The radio landscape may look quite different after the summer. The requirements for the auction of FM frequencies seem particularly favorable to large parties. Smaller stations are in danger of falling victim to this.
The new distribution will take effect on September 1 and will immediately apply for no less than twelve years. Companies with deep pockets can therefore immediately take a big hit for the long term.
“Especially for smaller channels, that duration is much too long,” says radio expert Evert Bronkhorst of media agency Abovo Media.
“The majority of the millions they pay for an FM frequency for twelve years, they have to tap off immediately this year. Those amounts are no problem for larger players.”
Bronkhorst therefore considers it quite likely that new radio stations will be on the air by September and that international parties will also participate. They have until April 4 to register.
Auction is the result of a lawsuit filed by KINK
Initially, the cabinet wanted to extend the licenses for national FM frequencies without an auction, but radio station KINK did not accept this. KINK started proceedings on the merits and the court ruled in favor: newcomers should also be given a fair chance at an FM frequency.
Minister Micky Adriaansens of Economic Affairs then announced an auction after all. Her ministry expects to raise at least 73.7 million euros, despite protests.
Who has a chance of (more) FM frequencies? Talpa is certainly not happy
Currently, the frequencies are allocated to Radio 10, Radio 538, Radio Veronica, Sky Radio, Qmusic, 100% NL, SLAM!, BNR and Sublime. Parties with two ‘lots’ (FM packages) are subject to the condition that one channel must play Dutch music and the other must be a news channel. The other FM packages can be completed ‘freely’.
It is already clear that Talpa Network, owner of Radio 10, Radio 538, Radio Veronica and Sky Radio, will in any case lose one FM station in September. Adriaansens has limited the number of FM frequencies per company to three.
Bronkhorst: “Talpa wants to get hold of those three FM frequencies anyway. Radio 10 is doing very well, Sky Radio still generates a lot of advertising income and is cheap. Radio 538 is currently a problem child, but also Talpa’s flagship. Radio Veronica is the smallest transmitter and relatively expensive.”
DPG would like to add at least one channel in addition to Qmusic
Candidates are not allowed to respond during the auction procedure. There are different names floating around. For example, DPG Media (publisher of, among others ADNU.nl and radio station Qmusic) want at least two, but perhaps even three FM stations.
“With the budget that DPG Media has, I expect them to go for the maximum,” says Bronkhorst. “In any case, in addition to Qmusic, also Joe, with whom DPG can already be heard on FM in the Randstad. It was a non-stop station, but presentation was recently added.”
It seems less likely that DPG has plans for a news channel at the place where BNR now broadcasts. “It is very expensive to set up such a channel from scratch.”
Mediahuis, RTL and Spotify may also bid
Another candidate for more FM frequencies is Mediahuis, the publisher of The Telegraph in NRC. Mediahuis is building a large audio branch. It already has a station on FM with Sublime, but will want to add something to it. For example, Mediahuis has a share in hit station NRJ and is doing well in Belgium with the channel Nostalgie. “That is the third commercial channel in Belgium. In the Netherlands, the comparable NPO Radio 5 is doing very well without FM.”
Other parties mentioned are major international players such as Global (which is already involved in outdoor advertising in the Netherlands) and Bauer Media. But Spotify must also be taken into account, says Bronkhorst. “That would want to be a little broader in audio.”
RTL could also participate. RTL does not currently own a radio station in the Netherlands, but RTL has a successful radio business abroad. “The question is what RTL will do after the collapse of the merger with Talpa. If DPG Media comes into the picture again, RTL will automatically receive additional radio stations.”
KINK itself could very well go wrong
And what about KINK, the channel to which the auction is due? KINK is certainly not the party with the deepest pockets and could very well go wrong. A takeover of KINK by one of the parties with a larger budget is therefore not excluded, according to Bronkhorst.
Interested parties can register for an FM frequency until April 4, after which the ministry will assess the applications. In the summer we will then know which stations can be heard on the FM frequencies for the next twelve years.
