 At first, the program was only used as a filler on German TV. It was  shown four times between 1963 and 1972 before it finally got its now  famous regular airing on New Years Eve in 1972. It is so popular in  Germany that it is shown multiple times on New Years Eve so that  everybody can watch it, when it best fits their schedule. In 2003 it  aired a total of 19 times on different stations in Germany.