The three shows of the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 will be broadcast on three different channels in Germany. The first semi final, where Germany is allowed to vote, will be aired live on Phoenix, while the second semi final will be broadcast at 23:00 CET on NDR like last year. The final will be broadcast live on ARD as usual.
The choice of the broadcaster Phoenix can definitely be seen as an unusual one. The channel mostly airs documentaries and news programmes and it is one of the least watched public channels in the country with an average market share of less than 1%. However, the choice is obviously an improvement for viewers living in Southern Germany as unlike NDR, where the semi finals were broadcast in recent years, Phoenix is available through cable and DVB-T.
As the primetime in Germany starts at 20:15 CET, the 45 minutes until the final of the Eurovision Song Contest begins will be filled with a countdown programme again. It will be co-hosted by Thomas Anders, who already did the job 2004 and would take part in the German national final in 2006. He also took part in the German national final for the Eurovision Dance Contest in 2007 and he would also host the countdown programme for that show. The other host will be Katja Wunderlich, who works for a Bavarian radio station. Among the guests will be Queensberry, the winners of the latest season of Popstars, British singer Paul Potts and Russian author Vladimir Kaminer.
Although the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 was watched by more than six million people and the most popular programme the Saturday it was broadcast and the most popular music event of the year, the viewing figures were dropping dramatically. In 2006, more than ten million people watched the show and the contest was the second most watched non-sport event of the year while in 2007, about 7.5 million people followed the programme.
Germany will be represented by Alex Swings! Oscar Sings!in the final Eurovision Song Contest 2009 on 16th May performing at number 17. For the first time since 1995, the German entrant was chosen internally.
