Today Inside must be careful not to use their supporters too much as a cash cow, says media critic Victor Vlam. “It all looks very commercial.”
Not everything the men of Today Inside touch turns into gold; they will be in the Ziggo Dome tonight, but tickets are still available. And the lion’s share was sold for next to nothing through VakantieVeilingen. Johan Derksen is a bit embarrassed because they made fun of André Hazes Jr. because of his poor ticket sales.
Not much for fans
Maybe it’s time for them to take a commercial step back, says media critic Victor Vlam in the podcast The Communicados. “I do think that VI should pay attention to the fact that they may be very clever commercially and that a lot of money is being made, but that they do not give much back to the fans of that program.”
VI owes a lot to the fans, Victor explains. “That program is different from other talk shows, because there is a really hardcore club, a really hard core of supporters who have supported that program through thick and thin. And they also ensured that the program remained on the air when it did not have such high viewing figures.”
Big fan day
What could VI do to express their appreciation? “If you have such a hard core, you could also choose to give something back to those people. A fan day, for example. That may not be super profitable, there may be a thousand people present, but then everyone can have their photo taken with Johan, René and Wilfred if they want.”
Victor continues: “Of course, stars never like to spend a whole day just posing with fans, but that is ultimately a service to the fans of the program. It’s all super commercial now, a lot of money is being made, but just pay attention to these people who made that program great.”
Sam behind the bar
There should be an entrance fee for such a fan day, Victor thinks. “You want to select people who really like the program. If you want to sell tickets for such an event, I don’t see a problem, but posing for photos with fans is really a service to the fans.”
He continues: “As far as I’m concerned, you put a bar there and give everyone a free drink, for example. It would be really nice if, instead of Sam, Merel and Raymond sitting at the bar, they stood behind the bar to pour a drink for Mien from Apeldoorn. Again: that is really giving something back to the fans.”
Fan shop
Don’t the guys from VI already do enough for their fans with all that merchandise? Now they can also buy those masks. “That also gives me the feeling: I find it all very commercial and not very fan-oriented, so I think there too: it could be a little less.”
He concludes: “Now pay attention to the people who made the program great.”