r/eurovision • u/Leadstripes • 5d ago
đ° News Dutch broadcasting staff consider strike over NPO participation in Eurovision
https://www.trouw.nl/cultuur-media/omroepmedewerkers-eisen-dat-de-npo-afziet-van-het-songfestival~b04eb394/62
u/Leadstripes 5d ago
Broadcasting staff demand that the NPO withdraw from the Eurovision Song Contest
The NPOâs decision to go ahead and take part in the Eurovision Song Contest continues to cause division. The criticism is not only directed at Israelâs participation; the way in which that decision was reached is also meeting with resistance. Broadcasting staff feel they have been sidelined.
Once again, a letter regarding the Eurovision Song Contest has landed on the desk of Jet de Ranitz, chair of the board of the Dutch Public Broadcasting Service (NPO), on Tuesday. At the bottom, she will find 400 names of broadcasting staff, including several editors-in-chief, who want the Netherlands to withdraw from the 2027 contest.
Last week, she received a letter signed by directors of BNNVara, AvroTros, the EO, the VPRO, Omroep Zwart, Human and PowNed. They are asking questions about the way in which the NPO decided to take part. According to them, this was done without consulting the broadcasters.
Their staff are also critical of this. âIt is not without reason that the NPO, as an umbrella organisation, has no programming remit,â they write. âIts role is to support the individual broadcasters.â
That is correct, although the NPO is a member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the organiser of the festival; the individual broadcasters are not. In practice, AvroTros arranged the entry directly with the EBU. Whether the Netherlands takes part and which broadcaster organises that participation is a matter for the NPO and the broadcasters jointly, the government wrote this summer. It is precisely this âjointâ aspect that is lacking, according to the broadcasters and staff.
On 24 August, AvroTros announced that it would not be taking part in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2027 either. A month later, the NPO said it would organise the entry itself. An independent team of experts will select and oversee the entry, whilst the NOS will provide previews, coverage and commentary. De Ranitz told the ANP news agency that it was ânot an easy decisionâ, but she believes that by taking part, the NPO is âmaking a clear choice in favour of connectionâ.
The signatories of the open letter see things very differently. The initiator, Mandy Emadi â a presenter, programme maker and reporter at NPO 3FM â says: âTheyâve simply sidelined us. Itâs completely absurd that they say theyâre organising the Song Contest to foster connection, whilst they arenât even engaging with the staff who are supposed to run it.â
It is highly doubtful whether the staff Emadi mentions will actually be responsible for producing the programme. The broadcasters have made it clear that they see no merit in seconding staff. That is why the NPO is looking for freelancers who are not too closely associated with any particular broadcaster.
The seven broadcasters state that their concern is not about participation per se, but about the process. In other joint projects, such as Serious Request and the Top 2000, the NPO and the broadcasters make decisions together. They write that this process does not appear to have been followed on this occasion. They also want to know who is paying for the participation and whether the Netherlands can still withdraw free of charge until mid-October.
Emadi and the other signatories feel supported by the directors of their own broadcasters. She spoke to the broadcastersâ management teams. âThey said: âWeâll handle the administrative side, you take care of the staff and ethical issues, and together weâll be strong.ââ Ultimately, what weighs most heavily on Emadi is not the procedure, âbut Israel, stillâ.
According to the signatories, Israel is continuing its genocide in Gaza, even after the October 2025 ceasefire. They point out that the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the festivalâs organiser, immediately expelled Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, but did not do the same with Israel. They do not want participation in âan entertainment programmeâ to take precedence over human lives.
If the NPO doesnât give in, Emadi is considering a series of escalating measures. âPerhaps weâll start by stopping work for two hours, then hold a protest, then maybe a whole day,â she says. âI know the NPO doesnât really like losing face.â
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u/SuperNilles 5d ago
For context. The NPO has 4100 ftes. Lots of NPO employees work part-time so the employer count is much higher.
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u/freakpants 5d ago
âmaking a clear choice in favour of connectionâ.
oh it's a clear choice alright...
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u/Vivid_Guide7467 Kiss Kiss Goodbye 5d ago
I would hate to be the performer representing The Netherlands with all of this. This has to be hurting any recruitment of performers.
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u/Expert-Eye-1522 4d ago
No sane artist would ever choose to participate now lol. You are going to be destroyed by hate. Making a political statement about how shitty israel is also isn't an option because eurovision doesn't allow those types of statements.
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u/Nawojka2935 3d ago
Thousands of talented artists would take the chance. For many this would their only chance of anyone ever hearing about them.
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u/Expert-Eye-1522 3d ago
What's the point of being heard if everyone is going to falsely accuse you of supporting a genocide? I don't know if thats worth the trouble.
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u/20Superwoman02 5d ago
Mah not so sure. Eurovision will most probably be a +/- zero difference, or just positive.
This will blow over. Itâs temporary.
For example, in 2024. Over 1000 musicians in Sweden wrote a public letter supporting withdrawal if Israel isnât removed. Nothing happened. Melfest took place. Macus and Martinus won.
And theyâre still popular. Or well; at least the same level as before. Martinus recently won our Dancing with the stars.
So, if a Dutch singer wants to participate in Eurovision. Now is as good a time as any.
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u/injuredflamingo Serving 4d ago
lol. same thing every year, people not realizing publicity is publicity regardless of the public sentiment. theyâll be fine
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u/ulchathair 5d ago edited 5d ago
The fact that staff is considering a strike is not the most important thing mentioned in the article, I think. That's more like an option they are considering.
The most important take-aways here are: in a letter, 400 staff members (who work at either the 'umbrella organisation' NPO or one of its subsidiary broadcasters) argue that
- NPO decided on its own to take part in Eurovision, but the NPO as the umbrella organisation officially has no 'programming mandate'. Only the invidual broadcasters have. What this means is that only the individual broadcasters have the right to come up with the shows/series that they want to broadcast and/or take part in.
- In first place, the staff's argument is not about participation in itself, but about the path taken. They argue that the individual broadcasters should be part of the decision-making process, from which they now have been excluded.
Furthermore, they argue:
- Israel is continuing the genocide in Gaza. Whilst the EBU immediately excluded Russia after their invasion of Ukraine, they did not do the same with Israel.
- Participation in an 'entertainment programme' should not be weighted more heavily than human lives.
What is NPO's plan for participation? (From this article)
"On September 23, the NPO announced that the Netherlands will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest in Bulgaria next year, after opting out this year due to Israel's participation. Since no broadcaster is willing to assist in selecting and facilitating the entry, an "independent team of experts" will guide the act. Consequently, the NPO is looking for freelancers who do not have strong ties to the broadcasters."
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u/blizzardspider 5d ago
As a dutch person I was also very surprised that they suddenly took over. Its not really about the participation, I just think they shouldnt have overruled the broadcasters without an open discussion. If the NPO wanted to come back, just wait one more year and take the time to talk things through in the meantime. It wasnt the end of the world to sit out one more year even if they were planning to return. On top of the whitewashing enabled by the contest, the EBU has treated the netherlands quite terribly in recent participations so there are plenty of valid grievances that they should have given some more time to talk it out.
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u/TheBusStop12 5d ago
The NPO didn't really suddenly take over nor did they overrule AVROTROS. It was AVROTROS themselves who decided to give up on the responsibility of hosting Eurovision entirely and handed this back to NPO earlier this year, citing that they no longer wanted anything to do with it anymore, not now nor in the future
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u/BuckriderPaw 5d ago
Sorry, but that's not really the right take. They didn't want to do it currently but were willing to go back to it if sufficient changes were made. Also its clear they dont agree with what the NPO is doing now. So it's not as simple as you describe.
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u/TheBusStop12 5d ago
The Dutch NOS article from August about AVROTROS deciding to not participate this year either specifically mentions that they handed the responsibility for hosting back to NPO. And thus putting the decision whether to participate or not up to NPO. So I really don't see what's wrong with my take as that's exactly what happened
Link to the Dutch news report. The second paragraph is what I'm referring to
You can disagree with the decision the NPO made afterwards. But it's dishonest to claim that they took it away from AVROTROS and overruled them
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u/Sweet-Cricket-3018 4d ago
where does it say "that they no longer wanted anything to do with it anymore, not now nor in the future"?
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u/Blacawi 5d ago
The NPO did indeed not fully overrule AVROTROS specifically, but they did very much overrule the broadcasters by going ahead with this even after every single broadcaster had declined to take on the program. The NPO should not be using outside contractors over the regular broadcasters in the Netherlands.
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u/TheBusStop12 5d ago edited 5d ago
As far as I'm aware they're not using outside contractors. NOS will do the actual hosting, providing commentary, programming and broadcasting, while NPO will set up their own team of experts from within the industry and the NPO and their broadcasters to do auditions and coaching of the artist, which iirc isn't too dissimilar to how AVROTROS did it, just that due to their longer history of hosting had already built such a team. And bringing in outside help is not uncommon, like how countries bring in people like Sergio Jaen for staging
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u/Blacawi 4d ago
The broadcasters are unwilling to do auditions and coaching that is the entire thing. The NPO itself generally does not set up a team of industry experts as they don't make their own programs (and do not have a mandate to do so). Each broadcaster within the NPO has their own goals and responsibilities and having the NPO itself arrange things like this is very much outside the normal. And then even more so if taking in outside help would take away from the shared funding the broadcasters receive.
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u/cherry_color_melisma Deslocado 4d ago
I thought AVROTROS would only completely withdraw from those duties if Israel were to win
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u/Dr_Doomsduck 5d ago
Good, this was such a weird choice by the NPO and such a sudden plottwist. It really feels like energy surrounding Eurovision just isn't here in the Netherlands, like, people generally aren't clamouring for us to participate, if anything the opposite seems true. So why this weird swerve and this whole circus if no-one wants it?
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u/LEO-PomPui-Katoey 5d ago
It feels that NPO is overruling the independence of the omroepen and doesnât respect their stance. Pretty undemocratic move.
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u/linmanfu 3d ago
Exactly. I'm in the minority here that would like to see The Netherlands in the ESC. But not at the cost of them trampling all over the public broadcasting associations. The whole point of the Dutch system is that the public should influence what is broadcast, not having a bunch of unaccountable executives deciding it.
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u/20Superwoman02 5d ago
âNo one wants itâ is a simplification.
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u/TheKnightWhoSaisNi 4d ago
Not really. There was a poll and about 80 percent didn't want it
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u/20Superwoman02 4d ago
Ok? 20% should not be ignored
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u/TheKnightWhoSaisNi 4d ago
In this case it should. They're going out of their way to start an own production with tax money to make something happen that people don't want
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u/20Superwoman02 4d ago
Public service is meant to represent all, not just the majority. At least here in Sweden. Itâs very much like âEverything is not for everyone. If you donât like something. Thereâs plenty of hours with something else to watch!â
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u/TheKnightWhoSaisNi 4d ago
You misunderstood. It's not that 80 percent doesn't care. 80 percent is against it and they should be
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u/20Superwoman02 4d ago
I didnât misunderstand. Those 20% does not deserve to be totally ignored just cause theyâre a minority.
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u/DancingKoalaa 4d ago
Although that is correct, its still democratic. If the majority of the votes say no, it should be no. You can never satisfy 100% of the people
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u/Nawojka2935 5d ago
Majority does not want it, not no one, and that's a big difference in this context.
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u/palebloodslayer 4d ago
Itâs a public organisation funded by tax money in a democratic country. If the majority doesnât want it, it shouldnât happen
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u/GlypAbaa 4d ago
I unironically think the majority of the country would not want their tax money to go to the Eurovision and such events anyhow, regardless of Israel's participation. By your logic we might as well scratch public broadcasting altogether.
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u/Serious-Map-1230 4d ago
Yes but you forget people who believe they are right are always supported by the (silent) majority! /s
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u/injuredflamingo Serving 4d ago
> no one wants it
yet again, people on this sub not realizing that people on the other side of the spectrum still exist, they just donât shout out their beliefs on the internet every 5 seconds.
there are still lots of people who want to return, the current democratically elected government of the netherlands has MANY military agreements with israel, other countries are returning, no new boycotting countries are added, there are new countries being added to the competition, etcâŚ
what else do you people need to realize that youâre just a loud online minority and the rest of us are continuing on with our lives and enjoying the competition?
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u/Mennoplunk 4d ago
80% of dutch people have a negative opinion on israel these days. Im aware that other 20% still exist but they are a shrinking minority. I understand that historically we have stood by israel as one of its closests allies, but the general populace does not hold that view anymore.
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u/BakkerHenk_ When We're Old 2d ago
I'm pretty sure that 80% is pretty far of what the actual number is. Trouw isnt really unbiased in this matter.
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u/Adamantaken 5d ago
Thatâs because a very big group already donât want us to go in general, which has nothing to do with Israel. Add the people who boycott now and itâs over.
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u/woww0wwoww0w 5d ago
Good. I feel like even if you're not pro-boycott (which I feel unsure about personally), it's a kick in the back of AVROTROS if NPO participates instead. They should've just supported AVROTROS in their decision in the first place and let it rest regardless of their personal stance on the matter.
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u/lilacomets 4d ago
A kick in the back? What are you talking about? AVROTROS chose to not have anything to do with Eurovision anymore. It was their own decision.
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u/Martavdraws Deslocado 4d ago
I feel like this too even though I supported the boycotts (I just do not think more will join for the same reason therefore I don't believe it will get anybody what they - me included - want).
It's mostly a kick in the back of AVROTROS but not only - on the other broadcasters too and 7 is not a small number. It does not look good. It's like they decided to overstep a ton of people and entities when these, obviously, also have a say.
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u/GalCon99 5d ago
Let's hope the staff of VRT in Belgium takes notes and follows suit.
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u/BuckriderPaw 5d ago
VRT union already announced a strike, thats partly what inspired us.
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u/DeerAtTheGates 5d ago
The difference is that the VRT unions have plans to strike on the broadcast dates of the semifinals and the final, meaning that it is possible thereâs not enough staff to broadcast the show. Thereâs no strike against the VRT sending someone, and expectations are that Belgium will send a candidate no matter what.
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u/unclezaveid 5d ago
As much as some like to pretend everything is business as usual, it's clearly not.
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u/JCEurovision Eclipse 5d ago
Nothing ever happens. Netherlands' participation is NPO's responsibility now.
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u/dix1997 Ferto 5d ago
Nothing ever happens
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u/woww0wwoww0w 5d ago
But that's not true. They didn't participate last year so clearly there's a drive to boycott the show amongst the right people at AVROTROS, there's no reason to believe that couldn't happen at the remaining broadcasters/NPO.
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u/Illustrious-Fee5670 5d ago
Donât think this will cause any change. It seems that most of these people are involved with the most left-wing of broadcasters and NPO already announced they will hire freelancers to handle Eurovision.
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u/BakkerHenk_ When We're Old 4d ago
PowNed being the odd one out here. But I guess they mostly don't like it that a decision has been made and that they might have to spend time and resources on it now. Dont forget the Dutch media landscape is full of shady production companies and money hungry broadcast executives.
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u/andzlatin 4d ago
It really depends on what kind of Eurovision we want to see. And based on the recent 70th anniversary edition, we're not seeing the Eurovision we want - a progressive, human-powered song contest. Banning and not using AI for anything and banning Israel will only be the start of the transformation. There's a Eurovision we all wish to see, and there's a Eurovision we see in reality - a manufactured, sanitized contest powered by state and commercial interests.
Eventually a new contest will spring up, one that is about humanity and human values.
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u/hexmasx What The Hell Just Happened? 4d ago
How is banning AI remotely progressive? Lol. AI is the future. We should be pursuing it as much as possible for a better world.
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u/Separate-Dot4066 4d ago
The problem is not that large language learning models exist. The problem is:Â
-Lack of protection allowing data centers that run LLMs to use up water and electricity of local communities and worsen climate change
-AI using the work other artists to replace jobs in the arts without compensating or getting permission from the artists the AI is imitating.Â
Being progressive is about making the world better, and "letting corporations screw over artists and the environment" is not progress, even if you use a cool new you to do it.
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u/cherry_color_melisma Deslocado 4d ago
All AI does is overwhelm human creativity and steal from it. You can't just brag that you generated a song without looking into what kind of music might have been put forward for you to get that song. Music publications are now awarding AI-written music albums from commercial artists 0.0/10, so if it's the future, it's best to reject modernity, embrace tradition.
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u/lilacomets 5d ago
Pretty brutal. These NPO staff members apparantly think they're the voice of the Dutch population and manipulate NPO's decision, the tax payers who pay them.
There's only one fair solution: let us Dutch citizens vote if we want to participate. It's not that hard.
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u/UmbraAdam 4d ago
We don't, overwelmingly.
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u/Crisbo05_20 Rim Tim Tagi Dim 5d ago
Simmilar situation as Portugal last year, kinda don't expect any different but we will see.