It is astonishing that Tom Waes receives a quarter of a million euros annually from Dutch taxpayers. Does Linda de Mol benefit from similar deals in Flanders? The answer? “No, not a cent!”
© VPRO, RTL
Traditionally, the NPO pays a few thousand euros per episode to broadcast a Flemish TV show. However, this is not lucrative for a major star like Tom Waes. A unique arrangement has been established where KRO-NCRV is now officially a co-producer of his Flemish shows.
Understanding the Controversy
This arrangement allows approximately 250,000 euros of Dutch taxpayer money to be funneled directly to Waes, leading to widespread outrage. Why should taxpayers fund this Flemish entertainer? TV authority Tina Nijkamp is advocating for parliamentary questions to address this issue. “When ‘Reizen Waes’ was aired by the VPRO, it cost the NPO a maximum of 40,000 euros annually,” she explains.
The Financial Breakdown
Nijkamp highlights that for programs classified as ‘ready mades’ from Belgium, such as “Down the Road,” a mere 5,000 euros per episode is customarily paid. Even when accounting for Waes’s less successful shows like “Badgast” and “Kalm Waes,” the total should only reach around 120,000 euros—money that would typically go to the Flemish public broadcaster VRT instead of directly to Waes. Therefore, this arrangement appears financially illogical.
“It’s an unbelievable waste of money to enrich a Belgian presenter. How did NPO and KRO-NCRV agree to this? Moreover, why was ‘Reizen Waes’ taken from VPRO? It’s baffling,” she adds.
Are Other Belgian Stars in the Same Boat?
Tina questions whether other Belgian stars, like Arnout Hauben, have similar arrangements. “How much is Arnout getting paid by our public broadcaster? Does he earn more than our Prime Minister Jetten? It’s entirely possible,” she speculates. Hauben’s programs are produced by his own production company; thus, the specifics of his deal with NPO and VPRO remain in question.
No Cash for Linda
This situation raises eyebrows further when one considers that other popular Belgian shows featuring stars like Linda de Mol, Gerard Joling, and Frans Bauer do not earn any income from their broadcasts in Belgium. “They see zero euros! The revenues—about 5,000 euros per episode—go directly to the broadcaster. This is how it normally works, and rightly so!” Nijkamp states. It is the broadcaster that invests in the potentially costly production and assumes the risk, not the presenter or the production company.
In conclusion, while Tom Waes benefits enormously from a questionable financial scheme, Linda de Mol and her peers receive no such perks from their shows aired in Flanders. This highlights a significant disparity in the treatment of talent across borders within Belgium and the Netherlands, calling for scrutiny and transparency in funding public broadcast initiatives.
