Talpa Network could lose one of its radio frequencies now that Minister Micky Adriaansens (Economic Affairs and Climate) wants to change the rules. Businesses will soon be able to have up to three FM frequencies. Mole now has four. It’s still not entirely certain: Talpa is still appealing to the court.
Businesses can sign up if they want to buy such a radio frequency and start or continue a radio station on it. Talpa Network now has four FM stations with Radio 538, Radio 10, Sky Radio and Radio Veronica. With the minister’s plans, they still lose one.
Society sees redistribution don’t sit at all and previously filed an appeal together with BNR and 100% NL. The verdict on this is December 13th. The minister does not seem to want to wait. The new permits must enter into force on 1 September 2023 and have a duration of twelve years.
Talpa Network is currently in talks with RTL to merge. This merger is not yet complete, because the Dutch Consumers and Markets Authority (ACM) has not given permission. The competition watchdog was previously thought to release a statement in October, but there now appears to be clarity before the end of the year. All RTL, SBS6, SBS9, Net5 and Veronica channels and the aforementioned radio stations would then be merged into a single company. The potential merger has been heavily criticized by advertisers, television producers and competing media outlets.
“Even newcomers have a chance”
“How, where and when people listen to music, entertainment or news has changed dramatically in twenty years due to the rise of streaming services, podcasts, social media and digital radio, for example,” says Adriaansens. “By auctioning now, we’re also giving newcomers the chance to get a permit.”
The current nine national commercial channels are 100% NL, BNR, Qmusic, Radio 10, Radio 538, Radio Veronica, Sky Radio, SLAM! and Sublime. When the permits were first issued in 2003, there were specific requirements for five of the nine permits. Under this rule, Radio Veronica also recently incurred a fine talking too much on the channel.
Cultural value
The minister has now reduced this to two specific permits: one for Dutch-language music and one for news and current affairs. According to Adriaansens, a radio station with Dutch music “has cultural value for society and promotes the production and dissemination of Dutch music”.
According to her, a news channel contributes to the development, formation of public opinion and representation of society. “Producing news (programs) is expensive, so no commercial news channel is likely to be created without stipulations.”
From Tuesday there will be a ‘consultation period’ during which the minister will talk to interested parties. According to a spokesman for the ministry, this is a concept and plans are not yet final.
