AMSTERDAM — Dutch network HMG has issued a sharp denial that one of its channels, RTL 5, is not in compliance with an agreement it had with the European Union’s Competition Commission to become a thematic channel.
Henri Roemer, director-secretary general of the Holland Media Group, the largest commercial TV network in Holland, said HMG had reached a negotiated agreement with the European Commission regarding a gradual phase down of its movie and general entertainment fare to a mainly news and information profile.
The denial was in reaction to a complaint filed by Scandinavian Broadcasting System, the parent company of Dutch channel SBS6. SBS charged that RTL 5, although claiming to be a news and information channel since it relaunched on Jan. 1, was still substantially a general entertainment channel.
HMG had agreed with the EC to change the channel’s profile in order to decrease the overall TV ad share of the three-channel group, which threatened to climb above 60% last year. HMG also includes Dutch commercial market leader RTL 4 and Veronica.
A press spokesperson for the EC’s commissioner Karel van Miert said the commissioner was looking into the matter and that the commission would not accept anything less than RTL 5 becoming a thematic CNN-like channel.
Roemer noted that the agreement with the EC stipulated a gradual phase down from 75% to 80% movies and general entertainment programming to 40% to 50%. He said HMG had been sent a copy of the SBS complaint by the Commission but had not been notified of any investigation of RTL by van Miert.
