Children's TV

Cologne – September 7, 2026 -- Roughly 170,000 children in North Rhine-Westphalia are starting school this year, and German broadcaster WDR is rolling out a package of free educational content through its long-running children's brand "Die Maus" to help them adjust.

The Maus website offers school-starter materials in six languages

Parents and teachers can access craft activities, puzzles, coloring pages, and ABC letter-learning films on the Maus website in German, Turkish, Polish, Ukrainian, Arabic, and Russian. A feature called "Maus-Schul-Weltreise" shows how children attend school in other countries, while a series of factual segments answers everyday questions about school life.

Erfurt, Germany -- September 01, 2026 -- Families looking for new children's programming this fall can find a fresh batch of shows from Germany's public children's channel KiKA, starting with a 50th-anniversary re-release of "Die Biene Maja" now streaming on kika.de. The lineup for September 2026 also includes the new preschool series "Karlchen" launching September 2, the desert adventure film "Prinzen der Wüste" arriving September 6, a live AI-education event called "Check die KI" on September 15, and new episodes of "Rabbit Academy - Die Häschenschule" from September 16. All titles are available on kika.de, the KiKA app, and the Kikaninchen app.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING -- August 28, 2026 -- Ten of the best young songwriters competing on Germany's "Dein Song" spent last week filming at a new songwriting camp in Frankfurt am Main, part of the ZDF and KiKA competition's 19th season. The camp followed a casting round held in Wiesbaden in late July 2026. Contestants reworked their compositions and performed a semi-final round for the judging panel. The 16-part documentary series and finale are set to air in February 2027 on KiKA, kika.de, the KiKA app, ZDF streaming and the ZDFtivi app.