-Analyse 2021 Audio the station achieved a 24.1% weekly market share in Schleswig-Holstein (Monday to Sunday, German-speaking population 14+). The slogan: "Zusammen sind wir Schleswig-Holstein." ("Together we are Schleswig-Holstein.")

The Final Countdown and R.SH auf Sylt

R.SH created radio history with its New Year's Eve cult show "Final Countdown": first aired on 31 December 1986 with Ulf Hagge, Torsten Sawade and Ulli Harraß at the microphones, it ran for 25 years until New Year's Eve 2011. Since 17 August 2015 Carsten Köthe — known from "Carsten Köthes Frühstücksclub" — has presented "R.SH auf Sylt" from a small studio in Westerland on the North Sea island. Programme highlights include "Die Wach-Mittmann-Show", "Schleswig-Holstein bei der Arbeit", "Von 2 bis frei!" and "Der R.SH-Abend"; niche digital channels dedicated to 80s and 90s music complement the main programme. The station is owned 100% by Regiocast — originally it belonged to the region's newspaper publishers — and broadcasts from the Radiozentrum Kiel alongside sister stations delta radio and (until 2016) Radio NORA. There is no longer a dedicated newsroom: bulletins come from Regiocast Radioservices (formerly ANN – Audio News Network), while in the north of the state the daily Flensborg Avis contributes a bulletin for the Danish minority. Managing directors Rainer Poelmann (spokesman) and Marc Strüßmann; programme director Dirk Klee. R.SH is receivable on FM, cable and DAB+ across Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, parts of Lower Saxony and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern — and even in parts of Denmark (via YouSee cable until January 2017). Under the state's phased FM switch-off it is scheduled to leave analogue last, in 2031 — a fitting coda for the station that started it all in 1986.

The Breakthrough: 1986 Press Response

The new station was an instant sensation. Trade press in September 1986 reported that every newspaper and magazine — including some not invested in R.SH — rushed to praise it; listeners in Kiel called in offering donations to support their new favourite station, since it received no licence-fee money. Advertising revenue flowed strongly, and the realistic assumption was that Radio Schleswig-Holstein already had more listeners in the north than NDR 1 and NDR 2 combined. The station's dominance endured: Media-Analyse 2011 Radio gave it a 20.3 percent market share behind NDR 1 Welle Nord with 1.2 million listeners, and by ma 2021 Audio the weekly share had grown to 24.1 percent.