TV channels Netherlands

The Dutch television system is one of Europe's most layered: a national public broadcasting trio, national news services, a famously dense web of regional and local omroepen, and a remarkable cluster of Dutch music television.

The National Public Channels

NPO 1 is the first national television station of the Netherlands, on air since 2 October 1951 and known until 2014 as Nederland 1 - the public-service flagship carrying programmes for the broadest audience. NPO 2, established on 1 October 1964, is the home of arts, culture, politics, documentaries and religious programmes, and NPO 3 is the youngest of the trio, oriented towards children, youth and innovative television - with NPO Zapp as the dedicated children's service of the family. Thematic offshoots fill out the public grid: NPO 1 Extra and NPO 2 Extra, the cultural archive channel that began life in 2006 as Cultura 24, the music platform NPO 3FM, and NPO Politiek en Nieuws for politics and current affairs.

News and Politics

Dutch national news appears in several forms. NOS TV is the channel presence of the NOS, the Netherlands' public news broadcaster. RTL Nieuws carries the news service of RTL Nederland, the main commercial competitor in daily news. BNR Nieuwsradio TV extends the country's all-news radio brand to the screen, and Tweede Kamer TV brings the debates and decisions of the Dutch House of Representatives directly to viewers.

Regional and Local Omroepen

The country's biggest block is regional television, reflecting the strength of the Dutch local broadcasting system. Omroep Brabant is the regional public broadcaster of North Brabant, on radio since 1976 and on television since 1997. L1 TV serves the province of Limburg, Omroep Gelderland covers Gelderland, and RTV Noord is the voice of the northern Netherlands. The cities have their own stations: Amsterdam is served by AT5, broadcasting since 1992, and by SALTO1 and SALTO2, while RTV Dordrecht, Omroep Tilburg, REGIO8, RTV Katwijk and dozens more municipal broadcasters keep town-level news on air.

Music, Lifestyle and Shopping

Dutch music television has a strong showing. DanceTelevision, the Amsterdam-based electronic music network, appears with its family of genre channels - Dance TV - Deep house district, MNML, Chill AF, EDM Mainstage, Algorhythm, Techno Warehouse and House Floor - DJ sets and club culture around the clock. RadioNL TV and TV Oranje, on air since 2005, carry Dutch-language music and the levenslied tradition, and BRASA TV adds further music programming. Lifestyle and niche cards include the culinary Happy Chef TV, the entertainment channel MA Live, and the shopping service Tommy Teleshopping TV.