About Unser Radio Deggendorf

Unser Radio Deggendorf

Unser Radio Deggendorf has been the local commercial radio voice of the Deggendorf region in Lower Bavaria since 1 October 1988, making it one of the pioneering private local stations of the Bavarian radio landscape. Broadcasting from studios in Deggendorf — with additional presence through the Funkhaus Passau operation — the station serves the Danube plain and the Bavarian Forest foothills with a programme built around its slogan "unsere Region - unsere Heimat - unser Radio" (our region, our home, our radio). Its frequencies 98.7 and 107.9 FM, complemented by DAB+ digital radio, carry a mainstream adult-contemporary format rich in regional news, traffic, weather and service journalism. As part of the UnserRadio family alongside its Passau sister station, it combines local editorial independence with the efficiencies of a shared broadcasting operation. For the people of the Deggendorf area, it has been the familiar local frequency for nearly four decades.

Overview

Unser Radio Deggendorf is a private local radio station based in Deggendorf, Bavaria, serving the city and the surrounding districts of Lower Bavaria. The station broadcasts on the FM frequencies 98.7 and 107.9 MHz and via DAB+ digital radio, complemented by an internet livestream. Its format is mainstream adult contemporary: current pop hits and familiar favourites combined with a strong regional-information component. The programme's identity is captured in its slogan "unsere Region - unsere Heimat - unser Radio," which expresses the station's positioning as the broadcast voice of local belonging. Regional news, traffic and weather for the Deggendorf area, event tips and service journalism form the backbone of the spoken-word content. The station operates within the UnserRadio broadcasting family, which includes the Passau operation, sharing infrastructure while maintaining distinct local programmes. It is licensed by the Bayerische Landeszentrale für neue Medien (BLM).

History

Unser Radio Deggendorf went on air on 1 October 1988, among the first wave of private local radio stations licensed in Bavaria. The late 1980s were the founding years of Bavarian commercial radio: the state's media law opened the airwaves to private broadcasters, and a generation of local stations launched across the Free State, many of which remain on air today. Deggendorf — a Danube city at the gateway to the Bavarian Forest — gained its own local voice, and the station quickly became part of the region's daily life. The early years were shaped by the pioneering spirit of private radio: building a listener base against the dominance of Bayerischer Rundfunk, developing the local advertising market and defining a programme that balanced music appeal with genuine local journalism.

Over nearly four decades, the station evolved with the industry. The programme developed the polished daypart structure of modern German local radio, the newsroom built its reputation for reliable regional reporting, and the station became a fixture of public life in the Deggendorf area — present at festivals, civic events and local milestones. Organisationally, the station became part of the UnserRadio family alongside Unser Radio Passau, with the Funkhaus Passau serving as a shared operational base; this cooperation allowed the stations to pool technical and administrative resources while keeping their local programmes distinct. The expansion onto DAB+ digital radio gave the station a second terrestrial platform alongside FM, and the internet livestream extended its reach to former residents and the merely curious worldwide. As of the mid-2020s, Unser Radio Deggendorf continues broadcasting as one of Bavaria's veteran local stations, approaching its fortieth anniversary on air.

Programming

The programme of Unser Radio Deggendorf follows the classic architecture of Bavarian local radio. The music is adult-contemporary pop: current chart hits, recurrent favourites and the evergreens that define the format, selected for broad daytime appeal. The morning show is the centrepiece — several hours of moderated programming that wakes the region with regional news, traffic and weather, service topics and listener interaction. Throughout the day, regional news bulletins keep listeners informed about Deggendorf city politics, the surrounding districts, the regional economy — including the automotive suppliers, engineering firms and tourism businesses of the Danube-Bavarian Forest area — as well as police reports and community stories.

Traffic information serves the region's commuters: the A3 and A92 motorways, the Danube crossings and the routes into the Bavarian Forest all feature in regular updates. Weather forecasts are tailored to the Danube plain and the forested highlands. The station's service journalism covers consumer topics, health, the job market and the region's rich event calendar — from the Deggendorfer Stadthallen events to the festivals of the Bavarian Forest towns. Weekends bring a lighter programme with more music and extended event previews. The slogan "unsere Region - unsere Heimat - unser Radio" runs through the presentation as both promise and identity: this is a station that defines itself by belonging to its broadcast area. Listener interaction — requests, greetings, competitions — maintains the personal tone that has kept local radio relevant through decades of media change.

Organization and Ownership

Unser Radio Deggendorf operates within the UnserRadio broadcasting family, which encompasses the Deggendorf and Passau local stations. The Funkhaus Passau serves as a shared operational centre, housing studios and administration for the group's activities, while the Deggendorf station maintains its local editorial presence and programme identity. This structure — local programmes produced by local teams, supported by shared infrastructure — is the economic logic that has sustained Bavaria's private local radio sector: it preserves the local journalism listeners value while achieving the scale efficiencies the advertising market demands.

The station is licensed by the Bayerische Landeszentrale für neue Medien (BLM), Bavaria's media authority, which oversees private broadcasting in the state. Its business model is advertising-financed, serving the Lower Bavarian business community — retailers, car dealers, tourism operators, service providers — alongside national campaigns sold through radio marketing networks. The shareholder structure includes regional media interests typical of Bavarian local radio, with publishing and media companies from the broadcast area participating in the operating company. Publicly confirmed details of the exact current shareholding are limited, but the station's uninterrupted operation since 1988 demonstrates a stable ownership committed to the Deggendorf market. The editorial team produces the region's news and moderates the programme from within the broadcast area, keeping the station's voice authentically local.

Digital Presence

The station's digital home is unserradio.de, the shared web platform of the UnserRadio family, which carries the Deggendorf livestream alongside the Passau programme. The website offers regional news in text form, event tips, programme information and presenter profiles, functioning as the online extension of the on-air brand. The livestream makes Unser Radio Deggendorf available worldwide — to former Lower Bavarians, commuters and anyone with an interest in the region — while the station's carriage on aggregator apps and smart-speaker platforms covers the connected-listening use cases.

Social media channels provide the station's real-time layer: breaking regional news, traffic alerts, programme highlights and the interactive content — polls, competitions, listener photos — that engages the community. These platforms are particularly effective for a local station, enabling the two-way communication that has always been local radio's strength: eyewitness reports from listeners, event recommendations and direct contact with presenters. DAB+ distribution alongside the 98.7 and 107.9 FM frequencies ensures the station's terrestrial future, while the stream and apps secure its digital present. Together, these channels form a multi-platform regional brand: nearly forty years on air, and present on every device the Deggendorf audience uses. Podcast-style news summaries and event previews extend the station's journalism to on-demand listeners who prefer time-shifted audio.