Minister Bruins: ,,A strong and independent public broadcaster is of great importance to our democracy. It serves as a connector, a reliable source of information, and a place for creativity and imagination. The goal of this reform is to ensure that the broadcaster remains visible and accessible in the future and is more open to voices from society. We aim to achieve this with fewer players, fewer administrators, less fragmentation of budgets, and less government interference. This way, viewers and listeners with a diverse offering will continue to be well served in the future, and employees will have more job security.
3 Main Lines for Reforming the National Public Broadcaster:
1. More Flexibility and Stability
- The system whereby broadcasters enter and exit every five years based on membership numbers will be abolished.
- The amended Media Act will stipulate that broadcasters must collectively give a place to the perspectives, voices, and needs of society in their offerings.
- Broadcasters will be independently assessed on whether they translate new voices into their offerings.
2. Fewer Administrators, More Job Security for Employees
- The 11 current broadcasting associations will be merged into four or five broadcasting houses, alongside the NOS.
- Each broadcasting house will have a board and a Supervisory Board with maximum terms. Broadcasting houses will take over the role of the current broadcasting associations. Creators will be employed by the broadcasting house responsible for the program offerings.
- The budget will be clearly distributed among fewer broadcasting houses than there are currently broadcasters. This will allow more employees to receive permanent contracts. Broadcasting houses and their creators will have more control over which programs they can produce. This ensures more job security and thus social safety.
- The NTR will not merge into one broadcasting house. A careful follow-up process will look at how the beautiful and valuable type of offerings created by NTR employees can find a place in the system.
3. More Collaboration and Clearer Roles
- Fewer administrators means faster and clearer decision-making.
- The NPO will no longer distribute budgets solely based on individual program proposals. The NPO will retain a coordinating role but can fulfill this role more lightly due to fewer players.
- Broadcasting houses will determine the content of programs themselves, just as broadcasters do now. So-called outside producers (commercial companies not part of the system) must pitch their ideas directly to them; this can no longer be done through the NPO.
- The clear division of roles ensures greater social safety for employees.
- The minister will no longer determine which broadcasting associations will have a place in the system. This strengthens the independence of the public broadcaster.
- The Commission will be the only external supervisor within the sector. The few supervisory tasks currently held by the NPO will be transferred to the Commission.
Bruins: ,,A number of measures fundamentally impact how the national public broadcaster is organized. This also affects the people who work there, as many things will change. I realize that. But if we want the broadcaster to continue to matter, we must preserve what is valuable and dare to change what is necessary.
Next Steps
Several themes still need to be further developed, such as the division of roles between broadcasters and the NPO and the clustering of current member broadcasters into broadcasting houses. The minister will discuss this with the NPO, broadcasters, the Media Authority, and the Council for Culture. He will also consult commercial parties about the aspects of the reform that affect them.
The minister will meet with the House of Representatives on April 14 to discuss the proposals. In the spring of 2026, a bill to amend the Media Act will go into internet consultation. The reform is expected to come into effect in 2029.