The shorter term makes it possible for a future cabinet – which PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB are now negotiating – to implement changes at the public broadcaster more quickly. The Council of Ministers is expected to make an official decision on this on Thursday.
A recently published report by a committee led by former CDA politician Pieter van Geel already anticipates this development. One of the committee’s recommendations is to reduce the number of member broadcasters from nine to six. In that case, other broadcasters would fall under those ‘carrying broadcasters’ as ‘editorial broadcasters’. A spokesperson for Gräper says that the State Secretary will soon send a letter to Parliament with a response to this report.
The forming parties have spoken out in favor of major changes in public broadcasting. The largest party PVV believes that financing of the NPO should be stopped completely, while the VVD wants to cut approximately 400 million euros. NSC wants to reduce the number of television channels from three to two.
Worries about the future
Mona Keijzer (BBB) believes that Hilversum should only focus on independent news and cultural programs. During a debate, she previously questioned the added value of a public music channel such as Radio 2. Parties such as GroenLinks-PvdA and D66 are very concerned about the future of public broadcasting due to the current political climate.
With a new concession, new broadcasters can also join the public system. This is not possible if the existing permit is extended by two years.
A spokesperson for the NPO said in response that the current license gives the broadcaster ‘peace and space to work on a new system’. “It also offers us room to modernize the system. It does not cause unrest, but it actually gives us the space to work on modernizing the system as the Van Geel committee has already advised.”
‘The outgoing cabinet must guarantee that there will be no major cuts at the NPO’
Thomas Bruning, general secretary at the NVJ, says in response to the news that the outgoing cabinet ‘must guarantee that there will be no major cuts at the NPO’.
According to Bruning, the cabinet must promote the importance of an independent news provision and guaranteeing its continuity. Due to the increasing concentration in the media landscape, including the proposed takeover of RTL News by publisher DPG, this is under extra pressure, says the general secretary. “It is extremely important that there remains a good alternative to guarantee pluralism.”
The announcement by Gräper will lead to uncertainty among employees at the public broadcaster, Bruning believes, ‘unless there is a very clear signal that this is not a harbinger of major cutbacks’.
Tags: NPO license extended years concerns future public broadcasting
