Its informative, commentary and opinion- forming function makes public broadcasting one of the cornerstones of Dutch democracy. According to the government, it has become a necessary medium for the country's citizens to get around and develop themselves in political, social, cultural and economic terms. And this public function should be given form in a powerful public broadcasting system, which should be distinguished from commercial broadcasting by the quality of the programming, laid down in programming regulations. A new feature in the Dutch broadcasting system is the granting of concessions. The existing broadcasting associations will no longer have their membership figures checked annually, but will receive a concession for five years on the basis of a programming policy plan together with a written undertaking to work together with other licensed broadcasting organisations on one of the three TV channels.
Public broadcasting needs to compete with the commercial broadcasters more efficiently and adroitly.
In other words, it is no longer the independent broadcasting associations which are the pivot but the channel on which they broadcast. The programming regulations set down in the Media Act indicate the thinking behind this. For radio, the aim is to hold and increase the audience share, by strengthening and making more attractive the station identities of the five national stations. The NOS, as you know, not only has a programming task, it also serves as the co-ordinating body of the national public broadcasting organisations. This function of the NOS has become much heavier since January 1st 1995.