Arte (, , ; Association relative à la télévision européenne ( Association relating to European television), sometimes stylised in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European Union channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping (EEIG) ARTE, plus two member companies acting as editorial and programme production centres, ARTE France in Paris (formerly known as La Sept) and ARTE Deutschland in Baden-Baden (a subsidiary of the two main public German TV networks ARD and ZDF).
As an international joint venture (an EEIG), its programmes focus on audiences in both countries. Because of this, the channel has two audio tracks and two subtitle tracks, one each in French language and German language.
80% of Arte's programming is provided by its French and German subsidiaries, each making half of the programmes. The remainder is provided by the European subsidiary and the channel's European partners. Selected programmes are available with English language, Spanish language, Polish language and Italian language subtitles online.
In January 2021, Bruno Patino, President of ARTE France, became President of Arte EEIG whilst Peter Weber, Head of Legal Affairs at ZDF, became Vice President. In the same year, the chairmanship of the General Assembly of ARTE EEIG was taken by Tom Buhrow, President of Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) and Chairman of the German association of public broadcasters ARD. Nicolas Seydoux, President of Gaumont, became Vice-Chairman.
Arte began transmissions in 1992, filling frequencies left unused by the demise of La Cinq, the first French commercial television network (created in 1986). The opening night on 30 May 1992 was broadcast live from the Strasbourg Opera House.
Arte started as an evening-only service. In the daytime, its frequencies were shared with other channels. A public channel called Télé Emploi occupied the French frequencies for about a month in 1994, before the start of La Cinquième ( now France 5) in December that year. For viewers in Germany, Arte was assigned a frequency on the Astra 1D satellite in late 1994, and it was eventually shared with Nickelodeon Germany, later replaced by the new public children's channel Kika.
In 1996, it started offering an afternoon schedule with reruns for viewers on digital satellite and digital cable. A "proper" afternoon schedule with programmes between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. was introduced on 6 January 2001. A R T E M a g a z i n e, , Download.pro.arte.tv, 6 January 2001 The channel eventually got its own analogue frequency on the Astra satellites.
Arte has been broadcasting 24/7 since 2005. In 2007 the online catch-up service ARTE+7 was launched and offers free access to a broad range of programs within seven days of their original transmission.
In October 2020, Arte marked 30 years since the signing of its founding treaty between France and Germany.
The channel is widely available in Europe. Both the German and the French versions can be received in nearly all of Europe via satellite Astra1 (19, 2° East) and the French version is also available via Hot Bird (13° East). ARTE is also relayed by all cable networks in Germany and France. It is also available on numerous cable networks in Austria, Belgium, Finland, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.
Arte has been broadcast since 2008 in HD in Germany and France. Like the national channels of their own respective countries, the German HDTV version of ARTE broadcasts in 720p50, while the French one broadcasts in 1080i25. Broadcasting Center Europe (BCE), a subsidiary of RTL Group and located in Luxembourg (formerly known as CLT-UFA and before its merger with UFA, the Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Télédiffusion), provides most of the technical services for Arte.
In April 2016 Arte co-produced, (with Astra satellite owner, SES) a live Ultra-high-definition television broadcast of the Le Corsaire ballet from the Vienna State Opera. The programme was transmitted free-to-air on the UHD1 demonstration channel from the Astra 19.2°E satellites. SES and ARTE to Broadcast Le Corsaire Ballet Live in Ultra HD via Astra 19.2 Business Wire. 29 March 2016. Accessed 27 April 2016
In July 2016, the Italian public broadcaster RAI Com signed a partnership agreement with Arte to collaborate on coproductions and programme acquisitions. In November 2016, the Irish public television RTÉ signed a partnership agreement with Arte to produce programmes related to arts, culture and history as well as web content for ARTE Concert and ARTE in English. Arte also has agreements with Yle (Finnish public broadcasting) and Film Fund Luxembourg (a national fund that supports Luxembourgish audiovisual productions).
Arte programmes can be streamed live or watched on catch-up TV for at least 7 and up to 700 days on the arte.tv platform and on ARTE Concert.
Arte's first digital effort was called ARTE+7, launched in September 2007. Initial it was a catch-up service, allowing viewers to watch ARTE programmes up to seven days after they were broadcast on television. arte.tv has also been available for streaming in Germany and France since 2012. Most programmes can be streamed from 5 am on the morning of broadcast and remain available on replay for up to 90 days, sometimes longer. Some programmes are made available online ahead of transmission. Most of arte.tv now consists of web-only content.
Arte also has a podcast site, called Arte Radio. Most of its programmes are in French.
ARTE Extra is a new feature, launched in HbbTV in 2020. Arte Extra provides four "smart playlists" related to different topics such as society, discovery and music which are put together from programmes available on arte.tv. The playlists can be accessed by pushing the red button on the remote control.
An annual Arte film festival takes place online in December. It promotes the European film d'auteur scene and presents films of young directors accessible in 45 European countries in ten different languages. Each month, the "ArteKino Selection" offers one film available in six languages on arte.tv.
In 2018, Arte launched its online opera season. As part of ARTE Concert, it provides access to new opera productions from various European opera houses by live stream or video on demand in six different languages via subtitles. The 2020/2021 opera season featured 21 opera houses from 12 European countries with both classic and contemporary productions.
==Logos==
In 2016, PRIX EUROPA awarded Arte the "Lifetime Achievement Award" in honour of "extraordinary achievements in the European media world".
|
|