A well-known local broadcaster in northern Bavaria has officially gone bankrupt. Extra-Radio, based in the town of Hof, filed for insolvency in mid-October, just weeks after shutting down its FM and DAB+ transmissions.
According to reports by Frankenpost, the Hof District Court opened insolvency proceedings on October 15. The station had already ceased broadcasting in early September, initially planning a controlled wind-down of its operations.
Financial reserves ran out quickly
However, the company’s financial reserves were not sufficient to cover ongoing expenses. Insolvency administrator Andreas Schenk explained that a company can only liquidate voluntarily if its assets exceed its debts — which was not the case here.
“Remanence costs” — payments that continue even after operations stop — reportedly put additional strain on the company’s finances. These include rent, maintenance contracts, and outstanding technical fees.
Schenk confirmed there is no chance of a restart. “There will be no continuation,” he told Frankenpost. Even the station’s webradio stream, which was meant to keep the brand alive online, is now part of the insolvency estate. Whether it will remain active is still unclear. A creditors’ meeting is scheduled for January.
Website offline, staff laid off
The broadcaster’s website has already gone offline, and several employees have been let go. The once-popular local station had around 7,000 daily listeners, but rising costs made continued operation impossible.
During the summer, Extra-Radio had announced plans to exit traditional radio broadcasting altogether, citing high technical expenses and an unfavorable frequency allocation by the Bavarian media authority. The FM frequency alone cost approximately €10,000 per month to maintain.
Instead, the station hoped to continue as a purely automated music-only service, without moderation, newsroom, or editorial content. That plan, however, never materialized due to the worsening financial situation.
End of a local voice in Hof
Founded as a local alternative to larger Bavarian broadcasters, Extra-Radio had served the Hof region for years with local news and music programming. Its closure marks another setback for local journalism and radio diversity in Bavaria.
