Radio LOTTE

What Radio LOTTE does

Radio LOTTE Weimar is a non-commercial community radio station (Bürgerradio) operated by the registered association 'Bürgerradio LOTTE in Weimar e.V.' from the historic Niketempel at Goetheplatz 12 in Weimar, Thuringia, Germany. Founded in 1999 after receiving a broadcast license from TLM (Thüringer Landesmedienanstalt), it broadcasts 24 hours daily on FM 106.6 MHz in the Weimar region, with cable injection at 107.90 MHz in Apolda and Weimar, plus internet livestream (m3u/pls/asx) and an on-demand website archive (Mediathek). Its programming consists of 60+ shows produced by approximately 100 volunteer program makers, covering hyperlocal news, culture, politics, and social issues for an audience of roughly 2,000 daily listeners within a 21 km² direct broadcast area and a potential reach of ~123,000 residents across 1,300 km².

The station's product portfolio extends beyond broadcast into media education. It offers workshops (RadioBox, Music Production, HörspielBox, Journalistic Recherche, Interview Training) and free studio tours, with the youth editorial program Radio Gramont delivered in partnership with KVHS Apolda. Citizens can participate via open broadcast windows to produce their own programs without prior professional experience, an open-access model that is core to its identity as a civic Bürgermedium.

Radio LOTTE's business model is non-commercial. It is funded through a combination of public institutional grants (TLM and the City of Weimar), voluntary LOTTE-Club membership contributions starting at €2.99 per month, donations, and modest workshop fees. The station has no equity funding rounds, no parent company, and is not publicly traded; it functions as a civic institution sustained by public media funding and community participation rather than market revenue.

Name

Radio LOTTE

Legal name

Bürgerradio LOTTE in Weimar e.V.

Website

https://radiolotte.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Radio LOTTE is a non-commercial community radio station in Weimar, Germany, broadcasting on FM 106.6 MHz and online, producing 60+ programs with 100 volunteers for local news, culture, and civic participation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Radio Broadcasting

NAICS

Radio Broadcasting Stations (51611)

SIC

Radio Broadcasting Stations (4832)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYMPABADAE

Community/Low-Power Nonprofit Radio (LPFM/Community Radio)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Broadcasting (TV & Radio)/Public/Nonprofit Broadcasting (PBS/NPR-style)

SECONDARYMPABACAG

Public/Community Local Stations (PBS Member Stations, Community Radio, LPFM)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Broadcasting (TV & Radio)/Local Broadcast Stations & Affiliates (TV & Radio)

SECONDARYMPABABAD

News/Talk Radio Networks

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Broadcasting (TV & Radio)/Broadcast Radio Networks

SECONDARYMPAIAEAE

Internet Radio & Streaming Broadcast Stations (Simulcast/Online-only)

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Music & Audio (Recording, Publishing, Streaming)/Radio & Audio Broadcasting (Terrestrial, Satellite, Digital Radio)

Keywords

• Community radio broadcasting
• Local journalism
• Media education workshops
• Citizen broadcasting
• Non-commercial radio station

Headquarters

HQ city

Weimar

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. LOTTE-Club Membership Fees: The station operates a membership model called LOTTE-Club. Members pay a freely chosen monthly contribution (starting from 2,99€ per month) to support independent local journalism. Benefits include a newsletter, occasional free ticket raffles, on-air birthday greetings, and invitations to member events.
2. Public Institutional Funding: Radio LOTTE is a non-commercial local radio station ('nichtkommerzielles Lokalradio') funded in part through public broadcasting support mechanisms in Germany. The website footer lists multiple institutional funders and sponsors, indicating financial support from Thuringian state media authorities and municipal sources.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Radio LOTTE Weimar operates as a non-commercial community radio station (Bürgerradio) broadcasting 24 hours daily on FM 106.6 MHz in Weimar and the surrounding Weimarer Land region, complemented by internet livestream and on-demand audio (Mediathek). The station produces over 60 programs created by approximately 100 volunteers, covering local news, politics, culture, music, and social issues, and offers open broadcast windows for citizens to produce their own shows alongside media education workshops (RadioBox, Music Production, HörspielBox) and the youth editorial program Radio Gramont.

Product overview

Radio LOTTE Weimar operates as a non-commercial community radio station offering a unified broadcasting service centered on FM radio (106.6 MHz) combined with digital distribution via livestream and on-demand audio. The station produces over 60 programs created by approximately 100 volunteers, covering news (Weimar Nachrichten, Rathauskurier), culture, politics, and social topics. The product portfolio includes core broadcast services, the LOTTE-Club membership program for supporter engagement, and an extensive media education division offering workshops (RadioBox, Music Production, HörspielBox), studio tours, and the youth program Radio Gramont. Citizens can also participate through open broadcast windows to produce their own shows.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Radio LOTTE Weimar (FM Broadcast) Non-commercial community radio station broadcasting on FM frequency 106.6 MHz, covering Weimar and surrounding area, with approximately 2,000 daily listeners in the direct broadcast area of 21 km². Aimed at residents of Weimar and Weimarer Land seeking independent local news, culture, politics, and civic programming.
• Livestream and On-Demand Audio (Mediathek) Internet streaming and on-demand audio archive access to Radio LOTTE content, available globally via m3u, pls, and asx playlist formats, plus the website-hosted Mediathek/Audiothek on-demand library. Intended for global listeners and on-demand catch-up of past broadcasts.
• LOTTE-Club Membership Program Membership program supporting independent local journalism with a freely chosen monthly contribution starting at €2.99. Members receive a newsletter, occasional free ticket raffles, on-air birthday greetings, and invitations to member events. Targeted at civic-minded Weimar residents who want to financially sustain independent non-commercial local journalism.
• RadioBox Workshops Media education workshop teaching radio production basics including technique, moderation, editing, and journalism skills for participants aged 9 to 99, with a minimum of 4 participants. Pricing from €29 per person, with a super discount for school classes; free for volunteer program producers. Targeted at schools, youth groups, companies, and individuals.
• Studio Tours Guided tours of radio studios including the newsroom, broadcast hall, and recording studio, for ages 5 to 99, free of charge, lasting 30 to 45 minutes with no minimum participant number. Targeted at school classes, groups, and individuals interested in radio production.
• Music Production Workshop Workshop covering songwriting, beat production, and arrangement for participants aged 14 and up. Pricing on request. Targeted at youth and adults interested in music creation.
• HörspielBox (Audio Drama Workshop) Workshop on creating audio dramas, from collecting sounds to producing a complete radio play. Pricing on request. Targeted at youth and adults interested in audio drama production.
• Radio Gramont (Youth Editorial) Youth radio editorial program in Apolda, produced by young people with support from KVHS adult education center. Provides media education and youth-generated content for the Apolda area.
• Citizen Broadcasting Windows (Open Broadcast Slots) Open broadcast slots (Sendefenster) for citizens from Weimar and surrounding areas to produce and present their own radio programs, available occasionally, regularly monthly, or multiple times per week, without prior professional radio experience required. Targeted at community members wanting to participate in local broadcasting.

Quantifiable outcome

• ~2,000 daily listeners in the direct broadcast area of 21 km² (TLM survey 2024)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• TLM (Thüringer Landesmedienanstalt)coreOthersTLM (Thüringer Landesmedienanstalt) is the Thuringian state media authority that regulates and supports non-commercial local radio stations in Thuringia. Radio LOTTE operates under TLM licensing and receives institutional funding support as a non-commercial broadcaster.
• Stadt Weimar (City of Weimar)coreOthersThe City of Weimar provides municipal support and partnership to Radio LOTTE as Weimar's community radio station, including in-kind support such as hosting the station at the Niketempel on Goetheplatz.
• Bauhaus-Universität WeimarminorOthersRadio LOTTE has an established relationship with Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, having originated partly from creative projects at the university and continuing with student collaborations, internships, and coverage of university events such as summaery.
• Kreissvolkshochschule (KVHS) ApoldaminorOthersRadio LOTTE operates a youth journalism program called 'Radio Gramont' in partnership with KVHS Apolda, producing youth-generated content and media education workshops for young people in the Apolda area.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Radio Blau: Community radio station in Leipzig operating under a comparable non-commercial Bürgerradio model with volunteer producers, public funding, and hyperlocal programming — a direct category peer.
• LORA München: Non-commercial local radio in Munich serving as a comparable freies Radio model with volunteer program producers, FM broadcast, and supplementary media education activities.
• Radio F.R.E.I. Non-commercial community radio station in Erfurt, Thuringia, also licensed under TLM. Highly comparable as a regional Bürgerradio with volunteer-driven programming, public funding, and a similar mix of local news, culture, and citizen participation.
• Radio Dreyeckland: Freies Radio in Freiburg for the tri-border region (Germany, France, Switzerland). Closely comparable mission and operational model despite its cross-border geographic focus.
• Radio Z: Non-commercial community radio in Nuremberg (Franconia region). Direct comparable on volunteer-driven programming, publicly funded status, and hyperlocal content focus.
• Radio CORAX: Non-commercial community radio in Halle (Saale), Germany. Compares directly on business model, volunteer-based programming, and non-commercial local journalism across a similar city-region footprint.
• Freies Sender Kombinat (FSK): Non-commercial community radio in Hamburg. Comparable in operating model, volunteer-driven programming, public funding, and reliance on city-level institutional support.
• bermuda.funk: Community radio for the Mannheim/Heidelberg region. Operates under the same freies Radio model with volunteer producers, public funding, and a comparable mix of hyperlocal news, culture, and music programming.
• Freies Radio Kassel: Non-commercial community radio in Kassel with similar volunteer-driven programming structure, public funding dependency, and citizen-broadcast windows. Direct comparable within the German freies Radio network.
• Köln Campus: Cologne-based non-commercial local radio, historically tied to the university, with a comparable mix of FM/livestream distribution, volunteer participation, and local news coverage.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/RadioLOTTEWeimar
• Instagraminstagram.com/radiolotteweimar/?hl=de
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/radio-lotte

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Radio LOTTE