Rural public broadcasting concession period extended by 2 years

Minister Eppo Bruins (Culture and Media) wants to extend the current concession period of the national public broadcaster by two years. This requires a change in the law. The current period runs until 2026. This extension will give the House of Representatives and the cabinet enough time to carefully decide on a review of the national public broadcasting system. NPO and broadcasters can then implement the reforms. Bruins writes this today in the Media Budget Letter 2025.

The coalition programme states that national public broadcasting is being reformed. Its findability, visibility and recognisability in the digital environment is under pressure. Therefore, this government wants to reform national public broadcasting, including a substantial reduction in the number of administrative players.

Minister Bruins: ,,Working out reform proposals to prepare public broadcasting for the future requires speed, but it must also be done carefully. There are many issues at stake that we must look at in conjunction, such as the organisation of the system and the consequences this has for internal and external supervisory tasks. The national public broadcaster must also be given sufficient time to implement the reforms. The goal is a public broadcaster that reaches a large part of the Dutch population with a variety of sounds and genres, in which different groups in society can identify themselves''.

It is important to clarify the two-year extension soon so that NPO and broadcasters know where they stand. The extension requires an amendment to the law.

In the event of no rapid renewal, broadcasters must start preparing for a new concession period, for example when preparing for the Media Authority's poll on membership numbers. National broadcasters have to apply for new recognition every five years. To receive recognition, broadcasters must meet a number of conditions including a membership requirement.

The minister is in talks with public and commercial parties and external experts on the reform of the broadcasting system. A letter containing the reform proposal will go to the House of Representatives in the first quarter of 2025.