Veronica is a brand name of successive Dutch commercial and public radio and television broadcasters. It began its life as an offshore radio station, Radio Veronica, on 17 May 1960. The name comes from its first name VRON (Vrije Radio Omroep Nederland; Dutch for 'Free Radio Station [of the] Netherlands'). "Free" was a reference to the laws at the time that didn't allow commercial radio broadcasters to operate from a location within the (land) territory of the Netherlands.
Though Veronica's appeal and power have waned, most of the Dutch commercial radio and television landscape has been formed by Veronica and its spin-offs.
The Association resulted from a pirate radio station, Radio Veronica, which broadcast from a ship on international waters off the coast of the Netherlands between 1959 and 1974. The wave appearing in the logo hearkens back to that time. The name Veronica is a derivation of the abbreviation VRON (Vrije Radio Omroep Nederland / Free Radio Broadcasting station Netherlands). [1]
After the pirate-activities became legally impossible (31 August 1974), Veronica transformed itself into the Veronica Broadcasting Association (Veronica Omroep Organisatie, short VOO), enabling it to gain a legal radio and television license within the Public broadcasting system. It finally got a licence on 28 December 1975. The first television broadcast of Veronica was on 21 April 1976. Within a decade it became one of the largest public broadcasters and the trademark was tested as being more popular than Coca-Cola. [2]
In 1995 the Veronica Association gave up public broadcasting and entered a joint-venture with CLT, parent company of RTL 4 and RTL 5 , VNU and Endemol, called the Holland Media Groep, running three mostly successful national TV-stations and three less successful national radio stations. BNN became a public broadcasting association as a part of the Netherlands Public Broadcasting system and replaced Veronica on 15 August 1997, after Veronica gave up public broadcasting and entered a joint-venture with CLT, with BNN first standing for the Brutaal News Network (Flagrant News Network). The name was later changed to Bart's Neverending Network after Bart de Graaff's death at age 35 from kidney failure caused by a rejection of a kidney transplant he received in 1999. Conflicts let to the dissolution of this co-operation in Spring of 2001. RTL rebranded Veronica into Yorin which would finally be rebranded into RTL 7 [3] [4]
In 2002-2003 the Veronica Association learned that it could not realise radio and TV in a stand-alone setting. In 2001 SBS Broadcasting B.V., then the Dutch branch of the SBS Broadcasting Group, already bought the Dutch TV channel Fox 8 from the News Corporation [5] and renamed it into V8 in anticipation of Veronica. However, the negotiations between the Veronica Association and SBS Broadcasting were not going as planned and no agreement could be set. In the course of 2002 Veronica cooperated with MTV Networks Benelux and started time-sharing with MTV's Kindernet. The ratings were poor though. At the end of 2002 the Association is even talking with HMG again. Eventually Veronica Association closed a deal with SBS, and V8 was rebranded as Veronica on 20 September 2003. [6] [7]
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.
Radio 538 is a Dutch commercial radio station that was founded in Hilversum, Netherlands in 1992. It is the second-most listened to radio station in the Netherlands. Radio 538 refers to the wavelength on which Radio Veronica used to broadcast in the 1970s. The station is owned by Talpa Network. Mostly targetting a young audience, the station plays a mix of current dance, R&B, pop, and rock hits. The music selection is mainly based on the Dutch Top 40 chart. Its breakfast and drive-time shows are talk-intensive.
Radio Veronica was an offshore radio station that began broadcasting in 1960, and broadcast offshore for over fourteen years. It was set up by independent radio, TV and household electrical retailers in the Netherlands to stimulate the sales of radio receivers by providing an alternative to the Netherlands state-licensed stations in Hilversum.
NPO 3 is the third and youngest of the terrestrial television channels operated by the Dutch public-broadcasting organization NPO in the Netherlands. It carries programmes provided by member-based non-profit broadcasting associations and is oriented towards children, youth and innovative television.
RTL 7 is a Dutch free-to-cable television channel that was launched as Veronica on 1 September 1995. RTL 7 is RTL Nederland's "men's channel" with action films, reality television about crime and professions, soccer, motorsport and talk shows about sports. During daytime business and financial news channel RTL Z was broadcasting on RTL 7 until RTL Nederland revamped RTL Z into a 24-hours channel on 7 September 2015.
SBS6 is a Dutch free-to-cable commercial TV channel and is a part of Talpa TV, formerly known as SBS Broadcasting B.V. and now owned by Talpa Network. Other channels of the group in the Netherlands are Net5, Veronica, and SBS9.
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.
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.
RTL 5 is a Dutch free-to-cable television channel that was launched on 2 October 1993. It mainly broadcasts American films and hit series but also reality shows, comedy, travel, international shows and local productions including Expeditie Robinson, Holland's Next Top Model & Benelux' Next Top Model, Dutch versions of America's Next Top Model, Dutch version of Project Catwalk, So You Think You Can Dance and a Dutch version of ITV's Take Me Out.
HitRadio Veronica was a Dutch commercial radio station that was created when the public broadcaster Veronica Omroep Organisatie left the public system in August 1995, creating the Holland Media Groep with CLT (RTL). Before that Veronica bought the station Holland FM and rebranded it into Hitradio Holland FM and later Hitradio 1224. Most of known Veronica DJs switched to Hitradio 1224.
RTL Nederland is a Dutch media network, a subsidiary of the RTL Group. The media company is located in Hilversum, although the licences of its TV stations are issued in Luxembourg.
Mass media in the Netherlands – television, radio, newspapers, magazines – are characterised by a tradition of politico-denominational segregation ("pillarisation") on the one hand and an increasing degree of commercialism on the other.
Patty Brard is a Dutch entertainer of Indo (Dutch-Indonesian) descent. She is a TV personality and a singer notable as a former member of the girl group Luv'. For four decades, she has often hit the headlines of the tabloid press.
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.
Radio 10 is a Dutch commercial radio station that mostly focuses on songs from the 1970s to 2000s, with a moderate amount of mid-1960s' and 2010s' hits. It is one of the oldest, still remaining, commercial radio stations of the Netherlands.
Talpa Network is a Dutch media conglomerate created by John de Mol Jr. in 2017.
Talpa TV is a Dutch commercial broadcasting company owned by John de Mol's Talpa Network.
Radio Veronica is a Dutch commercial radio station owned by Talpa Radio, a subsidiary of Talpa Network. The station runs pop and rock music from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, however in 2017, as the new show schedule was launched, the music format shifted towards so-called timeless hits which also includes recurrents. The station can be compared with Absolute Radio and Radio X in the United Kingdom.
Talpa Radio(formerly: 538 Group and Sky Radio Group) is a radio company of Talpa Network, in which various radio and television activities are housed.