Tina Nijkamp finds Peter van der Vorst’s plea not to focus on linear viewing figures laughable and hypocritical. “In the end, the advertisers pay the bill, right?”
RTL boss Peter van der Vorst is the man who ensured that the linear viewing figures, or the scores of TV programs on the broadcast evening itself, are no longer freely accessible. We can only follow this via TV authority Tina Nijkamp. She reports about this every day on her analysis channel, but that also hurts Peter.
Reality
It particularly bothers Peter that Arjen Lubach’s meager linear figures are always highlighted in this way. “Last year, RTL 4 achieved the highest average market share ever: 22.7 percent. A record that is partly due to the daily scores of LUBACH, which can be seen again for ten weeks from tonight,” he gushes. LinkedIn.
“Almost 1 million viewers per episode by 2025 and a market share of more than 31 percent in our core target group 25–54 years old. And striking: about 40 percent only watch after the broadcast. That is not a detail. That is the reality. The success or relevance of a program is no longer determined by the figures from the night before.”
Textbook example
Those figures tell at most half the story, Peter believes. “Our media consumption has fundamentally changed. We increasingly choose our own moment. Winter Vol Liefde is a textbook example of this. On TV three days a week, but each episode is previewed at least 1 million times via Videoland.”
And that number continues to increase throughout the series, Peter emphasizes. “Add live and delayed viewing and you arrive at about 2.4 million viewers and a market share of more than 33 percent. The same applies to The Voice. Last Friday about 1.6 million viewers, but the counter is now more than 2.1 million.”
Scorn the media
Peter also sees this pattern with titles such as Pandora and Ranking The Stars, he says. “It would be great if we also took that step in media reporting. Less focus on snapshots and more attention to the total reach. Because anyone who only looks at yesterday misses what really scores today and in the future.”
In other words: a direct sneer at Tina Nijkamp and all media that report on her analyses. “Yes, indirectly. I am not mentioned, but I get a swipe from Peter,” she agrees in her podcast The Media Week.
LP
Tina is really starting to get tired of Peter. “This is Peter van der Vorst’s LP. He of course ensured that those viewing figures are no longer public. That is because of him. Paul Römer knew this, because he was director of Talpa at the time, and he knows exactly how that happened.”
She continues: “Talpa had no problem with it, the NPO didn’t, no one had a problem with it, it’s public everywhere, except Peter van der Vorst. He didn’t want to… And why not? Because he already said: ‘Yesterday’s viewing figures don’t count.’ But they do count and are important, because it is about urgency and: what are you looking at at that moment?”
Advertisers
These linear figures are of vital importance for advertisers, says Tina. “If you watch Winter Vol Liefde on Videoland, there will of course be no commercial breaks. That advertiser does want his commercial to be watched. It is relevant all over the world. Peter just doesn’t want that.”
Peter wants to disguise the disappointing linear figures. “Of course he has to deal with declining viewing figures at Winter Vol Liefde. That scores about 250 to 400 thousand viewers less than last year. But in the end the advertisers pay the bill, right?”
Hypocritical
Tina stresses on her analysis channel that Peter is a hypocrite. “Dear Peter, if you don’t think the viewing figures of the day itself are very important, why do you take the commercial break from RTL Tonight tonight (as is often the case) and there is no shoulder break after Lubach? That’s right: because you REALLY want good viewing figures tonight. That is, on the evening itself.”
She also points out that two weeks ago, Peter was cheering about the linear figures the morning after the Voice premiere. “When it’s convenient, Peter is quick to share the viewing figures from the day before. Remarkable when it’s not that important. 😂”
