3sat was established to broadcastculturalprogrammes, originally by satellite. The network was founded as acooperativenetwork by Germany'sZDF,Austria'sORF,and Switzerland'sSRG SSR(formerly SRG SSR idée suisse). 3sat began broadcasting on 1 December 1984. ZDF leads the cooperative, though decisions are reached through consensus of the cooperative's partners.
In 1990,DFF,television broadcaster of theGerman Democratic Republicbecame a cooperative member of 3sat, and a name change to 4sat was considered. Eventually, it was decided to keep the original 3sat name. DFF's membership of 3sat was dissolved on 31 December 1991, as DFF itself ceased to exist under Germany's Unification Treaty.
On 1 December 1993,ARDjoined 3sat as a cooperative member. This followed ARD's shutdown of its satellite channel,Eins Plus.3sat is available on the EuropeanAstrasatellites at19.2° east,on cable television, and in Austria and Germany ondigital terrestrial television.
In 2003, 3sat was available in 40 million households in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, and 85.5 million across Europe. Since June 2003 3sat has been using a new on-air look and logo. The logo has a red rectangle surrounding the number three.
In 2005, 3sat andn-tvwere criticised for broadcasting TV shows which were funded by relief organizations such asWorld Vision DeutschlandandChristoffel Blindenmission.
In 2008, the programsnanoandKulturzeitreceived a new on-air look and studios. At the "Eyes & Ears of Europe Awards", the design ofKulturzeit's studio was awarded first prize in the category "Best Study Design" atMedientage Münchenin 2008.
In 2009 3sat had a market share of 1.1% in Germany, 1.9% in Austria, and 1.2% in Switzerland.
As a result of ZDF's spending for the then-newZDFkultur,2011 saw the end of many long-term 3sat broadcasts such as3satbörse,Foyer,the computer and internet magazineneues,the animal showArche Noah,the legal magazineRecht brisant,Vivoand others.
On 1 April 2017, theDirektion Europäische Satellitenprogramme,which was responsible for the 3sat and Arte programs, was dissolved. Joint editorial teams replaced it with the other ZDF channels.[2]
Logo of 3sat from 1 December 1984 to 30 November 1993
Logo of 3sat from 1 June 2003 to 5 February 2019(The red square symbolizes the four broadcasting stations.)
Logo of 3sat HD from 30 April 2012 to 5 February 2019
