About Schwarzwaldradio

Schwarzwaldradio

Schwarzwaldradio is a private German radio station broadcasting from Offenburg in Baden-Württemberg, receivable nationwide via DAB+ digital radio. Operated by the Private Rundfunkgesellschaft Ortenau GmbH & Co. KG, it combines a "Classic Hits and Super Oldies" music format with a unique positioning as the official holiday radio of the Black Forest — produced in cooperation with Schwarzwald Tourismus GmbH. Under the slogan "Oldies. Neu. Entdecken." (oldies: rediscover), the station brings the holiday region into listeners' homes 365 days a year.

Overview

Schwarzwaldradio's format is classified as middle-of-the-road: a broadly appealing mix of classic hits and super oldies aimed at listeners aged 35 and above. The programme is privately owned and financed primarily through radio advertising. The managing partner is Markus Knoll, with Yvonne Stolz as editor-in-chief. Production comes from the Funkhaus Ortenau in Offenburg, with an exterior studio in Freudenstadt; around 45 staff work in the broadcast centre. What distinguishes the station from other oldies formats is its tourism partnership: as the official "Ferienradio" (holiday radio) of the Black Forest, the programme weaves travel news, excursion tips, competitions and regional information into the music flow.

History

Schwarzwaldradio went on air on 1 July 2008 as a second local station launched by Hitradio Ohr — Baden's longest-serving local radio under the same name and principal shareholder — targeting listeners over 35 with classic hits and super oldies. From the beginning it was conceived in cooperation with Schwarzwald Tourismus GmbH as the official holiday radio for the Black Forest, Germany's best-known holiday region.

The station was an early mover in digital radio: in May 2012 it was among the first private stations in Baden-Württemberg — alongside BigFM Worldbeats and LiveRadio — to go on air in DAB in a shared multiplex with SWR programmes. As the state's DAB landscape was reorganised, with SWR building its own transmitter network and freeing capacity for 16 private stations from mid-2017, Schwarzwaldradio moved to the first national DAB+ multiplex (channel 5C), securing nationwide digital distribution. The station has retained its regional roots throughout: FM transmission continues in the Mittleres Kinzigtal on 93.0 MHz, and cable carriage covers the Ortenau as well as the Freiburg and Karlsruhe areas.

Programming

The music programme centres on classic hits and super oldies — familiar pop and rock titles spanning the decades — presented in a middle-of-the-road format designed for relaxed all-day listening. The holiday-radio concept adds a distinctive layer: news and knowledge segments about the Black Forest, excursion and travel tips, competitions and features that keep the region present in the programme year-round. The station thus serves two audiences at once: locals in the Ortenau and the wider Black Forest, and holidaymakers and Black Forest enthusiasts across Germany who tune in via DAB+ or stream. The tone is warm and service-oriented, fitting a station that sells both music and a region.

Coverage & Audience

Schwarzwaldradio is receivable nationwide on DAB+ (channel 5C), via livestream on all major radio portals including TuneIn, Radioplayer and radio.de, through its own mobile app, on FM 93.0 MHz in the Mittleres Kinzigtal, and in the nationwide digital cable network; analogue cable carriage on 87.5 MHz covers the Ortenau and the Freiburg and Karlsruhe areas. The combination of a national DAB+ slot with strong regional FM and cable roots gives the station a hybrid distribution unusual among German private stations. Separately published audience figures were not available in the sources consulted.

Ownership

The station is operated by the Private Rundfunkgesellschaft Ortenau GmbH & Co. KG, the same company behind Hitradio Ohr — the Ortenau's local station since 1987, which remains the longest-serving local radio in Baden under unchanged name and principal shareholder. Managing partner Markus Knoll leads the company. The cooperation with Schwarzwald Tourismus GmbH, the region's official tourism organisation, underpins the holiday-radio positioning and connects the station to the Black Forest's hospitality industry. Financing comes primarily from radio advertising.

Digital Presence

Digital distribution has been central to Schwarzwaldradio since its 2012 DAB debut. The station streams via its website schwarzwaldradio.com and its own mobile app, and is listed on all major aggregators — TuneIn, Radioplayer, radio.de and others — making the programme available worldwide. The website carries programme information, the livestream, regional tourism content and interaction formats, while social media channels extend the holiday-radio brand. From a local 2008 launch to a nationwide DAB+ presence, Schwarzwaldradio demonstrates how a regionally rooted station can use digital radio to carry its identity — in this case, an entire holiday region — across the country.

From Local Station to National Holiday Radio

Schwarzwaldradio went on air on 1 July 2008 — launched by Hitradio Ohr as a local station for the 35-plus audience with "Classic Hits & Super Oldies". In May 2012 it became one of the first private stations on DAB+ in Baden-Württemberg, broadcasting in a joint multiplex with SWR programmes alongside BigFM Worldbeats and LiveRadio; it later moved to the first national DAB+ multiplex (channel 5C), where it is receivable across Germany. The owner is Private Rundfunkgesellschaft Ortenau GmbH & Co. KG; managing shareholder Markus Knoll, editor-in-chief Yvonne Stolz. The station is financed primarily by radio advertising and broadcasts from the Funkhaus Ortenau at Hauptstraße 83a in Offenburg — where around 45 people work — with an outside studio in Freudenstadt. On FM it is heard in the Mittleres Kinzigtal on 93.0 MHz; the slogan is "Oldies. Neu. Entdecken." ("Oldies. Discover. New.").

The Official Holiday Radio of the Black Forest

In cooperation with Schwarzwald Tourismus GmbH, Schwarzwaldradio is the official holiday radio for the Black Forest — Germany's first nationwide radio programme for holidays and leisure, delighting listeners since autumn 2016 with its unique mix of more than 20,000 oldies and classic hits. The Black Forest is one of Germany's most popular holiday destinations — and the first holiday region with its own radio station, bringing "Germany's most beautiful holiday region home, 365 days a year" with news, excursion tips and competitions. In October 2018 (and again in 2019) the station toured Germany with its "Schwarzwald Roadshow": more than 20 cities from Potsdam and Wolfsburg to Augsburg, Friedrichshafen, Pirmasens and Karlsruhe, with the "#heimat" food truck — an original American school bus converted into a rolling kitchen — serving free Black Forest tastings (ham, trout, Maultaschen) with regional wine, beer and mineral water. The station's presenters reported all day from each city on its sights, with a prize wheel, photo wall, balloon competition and partners including the Europa-Park — including a stay for four at the park with overnight stay and entry to Rulantica to be won.

Hitradio Ohr: The Mother Station

Schwarzwaldradio's roots lie with Hitradio Ohr: on 1 July 1987 Radio Ohr began as one of Baden-Württemberg's first private stations — the name chosen in a competition, OHR standing for "Ortenauer Heimat Radio". For its first five years it shared the Offenburg frequency with Radio Telstar Offenburg, taking it over fully when RTO closed in December 1992. In September 2003 it became Hitradio Ohr with a new logo and on-air design; since autumn 2005 its "OHRbits" have been Germany's first listener bonus system in radio — nearly 20,000 collectors paying with programme-earned points at over 100 shops, awarded the LfK's Innovation Media Prize in May 2007. Hitradio Ohr maintains a partnership with TopMusic in neighbouring Alsace, jointly selling the cross-border "Baden-Elsass-Kombi". It is the longest-serving local radio in Baden still broadcasting under the same name and main shareholder — and under the same roof, the Private Rundfunkgesellschaft Ortenau also operates Schwarzwaldradio.