SWR/SR

SWR Fernsehen Baden-Württemberg is a German regional public television channel operating in the generalist and public broadcasting format . The primary language of broadcasting is German. The channel is the regional television service of Südwestrundfunk specifically for the state of Baden-Württemberg, with its headquarters and main studios located in Stuttgart, Germany . SWR Fernsehen was first launched on April 5, 1969, under the name Südwest 3, as the last of Germany\'s third television programs to be introduced, initially broadcasting only on weekends . Following the merger of SDR and SWF, the program was renamed Südwest BW in 1998, then Südwest Fernsehen in 2000, and finally adopted its current name SWR Fernsehen on September 11, 2006 . On September 11, 2023, the channel was rebranded under the unified name SWR as part of a multimedia transformation strategy .

On air, SWR Fernsehen Baden-Württemberg features a mix of regional news bulletins, current affairs programs, cultural magazines, documentaries, talk shows, sports coverage, and entertainment content. The flagship news program is SWR Aktuell Baden-Württemberg, which provides daily coverage of events from across the state, airing at 6:00 pm and again at 7:45 pm . Another key program is the Landesschau Baden-Württemberg, a daily magazine that shows interesting stories and information on current topics from the state, featuring reports on people, places, culture, and everyday life across the region . The channel also produces regional sports coverage under the title Sport im Dritten, which includes broadcasts of Bundesliga football matches featuring VfB Stuttgart and SC Freiburg, as well as other regional sports events .

Beyond news and sports, SWR Fernsehen Baden-Württemberg produces a wide variety of cultural and lifestyle programming. The channel airs Expedition in die Heimat, a popular travel and exploration series that takes viewers to destinations across Baden-Württemberg, including episodes about Stuttgart and cave adventures on the Swabian Alb . Handwerkskunst is a documentary series showcasing traditional craftsmanship, with episodes such as how a lyre is built by a master instrument maker on Lake Constance . The channel also broadcasts culinary shows such as So isst Anders, featuring a top chef discovering regional cuisine at Lake Constance, and Hausnummer Lecker, where a chef visits families in their homes to cook with available ingredients . The long-running family series Die Fallers – Eine Schwarzwaldfamilie is another signature program, depicting life in the Black Forest region .

The channel\'s programming structure includes both programs produced specifically for Baden-Württemberg and programs shared with the sister channel SWR Fernsehen Rheinland-Pfalz. Under the SWR\'s broadcasting agreement, approximately 30 percent of the program is regionalized, with separate content for the two states, while the remaining 70 percent is produced centrally and shown in both regions . This regional split occurs during key time slots, particularly on weekday evenings at 6:00 pm for the main regional news and on Sunday evenings for certain magazine programs . The channel also produces a range of talk shows, including Nachtcafé and Treffpunkt, as well as documentary series such as SWR Story and SWR Wissen .

SWR Fernsehen Baden-Württemberg is available throughout Baden-Württemberg via digital terrestrial television on the DVB-T2 HD standard, which provides high-definition picture quality . The channel is also carried on all major cable networks in the region, as well as on satellite via Astra at 19.2 degrees east, broadcasting in 720p HD resolution . The channel\'s satellite coverage extends beyond Germany to reach audiences in Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, and many other European countries . The standard-definition broadcast was discontinued on January 7, 2025, with all distribution now in high definition . Viewers can watch online the live broadcast of SWR Fernsehen Baden-Württemberg through the official SWR website and the ARD Mediathek mobile application . Online television of the channel also includes a 24-hour live stream, on-demand access to programs for up to seven days after broadcast, and an extensive video library of regional news segments, documentaries, and magazine programs .

SWR Fernsehen Baden-Württemberg strives to be the primary source of regional information for the people of Baden-Württemberg, combining capital-city journalism from Stuttgart with coverage of rural communities from the Black Forest to Lake Constance, from the Swabian Alb to the Upper Rhine. The mission of the channel is to inform citizens about events affecting their daily lives, to preserve and promote the cultural identity of the state, and to provide high-quality public service broadcasting that is independent of commercial interests. The channel is funded through the German broadcast license fee, which ensures its editorial independence and allows it to focus on programming that serves the public good rather than advertising revenue. Thanks to modern digital platforms, SWR Fernsehen Baden-Württemberg provides the opportunity to watch online the live broadcast on any device - from smartphones to Smart TVs - ensuring that residents of Baden-Württemberg and former residents living elsewhere in Germany or abroad can stay connected to their home region wherever they are.