NPO boss Frans Klein has personally committed to the return of Ranking the Stars, the program of his good friend Paul de Leeuw. “It was even in the schedule.”
After months of calling for Ranking the Stars to return to public broadcasting, Paul de Leeuw came home from a rude awakening a few weeks ago. BNNVARA announced that it was not interested at all and coolly announced that Paul was ‘free to make the program for another broadcaster’.
Paul and French
It now appears that Paul had already concocted the return of his superficial celebrity show with his good friend Frans Klein, the television boss of the NPO who, because of Matthijs-gate temporarily retired.
According to the VPRO program Argos Paul and Frans have made agreements about this on their own. “It was even in the broadcast schedule of the NPO before BNNVARA was involved. The program was then withdrawn by the current BNNVARA management,” says presenter Eric Arends.
BNNVARA confirms
BNNVARA confirms this state of affairs. “That reading is correct,” said the broadcaster, who indicated that only an ‘exploratory conversation’ took place with producer MediaLane in the summer. “However, no follow-up has been given to that exploratory conversation.”
And then? “Subsequently, the producer had contact with the NPO without us and the program was ordered by the NPO directly from the producer,” said the press officer. “BNNVARA has withdrawn this because the set-up in terms of themes and celebrities did not meet our wishes.”
Without consultation
The NPO is allowed to talk directly with outside producers, but it does need a broadcasting broadcaster. And if BNNVARA doesn’t want to? “Then the NPO will look for another broadcaster, like: ‘Would you like to make this program?’”, explains media director Bart Barnas of AvroTros in the same Argos broadcast.
For that reason, BNNVARA also indicated that Paul is free to make Ranking with another broadcaster. He is therefore not under contract with the broadcaster. Bart: “If no broadcaster wants to make that, then it could also end up with a task broadcaster like NTR.”
Shocking
Ron Vergouwen, media connoisseur of Omroep MAX, thinks it’s ridiculous. He mentions it Twitter ‘disconcerting’. “Paul de Leeuw and Frans Klein made the deal together that Ranking the Stars would come back and it was already put in the schedules. Paul’s broadcaster BNNVARA didn’t know anything yet!”
Richard Otto, publisher of media site Speak Tube, said: “Not an unknown story. Frans received film producers and determined which broadcaster should receive this, including budget.”
