AvroTros boss Taco Zimmerman, who is keeping our country away from the Eurovision Song Contest because he is anti-Israel, asks the RTL leadership to support the public broadcaster in the fight for more money. “You get this back!”
The NPO has a mega budget: the money is splashing against the skirting boards. In 2026, all those broadcasters will again have 1.2 billion euros to distribute. That is much more than what RTL and Talpa have to spend together. Yet they are back on their feet in Hilversum now that budget cuts are coming. AvroTros boss Taco Zimmerman is also furious.
Poor country
Taco wants more money. Much more money. “We make incredibly good television for little money. I’m slowly getting a bit pissed that The Hague is attacking us again and again,” he fumes in A.D.
The Hague does not value public broadcasting enough, he believes. “We are the country of the pastor and the merchant. We think it’s just a hobby or something. We really are a poor country in that regard.”
‘RTL, help us!’
Taco believes there should also be support from the commercial sector. He points to the RTL top, which consists of Sven Sauvé and – now – Peter van der Vorst. “Let me put it this way: it is a shame that CEO Sven Sauvé of RTL Nederland is still calling for more cuts in public broadcasting. Let’s join forces.”
How does he envision that? “If they ensure that we receive an additional 100 million, I would be happy to discuss making our drama series available on Videoland. There are common enemies such as Meta, Google and TikTok. I will extend my hand.”
Another 100 million. And RTL gets Frits Sissing and associates in return. Detached from reality.