An unexpected turn in the soap about Eva Jinek’s million-dollar contract: the presenter herself appears not to know whether she wants to continue at RTL 4. “This is a bit crazy.”
It has been a topic of discussion in Hilversum for months now: will Eva Jinek continue at RTL 4 or will she call it quits after four years? Friend and foe agree that keeping her salary, reportedly 1.2 million euros a year, is not an option. She is no longer as much of a crowd pleaser as she used to be.
Eve doesn’t know
Eva now reveals at RTL Boulevard that RTL wants to continue, but that it is putting off the decision. “RTL really wants me to stay, so I was very happy to hear that, but it is of course true: such a pregnancy also takes up a lot of space in your head,” said the leave star.
For now, the presenter is focusing on the new, eight-week season of her talk show. “I think I’m just going to do really well these two months, then I’m going to have a kid, and then I’m going to make the big decisions about my life. But this is my main task.”
In the fall
Eva gives birth in September and that means she doesn’t want to decide on her contract until the fall. And if she says yes, when will she start again? “I think that’s either the end of December or the beginning of January, I guess, but the schedule hasn’t been made yet, so I don’t really dare to say that.”
If Eva has to hand in a lot to RTL, then according to critics the question is whether she would rather go for the seven-hour slot of NPO 1. That is easier to combine with her family life, the broadcasting place is more prestigious and she can become the successor to Matthijs van Nieuwkerk. Moreover, she will only have to work for the NPO for a few months a year.
Big drawback
The big drawback? Eva has to return to the salary ceiling of 223 thousand euros per year at the public broadcaster, although she can probably raise that slightly with a nice construction. It seems like a serious option, because if Eva really cares about the money, then she cannot afford the luxury of letting RTL dangle, as she is doing now.
RTL Boulevard star Luuk Ikink finds it striking: “What is striking: RTL has apparently said that they want to continue with her, but she still has to think about it herself, it seems.”
‘I think that’s crazy’
Colleague Rob Goossens also finds this remarkable. “Yes, and I think that’s crazy. I think it is very logical that RTL says they want to move on, but I have to think a bit about the situation when she went to RTL. Then she only indicated very late to the KRO-NCRV: ‘Hey, I’m leaving’.”
That was quite a false move by Eva at the time. She hoped that the NPO would not find a replacement in time, so that she could start at RTL without too much resistance. In the end, her successor Op1 turned out to be doing fine. “If she now also says at the last minute: ‘I don’t have to anymore’, then you are presenting RTL with a fait accompli.”
Lower ratings
Finally: what does Eva attribute her collapsed ratings to? “Look, as long as I do this work – I’ve been in journalism for twenty years now – you see that the linear viewing figures decrease. I’d be lying if I said I don’t think it’s important or I don’t want high ratings. Of course you want that.”
She continues: “But it is the reality within which I now have to operate, that it is no longer the way it used to be. I notice it in my own viewing habits. There is a huge offer. I also watch streaming services.”
Interesting explanation from Eva. It is striking that competitor Today Inside is not bothered by this.