The telephone at Omroep MAX has been ringing off the hook for weeks. Many loyal viewers tell us that they are very concerned about the public broadcaster and ask whether they can still watch their favorite TV programs.
‘Useless and too left-wing’
During the debate in the House of Representatives about the future of the public broadcasting system, one thing became clear: the visions of the four forming political parties differ widely. If it were up to the largest party, not even a cent of tax money would go to public broadcasting. Their spokeswoman thinks this is ‘a useless thing at which far too much money is thrown’. The broadcasting system is said to be ‘outdated, biased and too left-wing’.
Politics is not about content
I think that the last substantive argument in particular was decisive, because I’ll tell you on a note: 85 percent of Dutch people watch the public broadcaster every week. And that includes a lot of PVV voters! Our wonderful programs are also rated higher than those of commercial broadcasters.
By the way, if there is one thing we don’t want, it is for politicians to interfere with the content of the programs. During the parliamentary debate it was rightly noted that the first thing Putin did upon taking office was to restrict public broadcasting. Just like Orbán in Hungary.
Doing justice to the diverse society
Public broadcasting is the best guarantee that the enormous diversity within our society is done justice, that you can hear and see the great diversity of voices – including those from minorities – in one place. In a society in which we are being driven further and further apart, public broadcasting can also help to achieve greater understanding of each other. You may wonder whether all these parts of society are currently being sufficiently addressed. I advocate that all voices be heard, including those of Ongehoord Nederland. ON deserves a fair place within the order.
Give up even more
The VVD believes that after the hundreds of millions of cuts under previous Rutte cabinets, the public broadcaster could hand in another 400 million euros. Mona Keijzer of the BBB also wants to make cuts and would prefer to see the model of the BBC in the United Kingdom. Of the 4 parties around the formation table, only the NSC is against cuts. Ms Van Vroonhoven believes that a strong public broadcaster is important, and she wants to push for this during the formation discussions. Only the channel NPO 3 should disappear in order to use that money for innovation to reach more young people online.
Well, bake a cake out of that All of Holland Baktterms to speak. I am very curious to see how the forming parties will come out of this. Nice contest…
Room for cost savings
It remains to be seen whether significant cuts will be made in the short term. In any case, there is still a budget from OCW for 2024 and 2025. That is an amount that we have made agreements about. If cuts have to be made, we will look at where we should get that money from, for example the overheads, the NPO where a lot of people work. As broadcasters, we can also look at ourselves: how can we work more efficiently, how can we do things more together. For example, MAX already takes care of the payroll administration for WNL. But there is also cooperation in the areas of facility affairs, ICT, human resources, legal affairs and membership administration. WNL also rents studios from MAX. Perhaps this can be expanded even further.
Are we also allowed to laugh at the public broadcaster?
We must not forget that we have one of the cheapest public broadcasters in Europe. The Dutch pay 3.32 euros per month. And yes, for those 3.32 euros people can also laugh a bit, for example at All of Holland Bakt. Only 3 to 5 percent of the total content broadcast by the public broadcaster is entertainment. Entertainment programs such as All of Holland Bakt can also help to make public channels attractive, so that the public broadcaster can also fulfill other tasks such as news and culture. By the way, when it comes to costs: we always inform the Media Authority what is done with the money. And I have no problem with the VVD wanting to know what programs cost, they should know that.
We are entitled to this
MAX has 430,000 members, which is more than all political parties combined. Those people contribute to the public broadcaster, so they are entitled to that. Public broadcasting is of great value, especially for the elderly. For them, television is just a friend, where they are entertained and informed. I will always fight to ensure the survival of our beautiful broadcaster and the public system. I see some room for cuts. But they should keep their butts away from our programs!
Jan Slagter is the founder-director of Omroep MAX, the broadcaster for the elderly. He advocates the interests of the elderly in our society in various ways. read here already his columns.
(Photo: ANP)
