ChannelD boasts that it is werbefrei (commercial-free) but that may in fact be a disadvantage. Watching German commercials can be quite entertaining and it could be a source of income to reduce the subscription price — and thereby attract more viewers. There are no doubt some big legal issues here. The Germans are terrible when it comes to TV rights and copyright, which is one reason it has taken so long to bring German TV to America. But some German commercials would be logical for North American viewers, as would ads from German-American concerns, both large (DaimlerChrysler) and small (local bakers, etc.).

But probably the biggest obstacle to attracting the seven or eight million German-speakers that ChannelD claims are living on the two American continents is the required purchase of hardware that can only be used for receiving digital Ku-band programming. Sure, a ChannelD dish is much smaller than the typical eight-foot C-band variety, but US consumers used to having pizza-sized digital TV dishes installed for free or at low cost may balk at doing it themselves or having to pay a dealer for installation. If you already have DirecTV or DISH Network, you'll now have to add a second dish and receiver for German, and the ChannelD dish is almost twice the size of the standard 18-inch digital dish. In my case, the larger ChannelD dish would have to be in front of my house (facing south) where I already have a much less conspicuous DirecTV dish. Many people either can't or don't want to have even a medium-sized satellite dish sitting in their yard. Cable TV availability would be a tremendous advantage.

Although ChannelD promises excellent service (hohe Dienstleistung), it doesn't seem to understand what North Americans regard as “excellent service.”. To start a business in the US or Canada without a toll-free telephone number or an English-language Web site and virtually no dealer network in place seems odd. As ChannelD of North America begins broadcasting, the company has just one office (in Georgia) for all of the US, Canada and Mexico! It would also be nice if ChannelD's existing German site at least provided a pricing schedule and actual links to dealers. Although the ChannelD people told me they could provide hardware, you would never know that from their German Web site. (Their new Web site is an improvement. See our Sat TV Links page.)

To be fair, ChannelD is trying to do a lot on a relatively low budget of just over a million dollars. The question is, is that adequate funding for the job at hand? As time goes by, let's hope that ChannelD will improve its marketing, programming, Web sites and service. It would also make sense to work out some deal with DirecTV and/or cable operators to carry ChannelD, similar to what Deutsche Welle does. And how about a special package for schools and colleges with German programs? That has the possibility of attracting more subscribers. With DW's similar competing German pay TV “German Channel” set to launch in less than a year, let's hope that the privately owned ChannelD can give the public Deutsche Welle a good run for their two million mark investment versus DW's projected 140 million. Wish them success — and subscribe!

NOTE: This article was written prior to ChannelD's bankrupcy in late 2002. For current information about how to receive German TV in North America, see: Adventures with German TV in the USA.

For more information, contact ChannelD:

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