R9 Regional TV Austria

R9 Regional TV Austria (R9 Regionales Fernsehen Österreich) is an Austrian television advertising-time marketer and, since 2015, a satellite television broadcaster in its own right. Founded in 2013 by WH Medien (part of Wien Holding, which also owns the Vienna station W24), LT1 managing director Wolf-Dieter Holzhey, and Kobza Media, R9 was presented at the Austrian Media Days in 2013. Its core business is the national marketing of advertising airtime on the largest regional television stations of each of Austria's nine federal states, offering advertisers a single over-regional booking point for regional audiences. The network bundles stations including W24 (Vienna), Schau TV (Burgenland), LT1 (Upper Austria), Kanal3 (Styria), KT1 (Carinthia), tirol tv (Tyrol), Ländle TV (Vorarlberg), N1 TV (Lower Austria), and RTS Regionalfernsehen Salzburg. According to the company's own figures, these regional broadcasters together reach around 2.5 million households per month in Austria, with more than 350,000 people reporting having watched a regional station "today or yesterday." Since March 2014 the R9 network has been measured and reported by the Austrian Teletest audience research system. In mid-2015 R9 launched its own television channel, R9 Österreich HD, broadcast unencrypted via the Astra satellite at 19.2° East. The channel was approved by the media regulator KommAustria in June 2015 as a full-service programming license covering daily news and current affairs as well as culture, sport, business, people, events, and society, with roughly 80% of content intended to be in-house produced. The official launch took place on 7 September 2015, following a test phase from 20 July 2015. The channel functions as a satellite platform for the regional stations, each of which (except W24) is carried for one hour daily at fixed times. A flagship shared programme, the 30-minute magazine Österreich Blick, has aired since 27 June 2014 on Fridays at 8 p.m. across the regional stations, summarizing highlights from all federal states. It was initially presented mostly by Eva Pölzl and sometimes Jenny Posch, later by Alfons Haider, and from April 2017 by Jenny Posch and Mona Müller. In 2015 Österreich Blick won a Romy jury prize for best programme idea. Since September 2019, following a KommAustria-approved programme change, a large share of the schedule has consisted of teleshopping programming. R9 is owned by WH Media GmbH (35%), Holzhey Management und Beteiligungen GmbH (35%), and Kobza Media Beratungs GmbH (30%). It has cooperated with media agencies such as GroupM and with the national TV regulator KommAustria, and its advertising sales have been handled by IP Österreich since March 2016. In April 2018 KommAustria found that the programme Die Besten Tirols had broadcast surreptitious advertising.

R9 was founded in 2013 by WH Medien (part of Wien Holding, which also owns the Vienna station W24), LT1 managing director Wolf-Dieter Holzhey, and Kobza Media. It was presented to the industry at the Austrian Media Days in 2013. The venture's purpose was to bundle the advertising strength of Austria's leading regional television stations so that national advertisers could reach regional audiences through a single booking point. Further cooperation partners included media agencies such as GroupM, which held roughly 50 percent of the Austrian TV advertising market, and the national TV regulator KommAustria. Since March 2014 the R9 network has been measured and reported by the Austrian Teletest audience research system. On 27 June 2014 the first joint programme, the 30-minute magazine Österreich Blick, premiered on all partner regional stations, airing Fridays at 8 p.m. with repeats on weekends. The magazine, conceived as a service and feel-good format, summarized highlights from the current programmes of all federal states and contained two advertising blocks. It was initially presented mostly by Eva Pölzl and sometimes by Jenny Posch. In May 2015 it was expanded with Wirtschafts Blick, a three-minute business news segment presented in a society-reporting style. In June 2015 KommAustria approved R9 as a full-service channel for daily news and current affairs, culture, sport, business, people, events and society, with around 80 percent of content intended to be in-house produced. In early April 2015 a satellite slot was arranged on Astra, and on 20 July 2015 R9 Österreich HD began unencrypted broadcasting; before the official launch, current editions of Österreich Blick ran in a continuous loop. The official launch followed on 7 September 2015. In marketing, R9 initially cooperated with ProSiebenSat.1 Media. Since September 2015, in addition to its own programming, each regional programme except W24 has been carried daily for one hour at fixed times on the R9 channel. In 2015 Österreich Blick won a Romy jury prize for best programme idea; its developer Marcin Kotlowski and presenter Eva Pölzl were honoured. Eva Pölzl left the programme on 12 February 2016 because of her role at the ORF breakfast show Guten Morgen Österreich; subsequent editions were moderated by Jenny Posch, one by Nadine Friedrich, and from April 2016 for a year by Alfons Haider. From April 2017 Jenny Posch and Mona Müller took over the weekly moderation. Since March 2016 the channel R9 has been marketed by IP Österreich, which also markets the advertising windows of the RTL Group. In April 2018 KommAustria determined that surreptitious advertising had been broadcast in the programme Die Besten Tirols. In September 2019 the regulator approved a programme change, after which a large part of the schedule has consisted of teleshopping programming. R9 continues to operate as a network channel and satellite platform for its regional partners, with reception via Astra 19.2° East at 11273 MHz, symbol rate 22000, FEC 2/3, horizontal polarization, DVB-S2 8PSK. The company is owned by WH Media GmbH (35%), Holzhey Management und Beteiligungen GmbH (35%) and Kobza Media Beratungs GmbH (30%).

• R9 founded by WH Medien, Wolf-Dieter Holzhey and Kobza Media; presented at Austrian Media Days.

• R9 network begins being measured by Austrian Teletest.

• First joint programme Österreich Blick premieres on partner regional stations.

• Satellite slot arranged on Astra for R9 Österreich HD.

• Österreich Blick expanded with Wirtschafts Blick business segment.

• KommAustria approves R9 as a full-service channel.

• R9 Österreich HD begins unencrypted test broadcasting.

• Official launch of R9 Österreich HD.

• Österreich Blick wins Romy jury prize for best programme idea.

• Eva Pölzl presents Österreich Blick for the last time.

• IP Österreich takes over marketing of the R9 channel.

• Alfons Haider begins moderating Österreich Blick for one year.

• Jenny Posch and Mona Müller take over weekly moderation of Österreich Blick.

• KommAustria finds surreptitious advertising in Die Besten Tirols.

• KommAustria approves programme change; teleshopping becomes a large part of the schedule.

A national umbrella and advertising-sales house for Austria's leading regional television stations, combining regional reach with nationwide presence.

• R9 Österreich HD

  R9's own satellite television channel, launched in 2015, carrying news, current affairs and regional programming.

• Österreich Blick

  A 30-minute weekly magazine summarizing highlights from all Austrian federal states, aired across partner regional stations.

• Wirtschafts Blick

  A three-minute business news segment added to Österreich Blick in 2015.

• Advertising-time marketing

  National marketing of advertising airtime and PR spaces on the largest regional stations of all nine Austrian federal states.

1. 1R9 - Regionales Fernsehen Österreich (official website)r-9.at
2. 2R9 TV Austria (Wikidata)wikidata.org
3. 3R9 Regionales Fernsehen Österreich (German Wikipedia)de.wikipedia.org