Sat.1

Sat.1 (German pronunciation: [zatˈˀaɪ̯ns]) is a German free-to-air television channel that is a part of the ProSiebenSat.1 Media Group. Sat.1 was first launched in January 1984 and was initially named PKS (Programmgesellschaft für Kabel- und Satellitenrund). The network is considered to be the first privately owned television network in Germany, initially a joint venture of various publishing houses, and was rebranded into its current name in January 1985. The first broadcast could only be seen by roughly 1200 households who had cable access in the city of Ludwigshafen. Early programs included old films (mainly from the archives of KirchMedia) American hit series and game shows (the most notable show being the German version of Wheel of Fortune, Glücksrad). Later, the station acquired a name for its original series and TV films. By 1988, it was the most watched tv channel in West Germany. Pay-TV sister channel Sat.1 Emotions (formerly Sat.1 Comedy) airs comedy, romance and movies. In 2013 Sat.1 Gold, a second, free-to-air Sat.1 offshoot was also launched. In addition to its free-to-air standard definition feed, Sat.1 also broadcasts an HD feed as a subscription-only channel, available on Astra's HD+ satellite pay-TV platform.