Arte (/ɑːrˈteɪ/, French pronunciation: [aʁte], German: [ˈa⁠ʁ⁠tə]; Association relative à la télévision européenne (Association relating to European television), sometimes stylised in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture.

In the same year, the chairmanship of the General Assembly of ARTE EEIG was taken by Tom Buhrow, President of Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) and Chairman of the German association of public broadcasters ARD.

[5] Arte was initiated as a symbol of Franco-German friendship and had been championed since 1988 by French President François Mitterrand and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl.

[5] Arte began transmissions in 1992, filling frequencies left unused by the demise of La Cinq, the first French commercial television network (created in 1986).

A public channel called Télé Emploi occupied the French frequencies for about a month in 1994, before the start of La Cinquième (now France 5) in December that year.

In 2007 the online catch-up service ARTE+7 was launched and offers free access to a broad range of programs within seven days of their original transmission.

Broadcasting Center Europe (BCE), a subsidiary of RTL Group and located in Luxembourg (formerly known as CLT-UFA and before its merger with UFA, the Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Télédiffusion), provides most of the technical services for Arte.

[12] In April 2016 Arte co-produced, (with Astra satellite owner, SES) a live Ultra-high-definition television broadcast of the Le Corsaire ballet from the Vienna State Opera.

[13] In July 2016, the Italian public broadcaster RAI Com signed a partnership agreement with Arte to collaborate on coproductions and programme acquisitions.

In Africa Arte is broadcast via satellite, cable and MMDS, and in many other countries via the digital service CanalSat Horizons.

In Germany, widespread cable and satellite penetration meant the vast majority of German households had access to about three dozen channels, including several from public broadcasters with content similar to that seen on Arte.

They include feature films, documentaries and documentary cinema covering topics such as social affairs, the arts, history, nature and science, series, short and TV films, music and theatre performances, magazine shows, reportage and news, and web-based formats.

Initial it was a catch-up service, allowing viewers to watch ARTE programmes up to seven days after they were broadcast on television.

Arte Extra provides four "smart playlists" related to different topics such as society, discovery and music which are put together from programmes available on arte.tv.

These might be Arte co-productions or recordings by partners, including major venues and independent companies, festivals, and autonomous artists, producers and websites.

Apart from plays and concerts, it also offers backstage reports, exclusive interviews with performers and key figures at various festivals, and extracts from dress rehearsals.

The livestreaming platform United We Stream was launched in 2020 in response to the closure of venues due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Every day DJs and concerts are streamed live from empty clubs to audiences around the world in partnership with a wide range of performers.