Coalition plans to slash €100 million from Dutch public broadcasting annual budget

The Dutch public broadcasting system, NPO, and the broadcasters that program the NPO channels said they would be “happy to enter into talks" with the next Cabinet about plans for public broadcasting. The coalition deal between the PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB calls for 100 million euros in cuts starting from 2026, from the NPO's current budget of over 940 million euros.

The PVV previously campaigned with a call to abolish the NPO. The VVD previously said it wanted to make cuts of 400 million euros.

“This new coalition states plainly that public broadcasting is of great importance to the Netherlands. The provision of reliable information, high-quality journalistic programs and a versatile offering are essential, according to the new coalition agreement. This coalition wants to guarantee this and ensure a future-proof system,” said the NPO.

Because of this, the NPO said that some reform will be necessary. "NPO and the broadcasters would like to discuss with the new Cabinet how we can achieve a renewed, manageable and future-proof system. In order to reform towards contemporary public broadcasting, space and time will be needed in the coming years," the NPO said.

This is only achievable if the NPO agreement with the government is renewed until 2029. In order to achieve the “structural budget reduction” of 100 million euros, it is also necessary that the system itself is reformed, the NPO said.

“Otherwise, the budget reduction could have far-reaching consequences. It is very important for the Netherlands that we can continue to carry out our public media mission, because in a democratic constitutional state, a strong public broadcaster that is independent of politics and commerce is crucial.”

The Dutch journalists' association, NVJ, believes that the plans from the proposed new coalition could be worse. This is considering "that the PVV and VVD previously intended to make major cuts to the broadcasting system, or even abolish it," said NVJ Secretary-General Thomas Bruning to ANP.

"The NVJ believes that in times of significant media concentration and where young people are not reached by private journalistic titles, the importance of a strong public broadcaster is great," said Bruning. That is why the NVJ would have preferred to see a strengthening of the journalistic task demanded of the public broadcaster.

"Also regionally. There was every reason for that," said Bruning.