It could be that Angela de Jong will become a direct colleague of the entire RTL star stable next year, because her employer DPG Media is waving 1.1 billion euros.
The Flemish media giant DPG Media wants to acquire RTL Netherlands for no less than 1.1 billion euros. This would mean that the owner of news brands such as AD, de Volkskrant and NU.nl and radio brands such as Qmusic would in one fell swoop become a television giant and acquire Videoland. There is still one obstacle: the ACM still has to give permission.
RTL brand name remains
The ACM previously blocked a merger of RTL with Talpa, so it has not yet been said that it will actually happen, but it is up in the air. The intention is for Sven Sauvé to remain the director of RTL. He says: “I am also happy with the fact that the RTL name is being retained; a strong brand and loved by many Dutch people.”
And DPG boss Christian Van Thillo says: “Our company has been making successful television in Belgium with VTM for 35 years. I am confident that consumers will continue to watch well-made programs.”
Angela as a colleague
The takeover would be salient, because Angela de Jong, so feared at the Media Park, would then become the direct colleague of the entire RTL star stable. Now Angela can write whatever she wants, but if she ends up damaging a part of her own DPG, will they still be happy with her spicy columns?
It remains to be seen. Journalists are showing some concern on social media. “It simply comes down to the fact that as an independent journalist you can hardly avoid DPG or Mediahuis,” says investigative journalist Kim van Keken.
Wedding bells
MAX face Ron Vergouwen wonders whether the ACM agrees with this. “Well, what do you think? Are the wedding bells allowed to ring this time?”
Podimo boss Tim de Gier: “This is not good for anyone and the ACM will not approve it. Then just hand over newspapers to me.”
And media expert Marianne Zwagerman: “I can hope that someone will finally wake up at the ACM?”
Big problem
SP celebrity Peter Kwint is critical. “And this is exactly the problem. A few media houses have all the power. And use the money they earn by underpaying journalists for even more takeovers and further clustering of media power.”
Jort Leijten, economics editor of NRC, sneers: “DPG does not have enough money to pay its own journalists properly, but fortunately the purchase of RTL was still possible.”
YMCA
RTL News journalist Daniël Verlaan hopes that this will not happen. “To the tune of YMCA: we have confidence in the AC-&-M.”
Finally, face mask thief Sywert van Lienden states that this is ‘not healthy’. “What a concentration of media in one hand.”