The first broadcasts consisted mainly of time announcements, news, weather and stock market reports, and music.

In 1933, shortly after the Nazi seizure of power, the station was put under the control of the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda.

[3] After the Allied victory over Nazi Germany, the American military occupation government took control of the station.

[5] BR is a statutory corporation established under the Bavarian Broadcasting Law (Bayerisches Rundfunkgesetz), originally passed in 1948,[4] and updated in 1993 to take account of the demands of a changed media and political environment.

Its functions are determined by a legal foundation which lays down the principles under which the broadcaster operates and the structure of its internal organization.

In 2012, BR derived 85.3% of its income from viewer and listener licence fees, 12.6% from other sources such as product licensing and investments, and 2.1% from the sale of advertising time.

The best-known opt outs include: Except for "Scheibenwischer" (these programs have never been rebroadcast in full), all opt-outs have since been shown on BR's TV channel, Bayerisches Fernsehen, and after the introduction of satellite and internet TV Bayerischer Rundfunk no longer opts out of national broadcasts.