RTL Nederland

Last updated
RTL Nederland Holding B.V.
FormerlyHolland Media Group (1996-2004)
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Media
PredecessorRTL 4 SA (1990-1996)
Founded1 September 1996;28 years ago (1996-09-01)
Headquarters
Hilversum
,
Netherlands
Areas served
Key people
Sven Sauvé (CEO)
Brands
Parent RTL Group (1996-2025)
DPG Media (2025-present)
Divisions Ad Alliance
Website Official website

RTL Nederland is a Dutch media network, a subsidiary of DPG Media. The media company is located in Hilversum, although the licences of its TV stations are issued in Luxembourg.

Contents

History

Early years

The history of the network dates back to 1989 when Dutch-minded RTL-Véronique started airing from Luxembourg. At the time commercial television was prohibited in The Netherlands, but by airing from Luxembourg the law could be bypassed. In the beginning, the channel only focused on youth, this changed in 1990 when an agreement was made with Joop van den Ende – whose own commercial channel TV10 failed due to the same law – and the name of the channel was changed into RTL 4. In 1993 a second channel was created named RTL 5. [1]

Creation of HMG and regulatory problems

In 1995, the two channels were merged in a new joint venture with Veronica Association, until then part of the Dutch public broadcasting system. The new joint venture was named Holland Media Group (HMG) and consisted of RTL 4, RTL 5, Veronica, and the radio station HitRadio Veronica. A supply contract with Endemol was also signed, which enabled the continuation of its production to other channels, including TROS slots on the public channels. The three channels took on a more "complementary" approach. [2]

The merger caused HMG to control three television channels, but Veronica's entry led to the auctioning of RTL 5 by the European Commission, in order to curb on its dominance of the Dutch commercial television landscape, violating EU competition regulations. [3] Moreover, the creation of HMG could not be ratified unless RTL 5 could be sold and Endemol's share could be reduced to a "symbolic" level. [4]

In 1997, HMG had an ambitious plan to enter the Surinamese market. The goal was to launch a pay channel in Suriname featuring content from RTL 4 and Veronica and that would be available as a subscription satellite service. At the time, the only pay-TV company in Suriname was a small 16-channel service broadcasting mainly US-made films and shows. [5]

From 1997 till 1998 HMG participated in TV10, together with Saban, but sold its share to Fox. [6] The joint-venture existed until 2001 when the Veronica Association left, leaving their channel and radio station behind, but because they took the trademark the channel and radio station were renamed Yorin. [7] On 6 August 2003, the Dutch Supreme Court ruled out that RTL 4 and RTL 5 would continue under Luxembourgish regulations. If the two channels were brought under Dutch law, the group would, according to the Media Authority, earn more money, but would be subject to strict Dutch advertising laws regarding product placement and commercial breaks, similar to the laws used by the public system. [8]

Becoming RTL Nederland

The company changed its name from Holland Media Group to RTL Nederland in 2004. In 2005, Yorin was renamed again this time to RTL 7. However, the intended plan to strip Yorin of its Dutch license, bringing Yorin under Luxembourgish laws, put RTL Nederland in hot water again. Although the channels still had a more "liberal" Luxembourgish license, the channels have always abided to Dutch advertising rules. [9]

That same year, it announced its plan to produce Dutch feature films for theatrical circuits. [10] [11] In 2006 the Yorin radio station was sold to SBS Broadcasting. [12]

In 2006, with the growth of widescreen television set ownership in the Netherlands, RTL announced that its three channels would start broadcasting in widescreen from 1 January 2007. [13] This was later delayed to 1 June 2007. [14]

Entrance of John de Mol

As of August 2007, the group entered into a new joint venture with John de Mol, whose own commercial channel was failing at the time. RTL Nederland acquired the channel and Radio 538, John de Mol's Talpa Media Holding would acquire 26,3% of the shares in RTL Nederland. The acquired channel was renamed RTL 8 that same month. In 2011 John de Mol was forced by the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets to sell his share in RTL Nederland when he and Sanoma acquired competitor SBS Broadcasting, taking with him the radio stations Radio 538, Radio 10 Gold and SLAM!FM. [15]

Sale to DPG Media

In December 2022, it was announced that the RTL Group was considering selling its Dutch TV station RTL Nederland. After merger plans failed in 2023, it was officially announced in December that RTL Group was selling RTL Nederland for 1.1 billion euros to DPG Media. [16] The sale is currently awaiting approval from Dutch authorities and is scheduled to be closed by mid-2024. [17]

On June 27, it was announced by the Dutch Competition Authority, ACM that the sale of RTL Nederland had been given the green light to DPG Media, thus retaining the "RTL" brand as part of a separate trademark agreement until December 2034. The acquisition was completed July 1, 2025. [18]

Acquisitions

Over the years the group acquired several other companies, including Wentik Events(2010, renamed to RTL Live Entertainment), Bright(2015), Buienradar(2011), Videoland(2013), Adfactor(2017), BrandDeli(2018), Triade Media(2015).

Failed merger with Talpa

After John de Mol raised his stake in SBS Broadcasting in 2017 to full ownership he sought a partnership with RTL Nederland. In his opinion there wasn't enough space for two major Dutch commercial television networks in the changed media landscape, RTL shut down his offer. [19] However in June 2021 RTL Nederland and Talpa Network announced plans for a merger, pending approval by the European Commission and the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets. In the new conglomerate, RTL Nederland is to hold 70% of the shares and Talpa 30%. [20] Talpa Entertainment Productions and Talpa Concepts won't be a part of the merger. Both parties reasoned that a merger was the only solution to an ever-growing presence of foreign media parties, giving space to a single commercial Dutch media company that's capable of producing specifically for the Dutch market. Critics however claimed that the failure of Talpa Network is the reason behind the merger. [21] In January 2022 the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets stated that it could not approve the merger as of yet and that further investigation to the consequences of price, quality, and innovation is necessary. [22] On 30 January 2023 the Authority announced that it would not approve the merger, citing that the merged company would become too powerful. [23]

Assets

RTL 4 logo RTL4 2023.svg
RTL 4 logo
Videoland by RTL logo Videoland.png
Videoland by RTL logo

Television

Streaming catchup and Video on Demand services

Other

References

  1. ↑ TAN, SHUCHEN (1993-10-01). "'De adverteerder moet gaan denken: RTL 5, dat past bij ons produkt'". Trouw (in Dutch). Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  2. ↑ Dutch Channel Ready To Go
  3. ↑ EC set to block Dutch TV venture
  4. ↑ SBS set to bid on RTL 5 web
  5. ↑ HMG hatches Latin plan
  6. ↑ "HMG stoot kwakkelende zender TV 10 af". Trouw (in Dutch). 1998-03-21. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  7. ↑ verslaggever, Van onze (2000-03-14). "Veronica verlaat Holland Media Groep". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  8. ↑ Holland Media Group under fire
  9. ↑ Static over RTL control
  10. ↑ "Veel winst makend RTL ook in speelfilms". Villa Media (in Dutch).
  11. ↑ "RTL betaalt mee aan nieuwe speelfilms". NRC Handelsblad (in Dutch). 10 March 2005.
  12. ↑ "HMG voortaan als RTL Nederland door het leven". NU (in Dutch). 2004-07-16. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  13. ↑ RTL zenders vanaf 2007 volledig in breedbeeld
  14. ↑ RTL volledig in breedbeeld
  15. ↑ ANP/Redactie (2011-07-28). "RTL Group koopt John de Mol uit". Het Parool (in Dutch). Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  16. ↑ "RTL Group to sell RTL Nederland to DPG Media". company.rtl.com. Retrieved 2024-01-03.
  17. ↑ "DPG Media finalizes purchase of RTL Nederland". RedTech. 3 January 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  18. ↑ Whittock, Jesse (2025-06-27). "RTL's Big M&A Day: $1.3B Sale Of Dutch Networks Biz Gets Approval Hours After Sky Deutschland Deal". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
  19. ↑ "RTL versus Talpa: wie gaat winnen?". Metronieuws.nl (in Dutch). 2019-01-18. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
  20. ↑ "Fusie RTL Nederland en Talpa Network, 'we zijn tot elkaar veroordeeld'" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Omroep Stichting. 22 June 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  21. ↑ "RTL en Talpa tot elkaar veroordeeld? 'Geklets, het gaat niet goed met SBS van De Mol'". nos.nl (in Dutch). 23 June 2021. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  22. ↑ Duin, Roelf Jan (2022-01-28). "Nog geen groen licht voor fusie Talpa en RTL". Het Parool (in Dutch). Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  23. ↑ "Streep door fusie Talpa en RTL, 'consument zou de rekening betalen'". NOS (in Dutch). 2023-01-30. Retrieved 2023-01-30.
  24. ↑ Hafkamp, Maarten (2019-10-29). "RTL integreert alle salesactiviteiten in nieuw salesbedrijf Ad Alliance". Adformatie (in Dutch). Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  25. ↑ Bright Nl. "about". YouTube . Retrieved 22 July 2021. Description: Bright is focused on innovation. We are always searching for the ingenuity in technology, design and style. We are part of RTL Netherlands and produce content for RTL Nieuws, RTL Z en RTL 7. We are also the biggest Dutch tech media brand on social media platforms and we make a weekly podcast.
  26. ↑ "Bright TV". RTL XL. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
  27. ↑ "bright tv". rtl nieuws. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
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