TransTel
{{Short description|German television program distributor}}
TransTel (sometimes referred to as TransTel Cologne) is a label and former company set up in Cologne in 1963, whose primary activity was the distribution of West German/German programmes to television stations in Latin America, Africa and Asia, as well as programmes to learn the German language. Since 1998, its archives are with Deutsche Welle.
History
TransTel was founded in 1963 with its first production being a translated version of a filmed newsreel. Deutsche Welle was one of its strategic partners, who selected programmes for export, acquisition of rights and translations to several languages.{{cite web |title=50 years of TV content from Germany |url=https://corporate.dw.com/en/television-50-years-of-tv-content-from-germany/a-16784434 |publisher=Deutsche Welle}}
TransTel also provided broadcasters with highlights of the 1970 FIFA World Cup, held in Mexico, in anticipation for the 1974 FIFA World Cup, held in West Germany.{{cite web |date=4 May 1974 |title=Now a treat for soccer fans |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/newnation19740504-1.2.24.14 |access-date=2 April 2025 |website=New Nation (retrieved from NLB)}} For the latter, it provided satellite links for four matches, including the final. In Singapore, Television Singapura (Channel 5) had to pay its royalties back to FIFA, as well as the agencies responsible for the recordings, including TransTel.{{cite web |date=22 June 1974 |title=RTS goes big on soccer thrills |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/digitised/article/newnation19740622-1.2.26.12 |access-date=2 April 2025 |website=New Nation (retrieved from NLB)}}
It co-operated with Oregon Public Broadcasting and the Goethe Institute to create The Pappenheimers, a German learning series, which also provided a cultural tour of the country.{{cite book |title=Children and Languages: Research, Practice, and Rationale for the Early Grades |url=https://www.google.pt/books/edition/Children_and_Languages/PP8kAQAAIAAJ |access-date=2 April 2025 |date=1998 | publisher=American Forum | language=en-US}}
In 1998, the federal government liquidated TransTel and, from 1 January 1999, its catalogue became a part of DW Sales & Distribution.{{cite web |title=Unterrichtung durch die Bundesregierung |url=https://dserver.bundestag.de/btd/14/012/1401266.pdf |publisher=Deutscher Bundestag |page=10 |language=de |date=23 June 1999}}