The history of German television has one very large and very obvious influencer; the Nazi Party of the 1930s and 1940s. Television did not escape the regulations and control the Nazis enforced over every aspect of German life during their regime, and is perhaps one of the best examples of how propaganda was used to influence Germans during the 1940s. Thanks to this horrifying time in German history, Germany today takes freedom incredibly seriously, and that shows in their current regulations, institutional structure, and how content is regulated.
Germany’s constitution, officially referred to as The Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany, “was largely influenced by the country’s experience under the Nazi regime… Considering that the media during the Nazi
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While public broadcasting seems to have an open approach to foreign broadcasts, private broadcasts appear to take a more closed off approach; in the mid-1990s, when “international media giants like Capital Cities/ABC, the News Corporation and Walt Disney” inserted themselves in Germany and began “buying pieces of existing channels or starting small, specialized channels” (Nash) the government stepped in at the behest of German media groups, and changed the ownership rules created in the 1980s. This change led to investors being allowed to “own 100 percent of one channel, compared with 49.9 percent before, and as much as 50 percent of subsequent outlets, provided the overall market penetration of an owner's channels does not exceed 30 percent” (Nash), which allowed for German media companies to step in and secure more control of Germany’s “biggest channels” (Nash) while creating more competition among foreigners—ultimately creating more jobs within Germany rather than exporting