DR Ultra

DR Ultra is a Danish children's media brand operated by DR, Denmark's public-service broadcaster. It was introduced as a national linear television channel on 4 March 2013, replacing DR Update. The original service was designed for children roughly between seven and twelve years old and broadcast daily from the early morning until the evening. Its programming combined entertainment, factual material, news, games and locally produced formats intended to give children content made specifically for their age group rather than simply adapting adult television. The brand was developed alongside DR Ramasjang, DR's other major children's service. During its linear-television period, DR Ultra was associated with programming such as Ultra Nyt, a news programme presented in a child-accessible format, and Kvit eller dobbelt, a children's adaptation of the long-running Danish quiz-show tradition. Gepetto News also appeared in the schedule. The channel was based in Aarhus together with DR's children's television operations. DR increasingly questioned whether a conventional television channel remained the best way to reach its intended audience. In a 2015 column, DR director-general Maria Rørbye Rønn noted that children in the target group were spending substantial amounts of time with Disney Channel, YouTube and Netflix. This prompted a broader effort to make DR Ultra more digitally relevant and to meet children on the platforms and usage patterns they were adopting themselves. As part of cost reductions approved at DR in 2018, the linear channel was scheduled for closure. DR Ultra ceased traditional broadcasting on 2 January 2020, on the same date as DR3 and DR K. It was not abandoned as a brand: instead, it continued as an online channel and content destination within DR's DRTV service. The transition changed the principal audience definition from approximately seven-to-twelve-year-olds to children aged around nine to fourteen. DR explained the revised split with Ramasjang by arguing that the important developmental boundary was increasingly connected to children's entry into the digital world, including their first interaction with social media and the wider internet, rather than only the age at which they entered school. The online DR Ultra has therefore functioned less like a fixed broadcast schedule and more like a digital destination containing programmes and other material for older children and young teenagers. Its public-service role includes entertainment as well as age-appropriate news, factual programming and discussion of subjects that can be difficult to address elsewhere. The 2020 programme Ultra smider tøjet, which showed unclothed adults of different ages and body types answering questions from children, demonstrated both the educational ambitions and the editorial risks of that role. Supporters viewed the format as an attempt to promote body acceptance and reduce embarrassment around bodies; critics considered the presentation inappropriate or vulgar for children. DR Ultra's central strategic turning point was thus a change in distribution rather than the disappearance of the brand. It moved from a nationally broadcast channel to a streaming-led public-service offering, while broadening its editorial relationship with an audience that consumes video through digital services. Its current identity is tied to DR's online ecosystem and to programming for Danish children and young teenagers.

DR Ultra began as a linear television channel of Denmark's public-service broadcaster DR. It launched on 4 March 2013, replacing DR Update, and was aimed initially at children between approximately seven and twelve years old. The service broadcast every day from 06:00 to 21:00 and was based in Aarhus, where DR also operated its other principal children's television service, DR Ramasjang. The channel's output mixed entertainment and information. Ultra Nyt supplied news in a format intended for children, with presenters including Inge Thorup and Jonas Madsen. The schedule also included Kvit eller dobbelt, a children's version of a historic Danish quiz-show format, and Gepetto News. These programmes reflected DR's public-service approach: the channel was not limited to imported cartoons or general entertainment, but also sought to give children news, knowledge and formats made for their level of understanding. By the middle of the 2010s, DR faced a change in how its target audience consumed media. Children were increasingly watching Disney Channel, YouTube and Netflix alongside or instead of scheduled television. In 2015, DR director-general Maria Rørbye Rønn used DR's public discussion of the service to emphasize that Ultra needed stronger digital engagement. The challenge was strategic as well as technological: a channel built around a fixed schedule had to remain meaningful to an audience increasingly accustomed to on-demand video and internet-based services. Cost reductions approved at DR in 2018 led to the decision to close the linear service. DR Ultra stopped broadcasting on 2 January 2020, together with DR3 and DR K. The brand continued online through DRTV rather than disappearing entirely. This was a change in distribution, editorial organization and audience definition. The online service targeted approximately nine-to-fourteen-year-olds, while Ramasjang continued to serve younger children. Morten Skov Hansen, who led the Ramasjang and Ultra area during the transition, described the revised division as reflecting the point at which children typically begin engaging more substantially with the digital world, including social media and the internet. The streaming-led incarnation retained the brand's broad public-service remit. Alongside entertainment, it could provide news, educational content, factual formats and programmes addressing issues that children may find difficult or embarrassing. This remit also exposed DR Ultra to controversy. In 2020, Ultra smider tøjet presented unclothed adults with varied ages and body types to an audience of children aged eleven to thirteen. The children were encouraged to ask questions, and the programme was framed by supporters as an effort to normalize bodies and encourage openness. Critics, including Danish politician Peter Skaarup, argued that the presentation was vulgar or unsuitable for children. The dispute illustrated the editorial balancing act facing a public-service children's brand: it was expected to address real subjects candidly while maintaining standards acceptable to parents and the wider public. DR Ultra consequently evolved from a scheduled national television channel into a digital children's destination within DRTV. Its history is defined by the 2013 launch, the mid-2010s recognition that viewing habits were changing, the 2020 closure of the linear channel and the continuation of the brand online for older children and young teenagers.

• 2020

  Transition from broadcast television to DRTV

  [1]DR Ultraen.wikipedia.org

  The linear channel closes on 2 January and DR Ultra continues as an online service on DRTV, with its principal audience revised to approximately nine-to-fourteen-year-olds.

• 2018

  Linear-channel closure approved as part of cost reductions

  [1]DR Ultraen.wikipedia.org

  Cost-cutting measures at DR establish the basis for ending DR Ultra's traditional broadcast distribution.

• 2015

  Digital audience strategy becomes a priority

  [1]DR Ultraen.wikipedia.org

  DR publicly recognizes that children are increasingly using YouTube, Netflix and other digital services, prompting a stronger focus on online engagement.

• 2013

  Launch as a linear television channel

  [1]DR Ultraen.wikipedia.org

  DR Ultra begins broadcasting nationally on 4 March, replacing DR Update and initially targeting children aged roughly seven to twelve.

A Danish public-service children's brand combining entertainment, news, factual programming and age-appropriate discussion for school-age children and young teenagers, with distribution adapted from linear television to streaming.

• Television channel · 2013

  DR Ultra linear channel

  The original DR Ultra product was a nationally distributed Danish television channel launched in 2013. It broadcast daily from 06:00 to 21:00 and combined children's entertainment, news, factual programming and games. The linear service ended on 2 January 2020 as part of DR's cost reductions.

• Streaming children's media · 2020

  DR Ultra on DRTV

  The current form of the brand is an online channel and content destination within DR's DRTV streaming service. It is aimed broadly at children aged nine to fourteen and presents programmes on demand rather than through the former fixed television schedule.

• Children's news

  Ultra Nyt

  Ultra Nyt is a child-oriented news programme associated with DR Ultra. It presents current-affairs material in a format designed for younger viewers and was part of the linear channel's effort to provide public-service information alongside entertainment.

• Game show

  Kvit eller dobbelt

  Kvit eller dobbelt is a children's spin-off of a historic Danish quiz-show format. Its inclusion in DR Ultra's programming connected the channel with an established local television tradition while adapting the competition and presentation for children.

• Factual and educational programme · 2020

  Ultra smider tøjet

  Ultra smider tøjet was a programme built around children asking questions of unclothed adults representing different ages and body types. It sought to encourage openness and body acceptance, but its format generated public criticism over whether such content was appropriate for its child audience.

• 2020

  Controversy over Ultra smider tøjet

  The programme's presentation of naked adults to children aged eleven to thirteen attracted international attention and criticism. Opponents, including Danish politician Peter Skaarup, described the approach as vulgar or inappropriate, while supporters defended it as body-positivity education intended to reduce shame around bodies and taboo subjects.

  Source

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• 2020

  Reposition the audience around digital developmentStrategy

  Background

  DR reassessed the division between DR Ultra and DR Ramasjang as children's media habits changed and internet engagement became more significant at younger ages.

  Action taken

  The online DR Ultra service was oriented toward roughly nine-to-fourteen-year-olds, while Ramasjang remained focused on younger children.

  Aftermath

  The two services were differentiated less by school entry and more by the stage at which children typically begin using digital services and social media.

  Source

• 2018

  End the linear DR Ultra channelStrategy

  Background

  DR's cost-reduction programme coincided with a strategic concern that children were shifting from scheduled television toward streaming platforms, YouTube and other digital services.

  Action taken

  DR decided that the traditional DR Ultra broadcast channel would close and that the brand would continue through the DRTV streaming service.

  Aftermath

  The linear service closed on 2 January 2020. The online version broadened its target age range upward to approximately nine-to-fourteen-year-olds and became part of DR's digital children's offering.

  Source

1. 1DR Ultraen.wikipedia.org
2. 2DR Ultra official websitedr.dk