RTL 4
(
Radio Television Luxembourg 4
) is a Dutch
free TV
channel; it is the most-watched commercial station in the country, popular especially with those aged between 20 and 49.
[1]
RTL 4 is a general entertainment channel with
infotainment
,
television drama
,
talk shows
,
game shows
,
news
and
talent shows
. It is owned by
RTL Nederland
, a subsidiary of
RTL Group
. The station has three sister TV channels:
RTL 5
,
RTL 7
and
RTL 8
, and four thematic TV channels:
RTL Z
,
RTL Lounge
,
RTL Crime
and
RTL Telekids
.
Officially RTL 4 - along with
RTL 5
,
RTL 7
and
RTL 8
- is headquartered in
Hilversum
, broadcasting under a
Luxembourg
TV license. This allows them to avoid more strict control by the Dutch media authorities as Luxembourg's television watchdog is less strict. Despite being intended for Dutch audiences, RTL 4 is encrypted on the Dutch DVB-T Digitenne platform but free-to-air in Luxembourg. It currently broadcast kids' shows on Sunday mornings, with the Dutch live-action series with the live on-stage versions of the cartoon characters Fien & Teun, The Dutch circus show Titus & Fien, and the Julianatoren show Jul & Julia
It originally launched on the
Astra 1A
satellite as
RTL Veronique
on 2 October 1989,
[2]
before re-branding as RTL 4 the next year.
[3]
1, 2 and 3 were already used by the Netherlands' public broadcasters. It was one of the first private commercial broadcaster in the Netherlands. Officially, it still broadcasts from
Luxembourg
. Private broadcasters were not allowed in the Netherlands until 1992.
[4]
The encryption system employed by both RTL 4 and 5 analogue services while on the Astra 1A and
1C
satellites was
Luxcrypt
. This standard was employed to protect the distribution rights sold by foreign studios to RTL.
[5]
RTL 4 broadcasts the first and the longest running
soap
of the Netherlands,
Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden
(since 1 October 1990).
[6]
RTL 4's latest radical change of programming was on 18 August 2007 when RTL obtained the soccer rights (Eredivisie) but lost the rights to the
NOS
the following year. In 2008 RTL 4 went back to its roots as a family entertainment channel
[7]
with programmes such as
Idols
,
X Factor
,
Dancing with the Stars
and
Dancing on Ice
. That year RTL 4 also launched
Ik Hou Van Holland
, a quiz-show around and about the Netherlands with
Linda De Mol
.
[8]
From 2009 talent shows have played a major role in the programming of RTL 4, the
X-Factor
has been rescheduled successfully to Friday night with higher ratings in Season 2 (2009) and Season 3 (2010) on Fridays. In 2010, RTL 4 bought the rights for broadcasting
Holland's Got Talent
from
SBS 6
[9]
and created together with pioneer
John De Mol
their own talent show
The Voice of Holland
in the Autumn of that same year.
[10]
The Voice of Holland
became a huge hit on Dutch Television with ratings around 3 million viewers every Friday Night.
[11]
In 2012 yet another new talent show started,
Beat the Best
.
[12]
RTL 4 also owns the rights for the soaps
As the World Turns
and
The Bold and the Beautiful
. In January 2007, RTL sold the rights for
B&B
to
SBS6
, but repurchased the rights in December 2010. With more money and space to buy other TV shows, RTL 4 bought the rights for the first season of the successful drama show
Brothers & Sisters
[13]
and took over
CSI: Miami
from sister channel RTL 5.
[14]
Television host Peter van der Vorst has been appointed Content and Marketing Director of RTL Nederland. He will start on 1 March 2019.
[15]
From May 1991 until September 2006, the station has had several accompanying radio stations, such as RTL 4 Radio, RTL Radio, RTL Rock Radio, Happy RTL,
[16]
and RTL FM.
[17]
Between June 2007 and 1 January 2012 RTL Nederland owned
Radio 538
, one of the largest radio stations of the Netherlands.
[18]
[19]
Notable television presenters
edit
- Vivienne van den Assem
(2018?present)
- Vivian Boelen (1991?2012)
- Carlo Boszhard
(1993?present)
- Patty Brard
(1989?1990, 1994, 2011?2013, 2018)
- Robert ten Brink
(2006?present)
- Daphne Bunskoek (2005?2008, 2013, 2018?present)
- Pepijn Crone (2015?present)
- Nicolette van Dam
(2008?2015)
- Wendy van Dijk
(2006?2019)
- Marieke Elsinga (2016?present)
- Beau van Erven Dorens
(1998?2005, 2007?2009, 2015?present)
- Natasja Froger (2010?present)
- Gordon
(2007?2018)
- Angela Groothuizen
(2009?present)
- Olcay Gulsen
(2016?2019)
- John van den Heuvel
(2001?present)
- Jan de Hoop (1989?present)
- Mariska Hulscher
(200??200?)
- Twan Huys
(2018?2019)
- Luuk Ikink (2013?present)
- Chantal Janzen
(2005?2006, 2011?present)
- Eva Jinek
(2020?present)
- Nicolette Kluijver
(2014?present)
- Jeroen van Koningsbrugge
(2008?2019)
- Martijn Krabbe
(1995?present)
- Pernille La Lau (2006?2008, 2010?present)
- Paul de Leeuw
(2013?2014, 2018?present)
- Marc van der Linden (2003?present)
- Bridget Maasland
(2007?2012, 2016?present)
- Char Margolis
(2002?2008, 2010)
- Jaap van Meekren (1989?1993)
- Linda de Mol
(2007?2019)
- Irene Moors
(1989?2016)
- Ruben Nicolai
(2015?present)
- Derek Ogilvie (2007?2013)
- Jeroen Pauw
(1989?2000)
- Antoin Peeters (2002?present)
- Jur Raatjes (1989?1999)
- Art Rooijakkers
(2018?present)
- Loretta Schrijver
(1989?2007, 2010?present)
- Katja Schuurman
(2018?present)
- Gaston Starreveld (1990?present)
- Humberto Tan
(2007?2012, 2013?present)
- Caroline Tensen (1989?1999, 2019?present)
- Quinty Trustfull (2006, 2008?present)
- Rudolph van Veen
(2000?2005, 2008?2011)
- Thomas Verhoef (2005?present)
- Peter van der Vorst (2006?2019)
- Peter R. de Vries
(1995?1998, 2006?2010, 2013?2021)
- Frits Wester
(1994?present)
- Merel Westrik
(2014?2019)
- John Williams (1995?present)
RTL 4 offered a teletext service which stopped on 1 April 2017. The pages 888/889 are still available for subtitles.
[20]