In 2018, the Netherlands’ print media market included eight national newspapers, one free-sheet, seventeen regional newspapers, and two weeklies (Bakker, 2019; CvM, 2019b). Compared with a decade earlier, (2008) one national newspaper disappeared, as NRC Handelsblad and nrc.next were no longer seen as two distinct publications. Moreover, three free-sheets were shut down, nine regional newspapers ended their operations, and two weeklies changed their periodicity to monthly publications. Among the national newspapers, there are three quality newspapers(De Volkskrant, NRC Handelsblad/nrc.next, and Trouw), two popular newspapers (Algemeen Dagblad and De Telegraaf), two newspapers with a Christian-protestant profile (Reformatorisch Dagblad and Nederlands Dagblad), and one specialist daily (Het Financieele Dagblad).
In 2018, Metro was the only free-sheet distributed nationwide, mainly in the Dutch railway stations aimed at commuters, but was terminated as a print version in March 2020, as mentioned above in connection with the Covid-19 pandemic. As of 2018, circulation figures were no longer available. Instead, reach figures were provided based on the population aged 13+ and expressed in percentages. Between 2014 and 2018, De Telegraaf dropped from 12.9 to 8 per cent, de Volkskrant from 5.6 to 4.6 per cent, and NRC Handelsblad/nrc.next from 3.5 to 3 per cent (CvM, 2019b).
Of these, at least one regional newspaper is distributed in each of the twelve Dutch provinces. On average, regional newspapers reach around 1 to 2 per cent of the population. Most national dailies and weeklies are available all over the country, either in single issues or by subscription. Single copies of regional papers are only available in the region they focus on or by mail subscription. However, in total, for all newspapers, reach figures dropped from 57.1 per cent in 2014 to 40.4 per cent in 2018 (CvM, 2019b).
In addition, there are only two opinion weeklies and news magazines: Elsevier Weekblad and De Groene Amsterdammer. Although Elsevier Weekblad was the most circulated and read in 2018, amounting to about 60,000 copies, this figure was lower by 10 per cent as compared with that in 2017, and half of that in 2008. De Groene Amsterdammer’s circulation of about 23,000 in 2018, in contrast, was higher than that in the previous two years (Bakker, 2019).
In 2019, the largest television owners in the Netherlands were public broadcaster NPO with three channels, commercial broadcaster RTL with seven channels, and commercial broadcaster Talpa TV with five channels (SKO, 2020). In 2018, 82.5 per cent of the Dutch population aged six and older watched the public broadcaster on a weekly basis, 79 per cent watched a programme on an RTL channel, and 72.4 per cent watched a programme on one of Talpa TV’s channels. Average viewing time per day amounted to 156 minutes, which was 28 minutes less than in 2019 (SKO, 2020). There were 18 radio stations catering to the Dutch audience, with nearly all of them offering a specific music menu. Meanwhile, in 2018, NPO Radio 1 and BNR Nieuwsradio were the only two stations broadcasting news bulletins around the clock, with a market share of 8.2 per cent and 0.8 per cent, respectively (CvM, 2019a).
In 2020, every news source is available online and offline, except for online-only news websites such as nu.nl. More than 95 per cent of the Dutch have Internet access, and 98 per cent of households have broadband access (CvM, 2019a; Eurostat Statistical Yearbook, 2020; Newman et al., 2020).
