The Dutch public broadcasting system is a set of organizations that together take care of public service television and radio broadcasting in the Netherlands. It is composed of a foundation called Nederlandse Publieke Omroep (NPO), 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 Board of Directors of NPO.
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. A wide range of broadcasting organisations of the Publieke Omroep deliver programs. A wide variety of programs is broadcast on the channel, usually for larger audiences. In 2018, it was the most viewed channel in the Netherlands, reaching a market share of 22.0%.
NPO 3 is the third and youngest of the terrestrial television channels operated by the Dutch public-broadcasting organization NPO in the Netherlands and carries programmes provided by member-based non-profit broadcasting associations. It is oriented towards children, youth and innovative television.
NPO 2 is a Dutch television channel, sister channel of NPO 1 and NPO 3. It was established on 1 October 1964 at 20:00, initially with a 2.5 hours schedule until 22:30.
Nederland 24 was the collective name for a number of specialty television channels from the Dutch public broadcasting system. It also broadcasts a sample channel of the same name featuring a mix of programming from the other thematic channels. A couple of these specialty channel are still available, but are now fully under the wings of the NPO.
NPO Zapp is the Dutch children's block from the NPO on NPO 3 that launched as Z@pp on 4 September 2005. Since September 2005, Zappelin has been the name of a block for young children. The @ in the name of the channel was removed on 10 September 2012. On 12 March 2013, the NPO announced that Zapp and Zappelin would be renamed as NPO Zapp and NPO Zappelin. The reason for this change is to make the channels and its programmes more recognizable. The rebranding completed on 19 August 2014. Together with NPO Zappelin it forms a channel called NPO Zappelin Xtra, available online and part of bonus packages.
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.
NPO Zappelin is a Dutch television program block for younger children that launched as Z@ppelin in September 2000. Before Z@ppelin, the programmes were scheduled on all three public channels. On 4 September 2005, Z@ppelin became a channel for children aged 2–6 years. The @ in the name of the channel was dropped on 10 September 2012. On 12 March 2013, the NPO announced that Zapp and Zappelin would be renamed as NPO Zapp and NPO Zappelin. The reason for this change is to make the channels and its programmes more recognizable. The rebranding completed on 19 August 2014. Together with NPO Zapp it broadcasts on NPO 3 during daytime. It is also part of the 24-hour children's channel NPO Zappelin Xtra.
Film1 is a Dutch premium television and video on demand service that replaced Canal+ and is owned by SPI International.
NPO 3 Extra was a Dutch digital theme channel of Dutch public broadcaster BNNVARA, which has been broadcasting since 31 October 2006. The channel could be received via the Internet, as well as digital theme channel via a decoder to the TV. On 10 March 2014, the channel was renamed by NPO 101, before it was called 101 TV.
NPO 1 Extra is a television channel jointly operated by Dutch public broadcasters AVROTROS, BNNVARA, EO, KRO-NCRV and MAX. It was originally launched as HilversumBest on 1 December 2006. NPO 1 Extra presents highlights of more than sixty years of Dutch television history. The channel was founded by Han Peekel.
NPO Humor TV was a digital theme channel of the Netherlands Public Broadcasting dedicated to comedy, cabaret and satire. The channel started as Humor TV on 15 November 2006. On 10 March 2014, Humor TV 24 changed its name to NPO Humor TV. By cuts in public broadcasting NPO Humor TV would stop broadcasting on 1 July 2016.
NPO Nieuws is a 24-hour news channel operated by the NOS, the public broadcaster which supplies news and sports to all national public television and radio networks. NOS also provides programming for the political channel, NPO Politiek.
NPO Politiek is a public television channel operated by the NOS, the public broadcaster which supplies news and sports to all national public television and radio networks. Programmes come live from The Hague, when the parliament is in session. In the summertime when the parliament is not in session the NPO Politiek channel changes into NPO Sport, also supplied by NOS. On 10 March 2014, Politiek 24 changed its name into NPO Politiek.
NPO Zappelin Extra is a digital theme TV channel jointly operated by AVROTROS, EO, KRO-NCRV, NTR and VPRO. The TV channel launched as Zappelin 24 on 30 May 2009. It broadcasts replays and broadcasts from NPO Zapp and NPO Zappelin, via the cable and internet. The TV channel is part of the Nederlandse Publieke Omroep. On 10 March 2014, Z@ppelin / Z@pp 24 changed its name into NPO Zapp Xtra.
Stingray Brava was a cultural television channel originated in the Netherlands, owned by the Stingray Group in Canada. The programming consisted of opera, ballet, and concertos. Productions were recorded in opera houses such as the Royal Opera House, the Teatro Real, and La Scala. The productions consisted of stage performances such as La bohème, Otello, Aida, Swan Lake, Tosca, Zoroastre and Così fan tutte.
NPO Sport is a Dutch sports channel owned by the Nederlandse Publieke Omroep (NPO) and operated by Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS). First launched on 19 July 2009, the channel carries sports programming. It is carried in the channel space of NPO Politiek during the summer months when the legislature is not in session.
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.
Ziggo Sport is a sports television channel in the Netherlands, operated by Ziggo owned by VodafoneZiggo. It is only available for Ziggo subscribers and broadcasts a variety of sports with a focus on major sporting events, a weekly talk show called "Peptalk", and sports related films and documentaries. It also has a paid counterpart, Ziggo Sport Totaal, which can also be received by non-Ziggo subscribers. The channel started with a repeating promotional film on 2 November 2015 and officially launched on 12 November 2015.
