Public broadcasters in the Benelux show interest in better access and visibility
17 Mar. 2025
Public broadcasters from the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg held discussions on ways to improve access to and visibility of their content in a rapidly changing media landscape. During the first Benelux roundtable, organized on March 17, 2025, by the Benelux Union in collaboration with public broadcasters, representatives from RTBF (CEO Jean-Paul Philippot), VRT (CEO Frederik Delaplace), NPO (Head of Distribution Marc Poppenk), BRF (CEO Alain Kniebs), and radio 100,7 (CEO Jean-Lou Siweck) explored various possibilities for regional cooperation. The goal is to provide audiences with better access to high-quality audio and video programs from each country and to enhance the visibility of public broadcasters on digital platforms.
In his opening speech, Oliver Paasch, Minister-President of the German-speaking Community of Belgium, emphasized the importance of inclusive collaboration. He pointed out that small linguistic communities would also benefit from cross-border access to public media, reinforcing the call for a joint Benelux strategy to facilitate access and minimize restrictions. According to him, geoblocking represents a form of digital discrimination against linguistic minorities, particularly noticeable in border regions, and should be abolished.
A regional collaboration for unrestricted access
“Access to public media should know no borders,” declared Frans Weekers, Secretary-General of the Benelux Union, in his welcome address. He advocated for a collective approach to make reliable information and high-quality content widely accessible. Public broadcasters see regional cooperation as a way to make their content available across the Benelux, offering a portion of their productions in a market-compliant manner and within copyright regulations.
Inspiring collaborations already exist in this domain, such as between the NPO and VRT, and between the BRF and German public broadcasters. These partnerships enable the production of joint content broadcast on both sides of the border. Additionally, the NPO and VRT offer a selection of podcasts on their respective platforms, and BRF’s video content is available on RTBF’s digital platform Auvio. Public broadcasters view such collaborations as the future and aim to expand them further. Moreover, a dynamic market facilitating content exchange within the Benelux has long been in place.
Priority for visibility and discoverability
Public broadcasters also advocate for regulations based on the principle of due prominence: improved accessibility and visibility of public content on smart TVs, apps, and other digital platforms, both in video and audio formats. It goes without saying that content funded by taxpayers should be easily accessible to them. This issue is a top priority and is included in various national and regional government agreements.
Fighting disinformation
Additionally, public broadcasters are calling for concrete actions to maintain their role in combating disinformation and strengthening democratic values. Developments in this area are particularly concerning. Public media play a crucial role here, and a fund to support cross-border Benelux initiatives against disinformation would be a valuable step forward, according to the CEOs of the public broadcasters.
Use of European regulations and a call to governments
The European Union has adopted a series of rules to strengthen the access and visibility of public media. However, public broadcasters urge lawmakers to better integrate these rules into national legislation to promote cooperation and effectively apply the due prominence principle.
During the closing of the roundtable, Michel Étienne Tilemans, Deputy Secretary-General of the Benelux Union, highlighted the significant role the Benelux Union can play. Through consultations with member states and legal instruments, the Union can facilitate collaboration and develop pilot projects that could serve as models within the European Union.
Among the avenues to explore are cooperation between the countries’ major media hubs, data sharing to allow users access to various content platforms with a single account, and joint content production. This approach draws inspiration from several existing collaboration models in Europe.
Alain Kniebs: “As public media, we operate at the heart of Europe’s border regions—the living space of our users is inherently cross-border. We place great value on collaborations and exchanges that reflect this reality. Yet, we are still too often confronted with barriers. In the past, the Benelux Union has frequently played a pioneering role in European solutions. It can also play a key role in the media sector, whether it’s about geoblocking or the visibility of regional content in a digitally competitive environment.”
Jean-Lou Siweck: “With increasingly powerful global players determining which information is available and visible, national governments risk having insufficient influence to ensure the prominent position of reliable media—particularly non-profit public broadcasters—on digital platforms, smart TVs, and entertainment services. Countries must join forces to ensure that the European vision of the role of media in a democratic society is not subordinated to purely commercial interests.”
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