Paul de Leeuw scores big with his Sinterklaas show, but he still seems to have lost his A status for good. “They don’t want to make a budget for the program I want.”
After the Hotel Hollandia debacle, there is now a big boost for Paul de Leeuw: his annual Sinterklaas show did very good business last night on NPO 1. No fewer than 1.4 million people watched Sint and De Leeuw, so ratings authority Tina Nijkamp speaks of a ‘great relief’ for the presenter. “Finally another hit!”
No money for Paul
Yet appreciation for Paul among the public broadcaster seems far away. They don’t want to give him the program he wants. “If people say to me: we’ll give you a late-night show, after Studio Sport on Saturday evening, I would sign immediately. I can push the boundaries again. But there is no money for that,” he says The Telegraph.
Paul doesn’t want prime time anymore. “I think that a personality program is outdated. I’m going to be more careful when choosing my next project. I don’t feel like dealing with hassles like Hotel Hollandia anymore. That also leaves a mark on my work mode.”
‘That’s right!’
Private boss Evert Santegoeds thinks it is right that the NPO does not want to release money for such a late show with Paul. “Well, I would say: don’t do it for a while. We have just recovered from Hotel Hollandia. A late-night show is after all the sports stuff, around twelve. Your audience is not there, that is over and yes… I would call that a day.”
Paul should abandon this idea, Evert advises. He says in the podcast Strictly Private: “I wouldn’t invest in that very late evening on Saturday anymore, because I don’t think anyone wants that.”
No dog
Perhaps Paul de Leeuw’s time on TV is a bit over, according to the Private boss. “You shake your head once and you move on, but they are very expensive programs and if no dog is watching… Then it says that no dog is interested in it, in my opinion.”
A pity, but according to Evert it is no different. “With another late-night personality show, you’re really looking for such a niche… It’s not worth the investment.”