Biografia
After finishing school, he completed community service at a youth education center. Beckmann then trained as a radio and television technician at the University of Cologne, where he also studied German, theater, film, and television studies. From 1980, Beckmann worked freelance for WDR, contributing documentaries, cultural, and music pieces to the program "Aktuelle Stunde." In 1985, he joined the WDR sports department, producing TV reports by 1987. In 1988, Beckmann hosted the NDR shows "Dreizeit" and "Flic-Flac." Returning to WDR in 1989, he co-hosted "Offshow" with Helge Schneider. In 1990, Beckmann moved to private television, initially heading the sports department at "Premiere." From 1992, he worked at "SAT.1," leading the sports programming and launching football shows "ran" and "ranissimo."
In 1993, he was promoted to program director at the private broadcaster. Two years later, Beckmann developed the "SAT.1" shows "ran-Exklusiv" and "ran story." Returning to public television in 1999, he hosted ARD's Saturday evening show "Guinness - the show of records" and created the talk show "Beckmann" for "Das Erste," which he regularly hosted. Beckmann won the "Golden Camera" in 1995 and received multiple international television awards. His program "ran" was named best studio program three times by "Sport-Bild" between 1995 and 1997. During the 2000 World Cup, he showcased his live commentary skills. Alongside his TV work, Beckmann became managing partner of his production company, Beckground TV + Filmproduktion GmbH & Co. KG, Hamburg.
He also contributed as a columnist to the Hamburg weekly "Die Zeit" and "Welt am Sonntag." Beckmann was appointed host of the new ARD sports show, which aired from August 2, 2003, marking the Bundesliga's return to public television after 14 years. This revived legendary format, significant in German television and Bundesliga history from 1961 to 1991, was co-hosted by Gerhard Delling and directed by Steffen Simon. In 2005, he received the "Peter von Zahn Prize." Beckmann reported live at major sports events, including the 2004 European Football Championship, and in 2006, he commentated on the FIFA World Cup final for ARD. For his May 21, 2007 interview with Bert Dietz, he earned the German Television Prize in the "Best Moderation Information" category. In 2008, Beckmann was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit.
