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%.
Ziggo Sport Totaal is a Dutch premium television service operated by Ziggo and owned by VodafoneZiggo, a joint venture between Liberty Global and Vodafone. Ziggo Sport Totaal launched as Sport1 with its sister service Film1 on 1 February 2006 and replaced the Canal+ Netherlands channels. Film1 was sold to Sony Pictures Television on 21 July 2015, while Sport1 remained Liberty Global-owned. At launch the service consisted of two main channels, six extra channels and one HD simulcast of the first main channel. On 2 February 2009 the number of extra channels was reduced to four. The extra channels only broadcast when necessary to live broadcast multiple sport events at the same time. The service was rebranded to Ziggo Sport Totaal on 12 November 2015.
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.
Sports broadcasting contracts in the Netherlands include:
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 edition based on the American channel 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.
Cartoon Network is a Dutch television channel which primarily airs animated programming in the Netherlands and Belgium. This version is available in the Dutch and English languages. Some providers offer the Dutch language only.
Disney Junior is a Dutch pay television block on Disney Channel and a television station for young children, owned by The Walt Disney Company. It shares its video feed with Disney Junior Scandinavia and featured an additional Dutch audio track for its viewers in the Netherlands and Flanders. It closed down in the Netherlands, but continues broadcasting in Flanders. Viewers in Wallonia, Brussels and Luxembourg receive the French version, which has the same schedule.
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.
TV 538 is a music television channel that airs music videos and live coverage of its radio broadcasts. Dutch radio station Radio 538 launched the TV channel on 4 July 2011. The channel is owned by Talpa Network. It broadcasts 24 hours a day and airs across the Netherlands.
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.
Fox Sports International was a premium television service in the Netherlands, owned by Eredivisie Media & Marketing CV and launched on 17 August 2013.
Ziggo Holding B.V. is the largest cable operator in the Netherlands, providing digital cable television, Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers.
SBS9 is a Dutch commercial television channel owned by Talpa Network through Talpa TV. The channel was launched on 1 January 2015 at 12:00 CET with a movie marathon. The channel can be received via all television providers in the Netherlands. Other channels of the group in the Netherlands are SBS6, Net5 and Veronica.
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.
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.
