Radio Frankfurt Creates A New World Record For Longest Show

An Adult Contemporary radio station serving Frankfurt, Germany, owned by regional owner The Radio Group, has established a new world record in a “Fun Marathon” that resulted in a single radio show airing non-stop for six consecutive days.

The Rekord-Institut für Deutschland, the German-language counterpart to the internationally oriented Guinness World Records, awarded Radio Frankfurt 95.1 its world record for “longest music radio show” on February 13 after 132 hours, 2 minutes and 3 seconds.

Eike Knall, Head of Marketing & Sales for The Radio Group, tells RBR+TVBR that the special marathon broadcast began at 6am CET on February 8. A roster of 10 radio hosts including Knall, who has experience in programming in other German markets, paired up for six-hour shifts. On Day One, Knall was heard on Radio Frankfurt from 6pm-midnight. He returned at Noon on Day 2 for another six hour shift, this time paired with another member of the radio station’s team.

Knall repeated the Noon-6pm shift, this time with a third co-host, across last weekend. Come February 12, he went on-air for the 6am-noon shift; on Tuesday, he hosted noon-6pm before Anne Graul took the 6pm-10pm slot and formally hit the World Record for Radio Frankfurt. Other hosts include Hakan Turan, Raoul Helmer, Helmer Litzke, Andreas Schmidt, Sandrina Kunz, Dieter Döring, Felix Rockenkamm, Roger Rinker and Julia Moschner.

The previous world record, involving a radio station in Dubai, was 106 hours and 50 minutes. Radio Frankfurt’s broadcast was monitored by a judge who traveled from Hamburg to certify the world record on-site.

What was the purpose of the “Fun Marathon”? Knall says there was certainly the publicity behind in, gaining attention to Radio Frankfurt. However, team building was also an important element of the World Record event.

RID record judge Olaf Kuchenbecker said, “Eike Knall and his team delivered a really impressive performance. Organizing such a radio program thematically over the course of days and broadcasting it in an entertaining way speaks for technical competence, creativity and, above all, passion for music.”

The judge also praised the successful involvement of Radio Frankfurt’s listeners, who gave the team encouragement and support during the broadcast. “This new world record is therefore a successful team effort,” RID said.