The Netherlands: diversity despite the duopoly

In recent years, the Netherlands has often been a trendsetter when it comes to new media and formats, but its traditional media are by no means dying out. The daily newspaper segment remains highly diverse, with five national dailies and a string of thriving regional papers in a country with just over 17 million inhabitants.

Flowers, candles and letters in memory of journalist Peter R. de Vries, who was shot dead in Amsterdam in July 2021. (© picture alliance / ZUMAPRESS.com / Ana Fernandez)

The daily newspapers, however, are reaching ever fewer readers – less than 30 percent of the population over the age of 13 years of age. The situation is similar with television, but despite fierce competition from numerous commercial broadcasters and streaming services, the public broadcasters retain a market share of around 40 percent.

Nevertheless, journalism is under pressure from propaganda on social media and right-wing populists railing against alleged left-wing biased reporting. And journalists themselves face growing threats – including from organised crime networks. In the summer of 2021, the popular crime reporter Peter R. de Vries was murdered in the centre of Amsterdam in a crime presumed to have been commissioned by the drug mafia.

Media entrepreneur John de Mol is a high-profile figure in the TV industry. De Mol revolutionised European television with formats such as Big Brother and The Voice and earned billions in the process. After a failed adventure in the print media segment he tried to become a major player in the TV and radio segment with a merger between his Talpa media network and RTL Nederland, but failed because the competition authority wouldn’t approve the deal.

The digitisation of the country’s daily newspapers is well advanced: only around one in three Dutch still read print newspapers today. Digital newspapers are, however, cross-media platforms that also rely on video and audio content as well as podcasts, which have established themselves as a popular new format.

Newspaper owners based in Belgium

For more than a decade, a Flemish duopoly has dominated the Dutch newspaper landscape. Almost all the country’s newspapers are now in Belgian hands. The publishing group DPG Media (formerly Persgroep) took over the Dutch publisher PCM Uitgevers (which owns Trouw and De Volkskrant) as well as magazine publisher VNU Media and now controls around 50 percent of the Dutch newspaper market. At the end of 2019 the group also acquired the Dutch titles of the Finnish magazine publisher Sanoma, including nu.nl, the country's largest news platform.

The second major player is the Belgian group Mediahuis, which took over NRC Handelsblad in 2015. It also acquired De Telegraaf, the country's leading newspaper, and now currently controls around 40 percent of the newspaper market.

Publishers holding their own against Facebook and Google

Newspapers have been able to cut their costs thanks to the synergies of joint logistics, management, paper purchases and printing, but journalists and trade unions complain that this has led to a general decline in the quality of content, because more and more articles are simply being swapped between titles. Media organisations warn that the concentration of ownership in the sector also poses a threat to democracy, because it silently erodes diversity of opinion. On the other hand, the efficiency of this approach is precisely what is preserving diversity, because the regional newspapers can only survive – and indeed thrive – by cutting costs.

So far, the pros and cons have balanced out. The Belgian publishers are investing and their investments are paying off. And they hope to be able to hold their own against Facebook and Google in the hotly contested advertising market.

World Press Freedom Index (Reporters Without Borders):
Rank 28 (2022)

Last updated: February 2023

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Media from Netherlands at euro|topics

Media from Netherlands at euro|topics

De Groene Amsterdammer (Magazine)

De Telegraaf (Daily newspaper)

De Volkskrant (Daily newspaper)

Elsevier (Magazine)

Het Financieele Dagblad (Daily newspaper)

De Correspondent (Website)

The PostOnline (Website)

Joop (Website)

NRC Handelsblad (Daily newspaper)

NRC next (Daily newspaper)

Trouw (Daily newspaper)

Vrij Nederland (Magazine)

AD (Daily newspaper)