SWR 3

Logo of SWR 3

SWR3 is a radio station of Südwestrundfunk (SWR). The radio programme has a regional focus and the broadcasting area mainly covers Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. The programme consists mainly of current pop music and music from the 1980s and 90s, but news is also broadcast every hour. The station mainly focuses on the 14-49 age group. SWR3 is one of the radio stations with the widest reach in Germany, reaching an average of 3.1 million listeners per day nationwide in 2023 and almost 20% of people in the broadcasting area in 2023.

Key Facts

Audience Share4.4%
Ownership TypePublic
Geographic CoverageLocal
Content TypeFree
Active Transparency
company/channel informs proactively and comprehensively about its ownership, data is constantly updated and easily verifiable

Ownership

Ownership StructureSWR3 is part of Südwestrundfunk. SWR has no owner in the literal sense, as it is part of the public broadcasting system and is financed by the public through a licence fee.
Voting RightsThe management of SWR consists of the director general and nine directors. According to the SWR State Treaty, the director general is "responsible for all operations and programming" SWR also has two central committees: The Administrative Board consists of 18 members. The Broadcasting Council elects ten members from among its own members, whereby these may neither be state members nor representatives of the leading municipal organisations. Three members are delegated by the state parliament of Baden-Württemberg, one member by the the state parliament of Rhineland-Palatinate. The state governments of the two federal states each delegate one member, and the SWR Staff Council delegates two members. The Broadcasting Council consists of 74 members. 51 of these are delegated by the state of Baden-Württemberg and 23 by the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. A total of 12 of the 74 members come from the state parliaments of the two federal states, while the remaining members come from various social and cultural interest groups such as trade unions, churches and sports associations. This composition is intended to reflect the plurality of society and ensure that all interests are represented on the Broadcasting Board. The Administrative Board passes its resolutions by a simple majority of the votes cast. Votes are generally taken openly and by a show of hands. The Broadcasting Board passes its resolutions by a simple majority of the votes cast. In the event of a tie, a motion is deemed to have been rejected. As a rule, votes are taken openly and by a show of hands. As SWR is a merger of two federal states, there are also two state broadcasting councils consisting of the members of the other two bodies of the respective federal state.
Individual Owner

Media Companies / Groups

Facts

Founding Year1998
Founder
  • Südwestfunk (SDF) and Süddeutscher Rundfunk (SDR)
    In 1997, the federal states of Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate concluded the broadcasting agreement on Südwestrundfunk, which included a merger of the two broadcasting organisations Südwestfunk and Süddeutscher Rundfunk. In the course of this, the two third radio programmes SWF3 and SDR3 were merged to form the station SWR3. SWR3 began broadcasting in 1998.
CEO
  • Prof Dr Kai Gniffke
    has been the director general of Südwestrundfunk (SWR) since September 2019. Since January 2023, he has also taken over the chairmanship of ARD, which rotates among the broadcasters. From 1999 to 2003, Gniffke was head of ARD-aktuell, of which he was the first editor-in-chief from 2006-2019. Gniffke is a member of the SPD. By virtue of his office, he is also a member of the supervisory boards of several companies in which SWR has a stake, as well as a member of various boards of trustees and foundation boards.
Editor-In-Chief
  • Thomas Jung
    has been programme director of SWR3 since 2013. He has worked in various positions for SWR and its predecessor SWF since 1986. Jung is a lecturer in music business at the Pop-Akademie Baden-Württemberg, of which he is also a member of the supervisory board.
Other Important People
  • Hans Albert Stechl
    has been Chairman of the SWR Board of Directors since 2011. He was elected by the Broadcasting Council, to which he belongs on the recommendation of the journalistic trade unions. Stechl also works as a publisher for Sternwaldverlag Freiburg.
  • Dr Engelbert Günster
    has headed the SWR Broadcasting Council since January 2023, having been delegated to it by the Rhineland-Palatinate Chambers of Industry and Commerce. He was President of the Rheinhessen Chamber of Industry and Commerce from 2013 to 2021.
ContactSüdwestrundfunk (SWR) Anstalt des öffentlichen Rechts
Neckarstraße 230
70190 Stuttgart
Germany
info@swr.de
0711 929 0
www.swr3.de
RevenueMissing Data
Operating ProfitMissing Data
Advertising (in % of total funding)Missing Data
Market ShareMissing Data
Headlines
Meta DataThe share of the total audience in per cent comes from the agma survey I/2024 and refers to the nationwide daily reach in the population aged 14 and over.
Financial data is shown as 'Missing data' as a breakdown of finances is only provided at broadcaster level. Individual data on broadcasters is not published.
Note on the transparency level:
As it is not possible to categorise the transparency level for public service media in terms of ownership structures, the availability of information on the supervisory and control bodies as well as information on their members and the
Sources
Documents (PDF)
  • agma ma audio 2024/I (Pressetabelle)
    Link File
  • Gewinn- und Verlustrechnung des SWR 2022
    Link File
  • Staatsvertrag über den Südwestrundfunk
    Link File