On May 14, 2007, Sony announced Animax would be launching in Germany from early June 2007, becoming the country's first ever television network solely dedicated to anime programming. Animax launched in the country from June 5, 2007, on Unity Media's digital subscription television service in the regions of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse and other regions. Among the first anime series premiering on Animax Germany were ".hack//Sign", "Dragon Ball", "Earth Girl Arjuna", "Eureka Seven", "Gundam SEED", "Oh My Goddess!", "One Piece", "Record of Lodoss War", "School Rumble", "The Candidate for Goddess", "X" and numerous others. The channel later launched into Austria and Switzerland.