Should Eva Jinek continue her collaboration with RTL 4, then one thing must happen, according to Tina Nijkamp. “Her talk show should be moved from 10 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.”
The future of Eva Jinek is currently much discussed: can she continue with RTL 4 after this year? How much salary should she hand in? And is she satisfied with that? Or is she going for the seven-hour slot of NPO 1? If she continues, something must of course be done with the slumped ratings of her late talk show.
Moving to 10:30 PM
Tina Nijkamp thinks that one measure is unavoidable: adjusting Jinek’s starting time. The late talk show now starts at 10 p.m., but that is untenable, according to the media consultant and former channel boss of SBS 6. According to her, they should move to the more favorable time of 10:30 p.m.
According to her, it is an extremely effective measure. “What could RTL 4 do now that it appears that Jinek has to contend with lower viewing figures? Wouldn’t it be best if RTL 4 went back to two prime time programs instead of one hour and a half? So from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm and from 9:30 pm to 10:30 pm.”
Blockbuster strategy
RTL 4 has actually always broadcast two programs at prime time, followed by late programming at 10:30 p.m., but that changed at the start of the corona crisis. Due to production problems and cost savings, the channel then decided to opt for the ‘blockbuster strategy’.
This strategy means that RTL 4 opts for one program every evening, a ‘blockbuster’, which fills the entire primetime block. The late talk show then starts immediately afterwards, at 10 p.m., and sometimes lasts an hour and a half. Because of that long broadcast time, more and more viewers are leaving. According to Tina, this strategy is no longer successful.
No problems with Lubach
Tina advises going back to the old model, with Jinek only starting at 10.30 pm. “That has a lot of advantages. Jinek and Beau, for example, will no longer be bothered by the competition with Arjen Lubach and Today Inside,” she writes to her analysis channel.
The talk show can therefore be shorter, says Tina. “One hour gross instead of one and a half hours gross, so a sharper choice in subjects is easier.
More diverse offer
The RTL 4 programs on prime time can then also return to a broadcast duration of one hour. And that would be especially good for titles such as Help Mijn Man Is Klusser and Kidnapped. Tina says, “Prime time those now less scoring formats could score much better because they can go back to gross one hour.”
The offer will also become more diverse for the viewer, says Tina. “The disadvantage is of course that there are more costs involved, about 70 to 80 thousand per evening, but I think that RTL will ultimately offset those costs due to expected higher figures.”