Abstract:

The subject of this paper is the position of the Netherlands public television on the rapidly developing market of programme suppliers. Questions in this connection are: is public broadcasting being threatened by (commercial) foreign competition? Can public broadcasting react to such developments? If so, how; and how to prevent audiences from ebbing away? In which way do the public and the Netherlands television react to the stream of new (satellite) stations?. The paper finishes with a number of conclusions regarding position and perspective of the Netherlands public television on the rapidly growing market of (satellite) programme suppliers.