Publieke Omroep

Publieke Omroep is the Dutch broadcasting company that is responsible for the Dutch TV Channels Nederland 1, Nederland 2 & Nederland 3. Unlike other public broadcasters like the BBC, ARD, or France Télévisions, Pubileke Omroep is run by member-based non-profit broadcasting organizations. The number of hours each broadcaster gets correspond to number of members in each organization (except NOS & NPS). This makes the organization give a voice to each member group in the multicultural diversity that is Dutch society. Since 2000, it is financed by advertisements rather than a television licence.

In alphabetical order, the public broadcasting organizations with members are:

• AVRO (Algemeene Vereeniging Radio Omroep): One of the oldest broadcasters. The aim is secular and for the general public. web (http://central.avro.nl/index.asp)

• BNN, (Bart's Neverending Network, formerly Bart's News Network): Recently founded public broadcaster. Aimed at teenagers and young people in general. Lots of pop culture and sometimes goes for shock value. web (http://www.omroep.nl/bnn)

• EO (Evangelische Omroep): Protestant Christian Evangelical broadcaster. Has a religious orientation in its broadcasting of a strong evangelical nature. web (http://www.eo.nl/home/html/home.jsp)

• KRO (Katholieke Radio Omroep): Catholic broadcaster. Has predominantly non-religious programming and tends to be liberal. web (http://www.kro.nl/overdekro/index.asp)

• NCRV (Nederlandse Christelijke Radio Vereniging): The main Protestant broadcaster. Has predominantly non-religious programming and tends to be liberal. web (http://info.omroep.nl/ncrv/home?nav=ijcgFsHtGPJqK)

• TROS (Televisie Radio Omroep Stichting): A general broadcaster with a focus on entertainment. web (http://www.trosweb.nl). One of the broadcaster's most famous programmes is Dit was het nieuws ("This was the news"), the Dutch version of Have I Got News For You, presented by Harm Edens.

• VARA (Verenigde Arbeiders Radio Amateurs): Large broadcaster with a left-wing labour oriented background. web (http://www.omroep.nl/vara)

• VPRO (Vrijzinnig Protestantse Radio Omroep): Quirky, independently minded broadcaster with a (very) liberal protestant background. Lots of original cultural programming of an intellectual nature. web (http://www.vpro.nl)

Apart from these eight major broadcasters, (a small amount of) airtime is given to smaller organizations, which represent religions, have educational programs, or received airtime for other reasons. The amount of broadcasting time for the "religious" broadcasting organizations is assigned roughly proportional to the number of members they have.

• BOS (Boeddhistische Omroep Stichting): A small Buddhist broadcaster. web (http://www.omroep.nl/boeddhistischeomroep/)

• DNO (De Nieuwe Omroep) :make televisions about subjects like the environment and human rights

• Humanistische Omroep: A small broadcaster dedicated to secular Humanism. web (http://www.humanistischeomroep.nl/hos/html/front/index.jsp)

• IKON (Interkerkelijke Omroep Nederland): A small broadcaster representing a diverse set of nine Christian churches. web (http://www.omroep.nl/ikon/)

• NIKmedia (Nederlands-Israëlitisch Kerkgenootschap): Dutch-Jewish broadcaster. web (http://www.omroep.nl/nikmedia/)

• NMO (Nederlandse Moslim Omroep): Small Islamic broadcaster. web (http://www.omroep.nl/nmo/)

• OHM (Organisatie Hindoe Media): Small Hindu broadcaster. web (http://www.ohmnet.nl/)

• Omroep MAX: aimed at the over 50's

• OF (Omrop Fryslân): Regional broadcaster from the province of Friesland, which also receives a small amount of airtime on national television to broadcast programs in Frisian, the second official language of the Netherlands. web (http://www.omropfryslan.nl/)

• RKK: (Rooms-Katholiek Kerkgenootschap). Small Roman Catholic broadcaster, actual programming produced by the KRO. Roman Catholic events and services on television are broadcast by the RKK. web (http://www.katholieknederland.nl/index.html)

• RVU (Radio Volks Universiteit): Small educational broadcaster with a non-secular non-ideological nature. web (http://www.rvu.nl/rvu.php?n=50&PHPSESSID=ab808ff7f922a69f85ad897d06adbd9b)

• PP (Zendtijd voor Politieke partijen): Small broadcaster that broadcasts commercials of political parties represented in the Dutch parliament.

• TELEAC/NOT (Televisie-academie/Nederlandse Onderwijs Televisie): Larger educational broadcaster. Produces courses on television and television for schools. web (http://www.teleacnot.nl/index.jsp)

• ZvK (Zendtijd voor Kerken): Small broadcaster that broadcasts church services from some smaller protestant churches. web (http://www.omroep.nl/zvk)

And finally, there are two public special broadcasting organizations, which don't have any members.

• NOS (Nederlandse Omroep Stichting): Focused on news, parliamentary reporting, sports. Aims to be objective and does the "Journaal", the main (evening) news on the public channels. Coordinates the other public broadcasters and make the teletext pages. web (http://www.omroep.nl/nos/noshome/index.html)

• NPS (Nederlandse Programma Stichting): This used to be part of the NOS but split off in 1995. Produces cultural, informative, youth and minority-oriented television. Produces the Dutch version of "Sesame Street". web (http://www.omroep.nl/nps/overnps/)

History

Public broadcasting in the Netherlands has been since the very beginning in the early 1920s split up into different companies. Because the Dutch society is very heterogeneous each group wanted to have its own broadcasting company. At first there was the AVRO, which discovered the medium radio and started the first broadcastings. Not much later, the protestants started their own company, NCRV, to broadcast religious programmes. The catholics quickly followed and started the KRO. The socialists, traditionally less religious, also created a broadcasting company, called VARA. Lastly, the progressive protestants also wanted to broadcast and started the VPRO. Each company was targeted at a specific group of the population, called pillar (zuil in Dutch). Each group was faithful to its broadcasting company, for a protestant to listen to KRO programming was simply not done.

This closed system soon became to small for the newly invented medium television, and a solution had to be found to allow more companies to broadcast their programmes. In 1969, the first broadcast company not bound to a certain religion or group, TROS, made its debut. Times had changed since the beginnings of radio, companies started making programmes for everyone, and not only for their target group. It was no longer a sin to listen to or watch programmes from other companies.

Since the open system any company can become a broadcasting company and get radio and tv airtime. The only thing required is to request an official status from the government and to have enough members. Broadcast companies in the Netherlands still have to make sure every year they have enough members to keep their official status, and most of them sell tv-guides or other magazines and make every subscriber a member of their organization.

Many people question if the current system is still applicable to this age of digital radio and tv. There are plans to change the way broadcast companies are selected, and completely abolish the member-based system. However, currently the system is still the way it always has been, and a new system will probably only make its appearance in several years.

Other Dutch TV channels

Since 1992 the Netherlands also allows commercial broadcasters, before 1992 commercial television was only allowed on Dutch television when the channel was not based in the Netherlands, therefore RTL4 and RTL5 are officially Luxembourg television channels.

• RTL Nederland: (http://www.rtl.nl/) RTL4 (http://www.rtl4.nl/), RTL5 (http://www.rtl5.nl/), Yorin (http://www.yorin.nl/)

• SBS Broadcasting: (http://www.sbsnet.nl/) SBS6 (http://www.sbs6.nl/), NET5 (http://www.net5.nl/), Veronica (http://www.veronica.nl/)

• MTV Networks (Viacom): MTV, TMF, The Box, Nickelodeon

• Discovery: Discovery Channel, Animal Planet (in collaboration with the BBC)nl:Publieke Omroep (Nederland)