Golden Years TV

"There is no television for that target audience," the 66-year old Schautzer said in an interview with the daily Handelsblatt newspaper.

"Of course (the national broadcasters) ARD and ZDF offer shows for older audiences," Schautzer said. "But unlike us, they aren't permitted to show any advertisements after eight o'clock at night."

A prominent entertainer and host, Schautzer has worked in television for more than four decades. He will hold 40 percent of Bono TV.

The digital canal will be broadcast over satellite.

Difficult market to break into

Germany's national television ARD is skeptical about the project. According to the Handelsblatt, an ARD spokesperson said tapping into the over 50s market with a digital station would be a "hard business."

"It is precisely elderly people that still have analog receivers," the ARD spokesperson said.

Bono TV intends to start broadcasting daily with a 12-hour program block that is to be repeated twice a day. The station's base has not yet been decided.

Schautzer's partner, Sven Eggert, told the Handelsblatt that the annual running costs for full programming would be 50 million euros.

Germany has around 30 million people over 50 years old, and on average pensioners watch television for nearly five hours a day -- 80 minutes more than the average German.