It seems very likely that Goede Tijden Slechte Tijden may disappear from the air this year and move exclusively to Videoland. Why is the soap no longer a linear success? “Netflix…”
The linear viewing figures of Goede Tijden Slechte Tijden can no longer be saved. The soap opera once kept millions of viewers glued to the TV at eight o’clock in the evening, but nowadays it often causes a dip in the programming of RTL 4. Something historic happened recently: SBS 6 managed to attract more viewers at the same time.
GTST of the tube
While SBS 6 is successful with Allies, a kind of soap opera but with real people, GTST’s cardboard theater only appeals to fewer viewers. Luuk Ikink has now said in RTL Boulevard that there are increasingly internal whispers about an exclusive move from GTST to Videoland.
TV critic Victor Vlam in his podcast: “That is a new sign that this is going to happen soon. If it is being discussed so openly in the RTL clubhouse, then you can assume that it is coming.”
Netflix millions
Why does GTST no longer score on TV? “The problem is that soaps simply can no longer compete with the drama series that streamers have nowadays. They are simply so much better in quality.”
GTST has really improved over the years, according to Victor, but: “It still cannot match a Netflix series and that is not surprising, because many millions are spent per episode. That is simply a budget that a soap cannot have. That is why people are more tired of soaps.”
The new soap
While streamers such as Netflix excel in drama, linear TV now mainly scores with reality. “You see that reality has become the new soap opera,” says Victor. “Actually, De Allies is just a contemporary soap. The same applies to B&B Vol Liefde. I think the time of the soap is simply over.”
The disappearance of GTST would be the first major change on the eve for RTL 4 since August 30, 2004. “That was almost 22 years ago. Then Boulevard was extended to the Half Eight News. There used to be the program Kat in de Zak, but that was canceled.”
