SWR 1 BW

Logo of SWR 1 BW

SWR1 Baden-Württemberg (SWR1 BW) is a radio station of Südwestrundfunk (SWR). The SWR1 station is divided into two almost completely regionally separate programmes for Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate.
The SWR1 BW programme consists of music, news, but also service and information formats. The core target group is the 30-59 age group. SWR also publishes podcasts on various service topics under the SWR1 brand. Concerts and other cultural events are also part of the station's programme.
SWR1 Baden-Württemberg is one of the radio stations with the widest reach in Baden-Württemberg. In 2023, it reached around 1.26 million people per day in its broadcasting area.


According to figures from the Working Group Media Analysis (ma Audio 2025 II), it reached approximately 1.354 million listeners nationwide Monday through Sunday.

Key Facts

Audience Share1.8% (nationwide); 13.5% (Baden-Württemberg)
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 StructureSWR1 BW 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 radio stations SWF1 and SDR1 were merged to form the station SWR1, which includes regionally independent programmes for both Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. SWR1 began broadcasting in 1998.
CEO
  • Prof Dr Kai Gniffke

    Prof. Dr. Kai Gniffke has been the Intendant (Director-General) of Südwestrundfunk (SWR) since September 2019. From January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024, he also served as ARD Chairman, a position that rotates among the public broadcasting corporations. From 1999 to 2003, Gniffke was head of ARD-aktuell, and he was its first editor-in-chief from 2006 to 2019. By virtue of his office, he also serves on the supervisory boards of several companies in which SWR holds stakes, as well as on various boards of trustees and foundation boards.

    Gniffke has been a member of the SPD since the early 1980s. He is the grandson of Erich Gniffke (1895-1964), a politician who was initially a member of the SPD and later, following the forced merger of the SPD and KPD, a member of the SED.

Editor-In-Chief
  • Franziska Roth

    As of October 1, 2024, Franziska Roth has become the first female Editor-in-Chief at Südwestrundfunk (SWR). Previously, Roth (born 1983) had worked at SWR since 2010 in various positions, including as editor and reporter in the economics department, head of the online editorial office in the economics division, and since 2020 as head of the Director-General's office. In her new position, she succeeded long-serving Editor-in-Chief Fritz Frey.

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.
  • Stefanie Schneider

    Stefanie Schneider, born in 1961 in Sindelfingen. After studying Romance languages and German studies, Schneider joined the then-Südwestfunk in 1991. Following various positions in SWR radio, she became State Broadcasting Director for Baden-Württemberg at SWR in April 2014, responsible for the radio programmes SWR1 BW and SWR4 BW.

    From 1992 to 2003, Schneider also served as festival director of the French Film Days Tübingen.

     

  • 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
bw@swr1.de
+49 (0) 711 929 10501
www.swr.de/swr1/bw
RevenueMissing Data
Operating ProfitMissing Data
Advertising (in % of total funding)Missing Data
Market ShareMissing Data
Headlines
Meta Data

The 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 transparency with regard to corporate shareholdings were included in the assessment.

For audience share, the daily reach Monday-Sunday of Radio ma 2025 Audio II for the respective state's broadcasting area was used and limited to classical radio.

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
  • Jahresabschluss 2023 SWR Media Services GmbH
    File