Rundfunk im amerikanischen Sektor
 |
|
| Type | Broadcast radio and television |
|---|---|
| Country | Germany |
| Availability | National |
| Headquarters | West Berlin, Germany |
|
Launch date
|
7 February 1946 |
| Dissolved | 31 December 1993 |
| Replaced by |
Deutschlandradio Deutsche Welle (DW-TV) |
RIAS (German: Rundfunk im amerikanischen Sektor; English: Broadcasting Service in the American Sector) was a radio and television station in the American Sector of Berlin during the Cold War. It was founded by the US occupational authorities after World War II in 1946 to provide the German population in and around Berlin with news and political reporting.
By the end of 1945 the US military administration in Allied-occupied Berlin decided to establish its own broadcasting system, after the Soviets had refused to provide air time on the Berliner Rundfunk radio station. Supervised by the US Information Control Division, broadcasting commenced on 7 February 1946. For the first months the programme could be distributed via telephone line only (as DIAS – Drahtfunk im amerikanischen Sektor), until a first medium wave transmitter was installed in September.
By its creative and innovative programming, the station quickly gained much popularity. Its importance was magnified during the Berlin Blockade in 1948/49, when it carried the message of Allied determination to resist Soviet intimidation. At the same time, the RIAS Symphony Orchestra under chief conductor Ferenc Fricsay (still existing as the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin) and a professional chamber choir, the Rundfunkchor des RIAS (present-day RIAS Kammerchor) were also established by the US forces; together with the and the , they largely contributed to the station's entertainment programme under the editorship of the former Berliner Rundfunk employee Hans Rosenthal.
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