ServusTV

History

The station began as Salzburg TV, Austria's first private TV station, initially available only by cable in Salzburg. It gained media attention when it began illegal terrestrial transmission on 25 October 2000 from a facility on Untersberg, owned by Germany but physically in Austria. Austrian authorities confiscated the facility after five days, and the owner entered a two-week hunger strike in protest. This led to the legalization of terrestrial transmission for private stations in Austria, and transmission resumed in 2002 on UHF channel 36.

The station was sold in 2004 due to impending bankruptcy, and in 2007 its shares went to Red Bull GmbH. After the original owners sold their shares, the station was renamed Servus TV in 2009, taking its name from a greeting used across the former Habsburg Empire. On May 3, 2016, Red Bull Media House announced it would cease broadcasting to prevent the establishment of a work council. Owner Dietrich Mateschitz argued that a works council would compromise the station's independence and that the idea was brought forward anonymously with union and Chamber of Labor support.

Most employees opposed the works council in writing on May 4, and a video message asked Mateschitz to continue the channel. He reversed his decision on May 5.

Political direction

Servus TV has faced criticism for ties to far-right politics and conspiracy theories. Its show “Talk im Hangar 7” featured Martin Sellner, a neo-fascist identitarian leader, discussing “How dangerous are our Muslims?”.

Ferdinand Wegscheider, the station’s director, used his commentary series to question COVID-19 vaccines and promote ivermectin. In 2021, the press club Concordia filed a complaint with Austria’s communications authority. Microbiologist Sucharit Bhakdi, a coronavirus trivializer, appeared regularly.

Did You Know?

• Servus TV airs ice hockey on Sunday nights, including the Austrian Hockey League and the Deutsche Eishockey Liga.
• It is also available from the Swiss service Kabelio via the Hot Bird 13 satellites.
• The station previously aired the World Rally Championship, Red Bull Air Race, and Red Bull X-Fighters.