With an astonishing 82% of Dutch residents tuning into public broadcasts last year, the numbers reveal a media landscape where traditional giants like NPO and RTL still dominate airwaves but face a streaming revolution that now commands over a third of all TV time.
Key Takeaways
- In 2023, the Dutch public broadcaster NPO had a total audience reach of 82% among the population aged 13+
- Dutch TV households numbered 7.8 million in 2022, with 95% connected to digital terrestrial or cable services
- The most watched TV program in the Netherlands in 2023 was the NOS Journaal with an average of 1.2 million viewers per broadcast
- Dutch radio listenership reached 80% of the population aged 10+ weekly in 2023
- Public radio stations like NPO Radio 1 had 1.1 million daily listeners in 2023
- Commercial radio market share was 42% in 2023, led by Talpa Radio
- Dutch newspaper circulation totaled 2.1 million daily copies in 2023, down 4% YoY
- De Telegraaf sold 305,000 daily copies in 2023
- National newspaper readership reached 68% of adults in 2023
- Dutch magazine circulation totaled 45 million copies annually in 2023
- LINDA. magazine sold 180,000 copies per issue in 2023
- Weekly magazine readership was 52% among women aged 20-49 in 2023
- Dutch online news consumption reached 95% of internet users in 2023
- NU.nl had 8.5 million monthly unique visitors in 2023
- Video content views on Dutch news sites totaled 2.5 billion in 2023
The Dutch media industry remains widely consumed but is rapidly shifting toward digital and streaming services.
Advertising
- Total Dutch media market revenue was €6.2 billion in 2023
- Digital advertising dominated with 52% of total ad spend at €2.1 billion in 2023
- TV ad market share was 18% of total advertising expenditure in 2023
- Out-of-home advertising grew 7% to €250 million in Dutch media in 2023
- Programmatic digital ad buying reached 65% of online spend in 2023
- Newspaper ad revenue share dropped to 8% of total media ads in 2023
- Influencer marketing spend in Dutch media was €120 million in 2023
- Radio ad revenue per listener hour was €0.08 in 2023
- Native advertising accounted for 22% of digital media revenue in 2023
- Total ad spend growth was 6.5% in Dutch media sector in 2023
- Search advertising (Google) took 35% of digital pie at €750 million in 2023
- Social media ads generated €850 million in Netherlands media in 2023
- Magazine ad pages sold totaled 45,000 in 2023, down 3%
- CTV (connected TV) ad spend surged 40% to €85 million in 2023
- Direct mail advertising in media support was €180 million in 2023
Advertising Interpretation
The Dutch media market has decisively embraced the digital future, as evidenced by digital ads now claiming a dominant 52% share of revenue while television clings to 18% and newspapers fade to a mere 8%, yet in this data-driven landscape even the traditional billboard found a way to grow by 7%, proving that while everyone is chasing clicks, some still make an impression by literally being too big to ignore.
Digital Media
- Dutch online news consumption reached 95% of internet users in 2023
- NU.nl had 8.5 million monthly unique visitors in 2023
- Video content views on Dutch news sites totaled 2.5 billion in 2023
- Social media drove 45% of traffic to Dutch media sites in 2023
- NOS.nl app had 3.2 million monthly active users in 2023
- Digital ad spend in Dutch media hit €1.8 billion in 2023
- 62% of Dutch users paid for online news in 2023
- AD.nl reached 6.1 million monthly uniques in 2023
- Mobile news consumption was 70% of total digital time in 2023
- Telegraaf.nl had 5.8 million monthly visitors in 2023
- Newsletter subscribers for Dutch media totaled 4.5 million in 2023
- User-generated content platforms like GeenStijl had 2.1 million uniques monthly in 2023
- Digital video ad views reached 150 billion on Dutch platforms in 2023
- 55% of online media revenue came from programmatic ads in 2023
- Podcast downloads in Netherlands hit 500 million in 2023
- Dutch media OTT services like Videoland had 2.8 million subs in 2023
Digital Media Interpretation
While we Dutchies claim to distrust algorithms and crave depth, last year our news diet was a chaotic buffet where nearly everyone showed up, paid to get in, and mostly just watched the videos that social media shoved onto our tiny screens.
Magazines
- Dutch magazine circulation totaled 45 million copies annually in 2023
- LINDA. magazine sold 180,000 copies per issue in 2023
- Weekly magazine readership was 52% among women aged 20-49 in 2023
- Donald Duck weekly reached 250,000 children in 2023
- Magazine ad revenue was €145 million in 2023, down 2%
- Voorkeur magazine had 120,000 subscribers in 2023
- Lifestyle magazines accounted for 35% of total circulation in 2023
- Quest magazine circulation was 75,000 per issue in 2023
- 28% of Dutch adults read a magazine weekly in 2023
- Libelle weekly had 320,000 readers per issue in 2023
- Professional magazines like Elsevier Weekblad sold 90,000 copies in 2023
- Magazine digital editions grew 15% to 12 million reads in 2023
- AutoWeek magazine reached 150,000 monthly readers in 2023
- 65% of magazine readers were female in 2023
- Panorama magazine circulation was 110,000 in 2023
- Magazine employment was 4,200 FTEs in 2023
Magazines Interpretation
Despite the rise of digital, the Dutch magazine industry in 2023 remained a surprisingly robust, woman-powered behemoth, where the combined might of lifestyle guides, weekly gossip, and a very famous duck proved that a well-curated page can still capture millions of eyes and hundreds of millions of euros.
Print Media
- Dutch newspaper circulation totaled 2.1 million daily copies in 2023, down 4% YoY
- De Telegraaf sold 305,000 daily copies in 2023
- National newspaper readership reached 68% of adults in 2023
- Regional newspapers like AD had 1.2 million daily readers in 2023
- Newspaper print ad revenue fell to €210 million in 2023
- 42% of Dutch adults subscribed to a newspaper in 2023
- NRC Handelsblad had 220,000 paying subscribers in 2023
- Free newspapers like Metro reached 1.5 million daily readers in 2023
- Sunday newspaper circulation was 1.8 million copies in 2023
- Newspaper digital replicas were read by 55% of print subscribers in 2023
- Volkskrant circulation stood at 210,000 daily in 2023
- Print journalism employment dropped to 8,500 FTEs in 2023
- 72% of newspaper readers were over 50 years old in 2023
- Trouw newspaper had 105,000 subscribers in 2023
- Newspaper recycling rate in Netherlands was 92% in 2023
- FD (Financieele Dagblad) reached 85,000 daily readers in 2023
- Print media market value was €450 million in 2023
Print Media Interpretation
While the Dutch press remains a national habit with 68% of adults reading newspapers, the industry is looking its age—quite literally, with 72% of readers over 50—as print fades, ads vanish, and the hope for survival lies in convincing those digital-savvy subscribers, who already mostly read on screens, that the paper part is still worth paying for.
Radio
- Dutch radio listenership reached 80% of the population aged 10+ weekly in 2023
- Public radio stations like NPO Radio 1 had 1.1 million daily listeners in 2023
- Commercial radio market share was 42% in 2023, led by Talpa Radio
- Dutch adults spent 2.1 hours per day listening to radio in 2023
- Qmusic was the most listened commercial station with 1.4 million weekly reach in 2023
- Radio advertising revenue in the Netherlands totaled €178 million in 2023, up 3%
- Car radio listenership accounted for 55% of total radio time in 2023
- Podcast consumption via radio apps grew 25% to 1.2 million monthly users in 2023
- NPO Radio 2 had the highest daily reach at 1.3 million in 2023
- Digital radio (DAB+) penetration reached 35% of households in 2023
- 65% of Dutch radio listening was live in 2023, down from 75% in 2019
- Sky Radio Group stations reached 4.2 million listeners weekly in 2023
- Radio news bulletins were consumed by 28% of listeners daily in 2023
- 100% Hits Radio had 850,000 weekly listeners in the 20-34 demo in 2023
- Radio ad spots averaged €15-€25 per 30 seconds on top stations in 2023
- Elderly listeners (65+) made up 32% of total radio audience in 2023
- Online radio streams had 15 million sessions per month in 2023
- Regional radio stations served 2.5 million listeners weekly in 2023
Radio Interpretation
While the Dutch radio industry successfully dodges the "video killed the radio star" prophecy with impressive reach, its audience is increasingly divided between nostalgic elders clinging to their car radios, young listeners chasing trends, and advertisers eagerly paying to shout at both groups through the static.
Television
- In 2023, the Dutch public broadcaster NPO had a total audience reach of 82% among the population aged 13+
- Dutch TV households numbered 7.8 million in 2022, with 95% connected to digital terrestrial or cable services
- The most watched TV program in the Netherlands in 2023 was the NOS Journaal with an average of 1.2 million viewers per broadcast
- Pay-TV penetration in the Netherlands stood at 68% of households in 2023, up from 62% in 2020
- RTL Group's Dutch channels captured 22.5% audience share in prime time during 2023
- Streaming services accounted for 35% of total TV viewing time in the Netherlands in Q4 2023
- The Dutch TV production market value was €1.2 billion in 2022, with 60% from independent producers
- Children aged 6-12 watched an average of 1.5 hours of TV per day in 2023, down 20% from 2019
- Ziggo provided TV services to 3.1 million Dutch households in 2023
- Live sports programming made up 15% of total TV viewing hours on Dutch channels in 2023
- KPN's TV subscribers totaled 2.4 million in 2023, with 40% using 4K content
- The average Dutch adult watched 2.8 hours of TV per day in 2023
- Talpa Network's SBS channels had 18% market share in 2023 among 20-49 year olds
- Dutch TV ad spend grew by 4.2% to €512 million in 2023
- 75% of Dutch TV viewers used smart TVs or streaming devices in 2023
- NPO 1 averaged 785,000 viewers daily in 2023
- Video-on-demand views on Dutch platforms reached 12 billion in 2022
- Cable TV subscriptions declined by 5% to 4.2 million in 2023
- RTL 4 was the top commercial channel with 12.5% share in 2023
- IPTV services grew to 28% of TV market in 2023
Television Interpretation
The Netherlands' TV landscape is a fascinating tug-of-war, where the public broadcaster's omnipresence anchors a nation that's rapidly rewiring itself for streaming, yet still obsessively tunes in for the evening news as reliably as the tides.
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