The Dutch public broadcasting system is a group of organizations that are responsible for public service television and radio broadcasting in the Netherlands. It is composed of the Nederlandse Publieke Omroep (NPO) foundation, which acts as its governing body, and a number of public broadcasters. The Dutch Media Act 2008 regulates how air time is divided and puts the administration of the public broadcasting system in the hands of the NPO Board of Directors.
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.
RTL Lëtzebuerg is the main television channel in Luxembourg, broadcasting in Luxembourgish. It is part of RTL Group.
VTM or Vlaamse Televisie Maatschappij is the main commercial television station in Flanders and forms part of a network of channels owned by DPG Media.
Veronica is a Dutch free-to-cable commercial television channel currently a part of Talpa TV. The channel was launched as TV10 Gold on 1 May 1995, then became TV10, Fox, Fox 8 and V8, before becoming Veronica on 20 September 2003. The channel is dedicated to young adults and the male audience.
Warner Bros. DiscoveryEurope, Middle East&Africa(EMEA) is a division of Warner Bros. Discovery. The division is responsible for managing the collection of their cable and satellite networks around the Europe, Middle East and Africa regions.
Proximus TV, subsidiary of the Belgacom Group, provides Digital TV (IPTV) services over its own IPTV Platform in Belgium. It was launched in the summer of 2005.
Canal+ Group is a French media and telecommunications conglomerate. It is owned and controlled by Vivendi and has a film library in excess of 5,000 films. It is headquartered in Issy-les-Moulineaux, in the suburbs of Paris. It has operations in France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Poland, Romania, Hungary, in the Czech Republic, Myanmar, Vietnam, and in 23 African countries.
The Dutch version of the original United States television channel, broadcasting free-to-cable in the Netherlands and through satellite in Belgium, was launched on 14 July 2003. In addition to the general Nickelodeon programmes, original productions such as ZOOP, Het Huis Anubis, and SuperNick are also broadcast. The Dutch Kids' Choice Awards were presented in three years, featuring nominees that are relevant to Dutch audiences. In 2010, the US Kids' Choice Awards aired, which included categories for the Netherlands and Belgium inserted into the broadcast.
KidsCo was an international children's television channel founded and owned by a joint-venture between Corus Entertainment, DIC Entertainment, and Sparrowhawk Media Group in April 2007. By the end of 2007, Sparrowhawk was purchased by media conglomerate NBC Universal, thus giving the company its share in the brand. In June 2008, DiC Entertainment was acquired by Cookie Jar Group, thus also having a stake. In May 2012, Cookie Jar's minority shares in KidsCo were brought by NBCUniversal and Corus, which saw NBCUniversal become majority shareholder with a 51% share while Corus obtained a 43.8% share.
Television in Belgium was introduced in 1953 and began with one channel each in Dutch and French. The country is heavily cabled, with 93% of households watching television through cable as of 2003.
Paramount International Networks (PIN) is the international sibling division of Paramount Global’s Paramount Media Networks subsidiary. The division oversees the production, broadcasting and promotion of key Paramount brands outside of the United States. These brands include Paramount Network, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, BET and Colors TV, as well as CBS-branded channels, which are co-owned with AMC Networks International. PIN also owned a 30% stake in the Rainbow S.p.A. animation studio in Italy until 2023, as well as a 13.01% stake in an Indian joint venture with domestic partner TV18, Viacom18.
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.
"Düm Tek Tek" is a song by Belgian-Turkish singer Hadise that was performed as the Turkish entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow, Russia.
Friday TV creates and distributes television formats. Friday TV also provides production and consulting services to television production companies and broadcasters worldwide.
Comedy Central is a Dutch pay television channel based on the American channel of the same name. The channel is available on cable, digital terrestrial, IPTV, and satellite operators in the Netherlands. It broadcasts many imports as well as original programming.
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.
Eurosport 1 is a television sports network channel which is a division of Eurosport and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Discovery took a 20% minority interest share in December 2012, and became majority shareholder in the Eurosport venture with TF1 in January 2014, taking a 51% share of the company, On 22 July 2015 Discovery agreed to acquire TF1's remaining 49% stake in the venture.
Belgium participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool, United Kingdom, with the song "Because of You" performed by Gustaph. The Belgian entry for the 2023 contest was selected through the national final Eurosong 2023, organised by the Flemish broadcaster Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie (VRT). The competition featured seven competing acts and consisted of five songclub shows and a final. In the final on 14 January 2023, "Because of You" performed by Gustaph was selected as the winner via the votes of a fifteen-member jury panel and a public vote.
