SCHEDULE WATCH CHANNEL PROFILE: Nederland 1, soon to be rebadged as NPO1, is rolling out a revised content strategy to absorb next year’s budget cuts and maintain its lead in the market. Gün Akyuz reports.

Overview
Holland’s public broadcaster Nederlandse Publieke Omroep (NPO) is entering the final phase of budget cuts designed to streamline the organisation’s three main channels and the public broadcasters that supply it.

Cuts to the organisation’s overall annual budget has already resulted in significant structural changes, including mergers between Holland’s unique array of public broadcasters, leading to eight larger organisations, among them BNN and VARA, AVRO and TROS, and KRO and NCRV.

The overhaul has also triggered changes at the top. NPO’s former director of television Gerard Timmer quit abruptly at the end of last year, following a difference of opinion over the pubcaster’s overall strategy. Frans Klein, former head of public broadcaster VARA, replaced him in May, while Timmer, took over as general director of the merged BNN Vara organisation in the same month.

So far, the pubcaster’s programming has been less affected by budget cuts. The main ones kick in from January 2015, says Nederland 1’s channel manager Marcel Peek, and will amount to 11% of NPO’s €635m (US$855m) programme spend in 2014.

Ned1 is now revising its content strategy to absorb these impending cuts over the next year while maintaining its overall lead in the Dutch market. For the flagship channel it will mean an inevitable increase in repeats and acquisitions, fewer episodes for existing series, the disappearance of others or their possible return as lower-cost formats, he says.

Peek says Ned1 intends to focus more on peak viewing hours (18.00-24.00) at the expense of its daytime schedule, with changes already visible from this September, when the flagship channel will drop its lunchtime show StudioMAX Live.

Holland’s already cutthroat TV landscape took its toll on NPO overall in 2013, which fell from an average 37.7% share in 2012 to 35.1% in 2013 in peak hours (18.00-24.00), and down to 32% in all-day terms (source SKO), with the absence of the European Football Championship and Olympics coverage that had boosted the pubcaster’s share average in 2012. Flagship family channel Ned1 accounted for much of it, down 2.7 share points over the period, from 23.5% to 20.8%, year-on-year. In fall 2013 (Sep-Dec), it fell to a 20% share.

“Fall 2013 wasn’t our best season,” Peek concedes. “We had some ongoing difficulties in access primetime and began to see difficulties in our late-night programming against strong competition from RTL 4. We also noticed that some of our longer-running shows were showing signs of fatigue.”

The channel reversed these losses in 2014, thanks to a reinvigorated access primetime line-up and the arrival of chatshow De Wereld Draait Door. The show helped lift Ned1’s audience average to 23.4% in the spring, up from 22% the previous spring. The rise was even more significant among 20-49s, up from 14.9% to 16.3% over the same period, says Peek.

NPO also recorded its highest television ratings ever this summer, thanks to the Dutch soccer team’s progress to the semi-finals of the Fifa World Cup, which pulled in a whopping 83% share for Holland’s game against Argentina. The result is a reminder of what linear TV still does better than other platforms: live events.

“Of course, we’re also seeing the introduction of Netflix and other forms of viewing. But at the same time, we see that Ned1 is still strong and we aim to strengthen this with an emphasis on live, newsworthy, must-see programmes, creating television moments, such as Wie is De Mol? [Who is the Mole?],” says Peek.

“It’s also why our new access primetime show is important – because it’s live. I firmly believe in the strength of live viewing as opposed to series you want to watch in your own time. The strength of linear television over the coming years will be live, topical programming. Even more now than in the past, it will be about creating moments in the schedule.”

NPO’s offensive to retain viewers against the rise of external non-linear services is already visible in its online catch-up and live-streaming player. As well as NPO Uitzending Gemist, NPO is now available via subscription as NPO Plus on Dutch online platform nl Ziet. The collaborative, ad-free venture between NPO and its commercial rivals RTL Nederland and SBS Holland, carries content from the 11 channels belonging to the three partners.

NPO will also be unveiling a new brand strategy for the multi-screen age this summer. All of its TV, radio and online channels will adopt the NPO moniker, with Ned1 becoming NPO1 on August 19, along with NPO2 and NPO3. The move to the single NPO brand will help the pubcaster create a stronger unified presence across multiple platforms, including tablet and smartphone apps.

Current schedule, original production, entertainment
January 2014’s promotion of De Wereld Draait Door (The World Keeps Turning) from younger-skewing Ned3 to Ned1 saw the daily chat-style fact ent show move into Ned1’s access primetime 19.00 to 20.00 slot.

The move has left a gap over at the third channel, but Peek says De Wereld Draait Door “has worked wonders” for Ned1. “Not only did its lead-in improve, but the show itself also does much better on the first channel that it did on Ned3,” he notes. The move has also given a lift to the channel’s 20.00 news, which no longer finds itself going head-to-head with the show, and has instead gained around half-a-million viewers as its lead-out.

“It really was the missing link between our current affairs programme Een Vandaag [One Today], which follows the 18.00 news, and the 20.00 news,” says Peek. “This is now a very strong strand, and we’ve successfully rennovated access primetime.” Spring 2014 saw the channel’s share rise to 26.9% in the 18.0-20.00 zone, up from 21.5% last fall.

Moreover, its younger (20-49) adult profile was “very suited to what Ned1 was looking for,” to help it improve its profile in this demo. As well as giving Ned1 an overall boost in viewer ratings, it has since helped raise its average among 20-49s. The live, topical nature of the daily show has also helped to raise Ned1’s profile, giving it a greater sense of urgency, adds Peek.

Made by merged public broadcaster BNN Vara, the show has been slightly revamped for Ned1 but retained its successful presenter, Matthijs van Nieuwkerk. Now on a summer break, the show will return on September 1.

Elsewhere, budget cuts triggered Ned1’s move to drop big Saturday night entertainment shows altogether. The decision, which took effect from fall 2013, means, “we won’t be going for big shiny-floor shows like Dancing with the Stars any longer,” says Peek.

Ned1 is instead mining its existing crop of shows for new ideas. Among them is its former high-profile comedy-driven Saturday show Langs de Leeuw, fronted by popular host Paul de Leeuw. “We’ve taken the satirical news quiz segment and turned it into its own show,” says Peek. Launching as De Kwis last fall on November 2, the VARA-made show bettered the performance of predecessor, with an average 20% share, says Peek.

Ned1’s struggling late-night zone is also being revamped. The post-22.30 slot, previously home to the late-night chatshow Pauw & Witterman, made by Vara, came to a close earlier this year, following a mostly successful eight-year run. The show, which had been one of the channel’s strong points, began to struggle against competition from RTL4’s own new daily chatshow Late Night, which launched against it in late August last year.

This fall sees a new replacement chatshow, called Pauw, from September, airing daily on weekdays at 23.00 like its predecessor and fronted by Jeroen Pauw, also one of the former show’s hosts.

“We’re hoping to recreate what Pauw & Witterman provided: a platform for people in the news,” says Peek, noting that the show had become a ‘must-view’ for watercooler chat the following day. “This is the momentum we want to get back.” The new show, also made by BNN Vara, will have a new look and feel and a broader range of guests, he notes.

Factual, formats
Another significant change underway is a reduction to the channel’s substantial volume of human-interest factual output. “We have quite a lot of it,” says Peek. “It is still an important genre for Ned1, but we’re looking to make choices and focus more on stories with a broader social interest, instead of shows about finding long-lost friends/relatives/lovers etc, or discovering one’s roots. We still have these shows, and they’re very successful, but we’re turning more to social issues and social experiments.”

Upcoming fall launches typifying this new focus include a five-part local version of Keeping the Nation Alive (Zij houden Nederland in Leven), made by public broadcaster EO for the first channel. The ITV Studios format, made by The Garden for the UK’s BBC2, has also been sold into France and Norway.

Another new launch is Typisch Nederlands, inspired by UK pubcaster Channel 4’s series Make Bradford British. The four-parter, made by BNN Vara, will explore Holland’s history and multicultural society and ask what it is to be ‘typically Dutch.’

The channel is also expanding other genres such as travel and popular science. Examples already on air include the crossover travel show Floortje Naar Het Einde Van De Wereld (Floortje to the end of the World), made by BNN, in which well-known NPO presenter Floortje Dressing travels to remote parts of the world to live among locals.

Alongside its big BBC nature shows, Ned1 is keen to expand its own take on Dutch nature, “and showing our country in a different way,” says Peek. This fall, for instance, sees the launch of Nederland Waterlands (Holland Land of Water), which will build on the success of Holland From Above. Peek says the latter was inspired by the BBC2 format Britain From Above, but adds: “I can’t say this very often, but I believe it was even an improvement on the British equivalent.” The Dutch show, from VPRO, launched in 2011. A second season aired in fall 2013 and spring 2014 on Thursdays at 22.30.

Drama
While Ned1 has dumped high-budget shiny-floor shows, it has protected its local drama from budget cuts. There are some changes, however. The emphasis will be entirely on primetime drama, moving away from the cheaper, volume access-primetime comedy the channel previously aired a couple of years ago, such as Kinderen geen bezwaar. “All our original fiction will be primetime, eye-catching and high-quality. That’s our focus,” says Peek.

“We think our original Dutch fiction is very important. Not only is it successful in ratings terms but it’s also highly appreciated by viewers and we’re aiming to maintain the same levels of local fiction.” On Ned1 this amounts to an average five or six series a year.

The channel’s broad-ranging fiction output counts the musical comedy genre and crime among its successes. Last year’s Moeder ik wil bij de Revue (Mother I Want to Join the Theatre), made by public broadcaster Max, scored an impressive 31% market share. A successor to the nostalgic musical comedy returns next year.

Mondays and Fridays remain the channel’s regular drama rendez-vous, with Fridays ring-fenced for crime genres. Newcomers from 2014/15 include Dutch crime Noord Zuid (North South), from KRO/NCRV, which launches in January. Next year sees crime drama Overspel return for a third season, following a second season last fall. Meanwhile, Bloedverwanten (Blood Relatives), from AVRO and IDTV, returns for a third and final season this fall on Mondays.

Peek says Ned1’s local drama has also moved into Saturdays to replace big entertainment shows, with series such as Heer en Meester (Lord and Master), from public broadcaster Max.

The channel’s renewed focus on primetime drama will occasionally also lead to coproductions, adds Peek, especially with Flemish broadcasters, given their shared language. “We’re looking into it right now,” he says, in a nod to the wider possibilities it opens up for Dutch drama internationally, as subtitled foreign-language drama gains currency across Europe.

Acquisitions
NPO’s channels, including Ned1, already bank on a higher intake of acquisitions during the low summer season schedule, a quota now set to increase from next year following the budget cuts. “We will definitely be looking into more acquisitions,” says Peek, indicating requirements for both scripted and non-scripted fare to contribute to a mix of local and acquired fare, “which is affordable but still compelling for the viewer.”

On the scripted front, Ned1’s needs are for strong crime (police and detective) dramas, both Flemish and UK.

“A Flemish drama will usually air in a Friday night slot, while Ned1’s local crime dramas are between seasons to help maintain a compelling crime fiction appointment with viewers,” says Peek. Belgium’s Salamander, for instance, has been picked up for airing on the channel next year.

While Ned1’s broader audience is accustomed to subtitled UK drama, other foreign subtitled fiction, Scandinavian crime drama included, airs on NPO’s smaller second channel, Ned2, says Peek.

Ned1’s top 15 shows of 2014
(Rank, title, type, day/date, slot, ‘000s, % share – all viewers six years-plus, January-May 2014)

1 Eurovision Song Contest final, event, Sat May 10, 21.00, 5.15, 64
2 Winter Olympics: 5000m skating, sport, Sat Feb 8, 14.30, 4.56, 87
3. Boer zoekt vrouw International (Farmer/Wife), fact ent, Sun Feb 2, 20.30, 4.30, 48
4. Journaal 20, news, Sun Feb 23, 20.00, 3.81, 47
5. Studio sport (football magazine), Sun Feb 16, 19.00, 3.610, 51
6. The Passion, religious event, Thu Apr 17, 20.30, 3.56, 45
7. Wie is de Mol? (Who is the Mole?), Thu Mar 20, 20.30, 3.42, 42
8. Nationale Dodenherdenking (Remembrance Day), event, Sun May 4, 19.50, 2.99, 39
9. TV Show, talkshow, Sun Jan 12, 21.20, 2.86, 34
10. Beatrix met hart en ziel, event, Sat Feb 1, 20.30, 2.48, 31
11. Spoorloos (Lost Relatives), factual reality, Mon Feb 3 , 21.10, 2.48, 32
12. Flikken Maastricht, police drama, Fri Mar 28, 20.30, 2.36, 30
13. Radar, consumer magazine, Mon Feb 10, 21.30, 2.33, 31
14. De Reünie (The Reunion), fact ent, Sun Mar 23, 20.30, 2.22, 26
15. Floortje Naar Het Einde Van De Wereld, travel show, Thu Jan 30, 21.30, 2.19, 30

Source: NPO, SKO