Television in the Netherlands was officially introduced in 1951. In the Netherlands, the television market is divided between a number of commercial networks, such as RTL Nederland, and a system of public broadcasters sharing three channels, NPO 1, NPO 2, and NPO 3. Imported programmes, as well as news interviews with responses in a foreign language, are almost always shown in their original language, with subtitles.
NPO 1 is the first national television station in the Netherlands. It launched on 2 October 1951. It provides public broadcasting and currently exists next to sister channels NPO 2 and NPO 3. Several broadcasting organisations of the Publieke Omroep deliver a wide variety of programs for the channel, usually for larger audiences. In 2018, it was the most viewed channel in the Netherlands, reaching a market share of 22.0%.
Syfy was a Dutch-language pay television channel service specialising in science fiction, fantasy, and horror shows and movies. The channel launched in 2007 as a sister channel to the US Sci Fi Channel, with a similar programming line-up. Syfy operated as a channel service of Universal Networks International, a division of NBCUniversal.
The Netherlands now has three major forms of broadcast digital television. Terrestrial (DVB-T), Cable (DVB-C), and Satellite (DVB-S). In addition IPTV services are available. At the end of the first quarter of 2013 almost 84% of the households in the Netherlands had some form of digital television.
Discovery World is a former European pay television channel which featured programming in the fields of travel, culture and history. It used to be a pan-European television channel. Discovery World offered a mix of history, culture, real-life stories, investigation, mystery shows, factual series and documentaries. At time of closure its programming was mainly in English and subtitled in Dutch.
Fox Sports Eredivisie was a Dutch premium television service owned by Eredivisie Media & Marketing CV in which Fox Networks Group Benelux has 51% share. The football clubs together with Endemol own 49%. There were 3 channels available and all were part of the Fox Sports (Netherlands) premium network. Fox Sports Eredivisie held the exclusive rights for the live matches of the Eredivisie, the highest national football division.
MTV Nederland en België is a Dutch speaking free-to-cable television channel broadcasting in the Netherlands. It launched as MTV NL on 12 September 2000. Before the start of country-specific channels, the Pan-European version of MTV aired in the Netherlands.
Disney Channel is the Dutch version of the same name owned by the Walt Disney Company. The channel is broadcasting free-to-cable, and all content is dubbed in Dutch. The channel features a mix of original sitcoms, teen drama series, animation movies and original movies. English audio is also available on the operators Ziggo, Canal Digitaal, TV Vlaanderen, Caiway, Proximus and Telenet. There are two different versions with local advertisements. While currently not using a slogan, the tagline 'Dat moet je meemaken!' has been used in the past.
Discovery Channel is a Dutch free-to-cable television channel airing in the Netherlands. Its primary target is men aged 25–39. It launched on 12 April 2003.
Cartoon Network is a Dutch television channel which primarily airs animated programming in the Netherlands and Belgium. This version of the American counterpart available in the Dutch and English languages. Some providers offer the Dutch language only.
Disney XD is a Dutch children's television channel owned by The Walt Disney Company. It broadcasts 14 hours a day, time-sharing with Dutch TV station Veronica, and is primarily aimed at children roughly between the ages of 7 and 15. The channel used to have a pay television 24-hour feed that was distributed throughout the Netherlands and Belgium (Flanders); however, it was closed down on 31 July 2018. Viewers in Belgium (Wallonia) and Luxembourg received Disney XD France, until that feed was later shut down in 2020.
National Geographic is a Dutch free-to-cable television channel that features documentaries produced by the National Geographic Society. It features some programming similar to that on the Discovery such as nature, science, culture, and history documentaries. The channel launched in the Netherlands in 1998 and initially time shared with CNBC Europe. It was later launched worldwide including in Asia and the United States. Today, the channel is available in over 145 countries, seen in more than 160 million homes and in 25 languages.
National Geographic Wild is a Pan-European pay television channel that features documentaries produced by the National Geographic Society. It features documentaries about nature, wildlife, natural phenomenon, and earth. The channel replaced Adventure One in Europe on 1 March 2007.
MTV Brand New was a 24-hour specialist music channel featuring new music videos, alternative and indie music available in the Netherlands. An Italian version of the channel launched on September 14, 2003. It also launched in Germany in 2011.
Fox Sports International was a premium television service in the Netherlands, owned by Eredivisie Media & Marketing CV and launched on 17 August 2013.
ONS is a Dutch commercial television channel owned by Bureauvijftig, which is dedicated to viewers aged 50 years or older. ONS's main target is the older audience. ONS airs footage from the forties to the eighties. Each month a specific theme is on the channel. Topics such as the Dutch East Indies, Netherlands Waterland, railroads, mills, work, food and household are broadcast. The channel launched as NostalgieNet on 1 January 2006 and changed its name into ONS on 13 September 2015. On 1 January 2020, Bureauvijftig took over ONS from Just Media Group. ONS is available in HD through Ziggo since 10 February 2022.
Paramount Network is a Dutch free-to-cable television channel in the Netherlands, based on the American rebranded Paramount Network. The television channels launched as Spike on 1 October 2015. It was the third Spike channel next to the US and UK version of the channel. The television channel aimed at an audience of mainly men. Initially it only broadcast daily between 21:00 and 2:30, time-sharing with Nickelodeon. As of 12 December 2016 the channel is broadcasting 24 hours a day in the Netherlands. Until 6 January 2021, the channel was also available in Flanders. On 24 May 2022, the channel was renamed by Paramount Network.
The 2018–19 Eerste Divisie, known as Keuken Kampioen Divisie for sponsorship reasons, was the sixty-third season of Eerste Divisie since its establishment in 1955. It began in August 2018 and ended in May 2019 with the returns of the finals of the promotion/relegation play-offs, involving also the 16th- and 17th-placed teams from the 2018–19 Eredivisie.
RTL Crime is a Dutch pay television channel dedicated to television crime and reality series. It first launched on 27 November 2006 in Germany and on 1 September 2011 in the Netherlands. It is owned by RTL Group. It replaced MisdaadNet that was owned by Endemol. RTL Crime features a Dutch/English audio track with Dutch subtitles.
The 2019–20 Eerste Divisie, known as Keuken Kampioen Divisie for sponsorship reasons, was the sixty-fourth season of Eerste Divisie since its establishment in 1955. It began in August 2019 with the first matches of the season and was scheduled to end in May 2020 with the finals of the promotion/relegation play-offs, also involving the 16th-placed team from the 2019–20 Eredivisie. The season was temporarily halted in March 2020, then postponed for several weeks and later abandoned altogether due to the global COVID-19 pandemic and consequent Dutch government decision to disallow all large-scale events until 1 September 2020.
