If the NPO wants to start new online, television, or radio channels, the minister of OCW must approve that. Important changes or the termination of existing channels must also be approved by the minister. The Netherlands has agreed with the European Commission that a transparent procedure will be followed for this.

The procedure is briefly as follows:

• The Council for Culture and the Media Authority advise the minister;
• Stakeholders can send an initial input to the Council for Culture and the Media Authority;
• The Consumer and Market Authority reports on market effects.
• The minister prepares a draft decision;
• Stakeholders can respond to the draft decision within 6 weeks;
• A final decision will be made within 6 months.

Application NPO BLEND

NPO BLEND will provide a unique mix of offerings, consisting of a music format and programs with an informative and journalistic approach. NPO BLENDs main target audience is Dutch people with Turkish, Moroccan, Surinamese, and Caribbean backgrounds between the ages of 35 and 44, and it also aims to reach a broader group of bi-cultural Dutch individuals. The NPO concludes that it currently insufficiently addresses this target audience with the existing offerings. With this new offering channel, the NPO aims to fulfill its broad mandate, particularly by focusing on smaller target groups.

What is NPO BLEND?

The NPO has submitted a request in the 2025 budget for a new radio program channel NPO BLEND and the other offering channel NPO BLEND Online, a corresponding online channel. On November 7, 2024, the NPO provided additional information for the application. NPO BLEND will be available for free via DAB+, online channels, and through its own website and NPO Listen.

Notification and availability of draft decision NPO BLEND

Minister Bruins has prepared a draft decision. The draft decision contains the approval of the new offering channel NPO BLEND. On June 17, 2025, the business content of the draft decision was published in the Government Gazette. The draft decision will also be sent directly to the stakeholders known to the ministry, including the NPO as the applicant.

Submitting opinions

Stakeholders can express their opinions on the draft decision for 6 weeks, starting from June 17, 2025. Written opinions can be submitted both by post and by email, mentioning the subject Draft Decision NPO BLEND.
Submissions by post should be sent to:

The Minister of Education, Culture and Science
P.O. Box 16375
2500 BJ The Hague

Submissions by email should be sent to: nieuwedienstenNPO@minocw.nl

Stakeholders must indicate whether an opinion contains confidential information. In that case, stakeholders should specify which information is confidential. Stakeholders are then requested to submit both a confidential and a public version of their opinion. Stakeholders who wish to present their opinion orally can do so no later than one week from June 17, 2025, by notifying the aforementioned email address. The subject Draft Decision NPO BLEND must also be mentioned in this email. Depending on the requests, a hearing may be held.

The NPO has made a request in Appendix A of the 2025 budget.
Additionally, the NPO has provided further justification for the application.

The Media Authority has advised the minister on the NPOs application. That advice can be found here: Letter to OCW with advice on NPO BLEND.pdf or read the news article Media Authority advises on new offering channel NPO BLEND - Media Authority

The Council for Culture has also advised the minister on the NPOs application. That advice can be found here: Council for Culture publishes advice on NPO BLEND

The NPOs application has been reviewed by the Consumer and Market Authority (ACM) for market effects. The ACM has issued a report to the minister of OCW on this. That report can be found here: ACM advice on the introduction of NPO BLEND to OCW | ACM.