RTS Regionalfernsehen Salzburg

RTS Regionalfernsehen Salzburg (RTS - Regional TV Salzburg) is a private, regional broadcasting company based in Wals-Siezenheim in the Austrian federal state of Salzburg. It began broadcasting on 4 November 2009 and describes itself as the regional television service for the whole of Salzburg. The company is owned by four private individuals — members of the Aichinger and Struber families, each holding 50 percent — and operates as RTS Regionalfernsehen GmbH. Its managing director is Josef Aichinger, an entrepreneur and former ÖVP politician who served as vice-mayor of the municipality of Abtenau; co-owner Christian Struber was mayor of Sankt Koloman. RTS produces four half-hour editorial television formats per week, all focused on Salzburg, plus the co-produced supra-regional format ÖsterreichBlick. Its best-known programme is the Salzburg Magazin, which is refreshed on Wednesdays and Fridays. Other long-running formats include RTS Sport kompakt, Kultur Format, Bunter Leben, PULS - Das Gesundheitsmagazin and the documentary series Orte, Zeit & Zeugen. Rather than daily news, RTS runs a weekly schedule of regional magazine topics, repeating each programme around the clock in a loop for one week. The channel is available on the Salzburg AG cable network, on A1 Xplore TV and via an internet livestream, and appears daily on the satellite window R9 Österreich HD from 15:00–16:00 and 21:00–22:00. Editorially, RTS emphasises a strong regional focus and what it calls constructive, respectful journalism and violence-free, family-friendly television. According to its own statements, it deliberately prioritises positive stories and working solutions over catastrophes. The newsroom relies exclusively on video journalists who handle camera, editing and research work independently. In 2024 the broadcaster employed 17 staff, alongside numerous freelance contributors. RTS is a member of the R9 group, an umbrella brand formed in 2013 by nine regional broadcasters from Austria's nine federal states to market regional television at national level. R9 Österreich HD has been available on the Astra 19.2° East satellite since 2015, carrying RTS as well. In 2020 RTS led the development of a national HbbTV portal for the R9 group, making all member channels available on demand via a single channel and red button; the project received €75,410 from the RTR digitalisation fund. Also in 2020, RTS moved into the former premises of ServusTV in the top floor of the Greentower. An IMAS reach analysis from February 2020 found that 94,000 Salzburg residents had watched RTS at least in the previous week, with one in five Salzburg residents (21%) watching weekly and an average viewing time of 14.3 minutes.

RTS Regionalfernsehen Salzburg began broadcasting on 4 November 2009 as a private regional television service for the Austrian federal state of Salzburg. From the outset it positioned itself as a regional broadcaster with a strong local focus, producing weekly magazine-style programming rather than daily news. The company is organised as RTS Regionalfernsehen GmbH and is owned by four private individuals, with members of the Aichinger and Struber families each holding 50 percent. Managing director Josef Aichinger is an entrepreneur and former ÖVP politician who served as vice-mayor of Abtenau; co-owner Christian Struber was mayor of Sankt Koloman. In 2013, nine regional broadcasters from Austria's nine federal states joined together under the umbrella brand R9, and RTS became a member. The aim of R9 Regional TV Austria GmbH was to market regional television at national level. Since 2015, R9 Österreich HD has also been available on the Astra 19.2° East satellite, extending RTS's reach beyond cable and internet. The supra-regional magazine ÖsterreichBlick, a co-production of the nine R9 regional broadcasters, was honoured with a Romy Academy Prize in 2015. In 2020, RTS took over the former premises of ServusTV and moved into the top floor of the Greentower. In the same year, on behalf of the R9 group, RTS played a leading role in developing a national HbbTV portal. This digital on-demand offering makes all R9 group channels available around the clock on a single channel (R9 Österreich HD) at the push of a button (red button). RTS also integrated the HbbTV/on-demand portal into its cable signal. The project was supported by RTR from the digitalisation fund with €75,410. By 2024 the broadcaster employed 17 staff, alongside numerous freelancers, and its newsroom worked exclusively with video journalists who handled camera, editing and research independently. An IMAS reach analysis from February 2020 (n=700) found that 94,000 Salzburg residents had watched RTS at least in the previous week, that one in five Salzburg residents (21%) watched at least weekly, and that the average viewer stayed for 14.3 minutes. Within Salzburg, a south-north gradient was measurable, with higher awareness among respondents from the southern districts (Tennengau, Pongau, Pinzgau, Lungau).

• 2024

  Manuela Kunzier takes over as head of programming; the broadcaster employs 17 staff.

• 2020

  RTS moves into the former ServusTV premises on the top floor of the Greentower and leads development of the R9 national HbbTV portal, supported with €75,410 from the RTR digitalisation fund.

• 2015

  R9 Österreich HD becomes available on Astra 19.2° East, extending RTS's satellite reach; ÖsterreichBlick wins a Romy Academy Prize.

• 2013

  Nine regional broadcasters from Austria's nine federal states form the R9 umbrella brand; RTS becomes a member.

• 2009

  RTS begins broadcasting on 4 November as a private regional television service for Salzburg.

Constructive, respectful, violence-free and family-friendly regional television focused on Salzburg, prioritising positive stories and solutions over catastrophes.

• Salzburg Magazin

  Best-known format, refreshed on Wednesdays and Fridays.

• ÖsterreichBlick

  Weekly supra-regional magazine co-produced by the nine R9 regional broadcasters.

• RTS Sport kompakt

  Long-running sports magazine.

• Kultur Format

  Long-running culture format.

• Bunter Leben

  Long-running lifestyle format.

• PULS - Das Gesundheitsmagazin

  Health magazine.

• Orte, Zeit & Zeugen

  Documentary series.

1. 1RTS Salzburg ON – official websiterts-salzburg.at
2. 2Über uns – RTS Salzburg ONrts-salzburg.at
3. 3RTS Regionalfernsehen Salzburg – Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org
4. 4RTS Regionalfernsehen Salzburg – Wikidatawikidata.org