After the RTL Tonight debacle, it was already expected: Peter van der Vorst will be fired as channel boss of RTL 4. His successor will probably put an end to the suffering in the late evening.
It was a matter of countdown: the question was not if, but when Peter van der Vorst would leave as channel boss of RTL 4 after the channel’s incredible late-night blunder. He let RTL’s biggest talk show talent Renze Klamer go, because he still believes in the success of the ratings flop RTL Tonight.
Neat intermediate step?
Peter will now have a successor at RTL. He himself will fulfill a different position at the new parent company DPG Media: the TV boss will play a connecting role between the management of the Dutch RTL and the Flemish sister company VTM. Apparently, with a view to synergy, there will be more Dutch-Flemish programs.
A follower of TV authority Tina Nijkamp is skeptical: “This is just a ‘neat’ intermediate step to show Peter the door to the exit! His position has no chance in this model.”
Tina: “Could be. It’s vague anyway.”
In the middle
What exactly is vague? That Peter will have a kind of bridging function between the Netherlands and Belgium, but there is not really anyone who has to report to him, according to Tina. “He is at the same level as the new content director of the Netherlands and the content director of Belgium. All three and the two streaming heads report directly to Sven Sauvé.”
She continues on her analysis channel: “Peter van der Vorst is now becoming an island. I think that Peter will have to ensure that B&B Vol Liefde, Married At First Sight and De Verraders, etc., will have a Belgian/Dutch cast. Rumors have it that the next season of B&B Vol Liefde will be the last season with only Dutch people.”
Prestige project
TV critic Victor Vlam thinks it is a good thing that Peter is now out as channel boss of RTL 4. “To avoid losing face, it is presented as a promotion. But Peter’s successor seems to have to report not to Peter but to Sven Sauvé,” he writes. X.
“It has been clear for some time that Peter has lost the bond with the RTL viewer. His prestige project RTL Tonight is far too much of a canal belt. I suspect that this reorganization also heralds the end for RTL Tonight. It has been clear to everyone except Peter for a while that it was not working.”