Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk

Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk is the public broadcaster for the federal states of Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. Established in January 1991, its headquarters are in Leipzig, with regional studios in Dresden, Erfurt and Magdeburg. MDR is a member of the ARD consortium of public broadcasters in Germany.MDR broadcasts its own television channel to the three states it serves and also contributes programming to the first German TV channel, and broadcasts a number of radio channels.Studios and staffMDR has approximately 2000 employees. The main television studio is in Leipzig, and the main radio studio is in Halle. There are also radio and TV studios in each of the three state capitals for the territory that MDR represents: Dresden (Saxony), Erfurt (Thuringia), and Magdeburg (Saxony-Anhalt).FinancesIn 2012 87% of MDR's total annual income of €684,529,979 was derived from the licence fees payable by all households at the rate of €17,50 (per month). These fees are not collected directly by MDR but by the Beitragsservice ("fee collection service") owned jointly by ARD (and its members), the second television network ZDF, and the national radio broadcaster Deutschlandradio.