Approval of RTL Nederland acquisition by DPG an important and logical step

Amsterdam, June 27, 2025 – The Democracy and Media Foundation (SDM), a shareholder of DPG Media and guardian of a pluralistic Dutch media landscape, welcomes the decision by the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) to approve DPG’s acquisition of RTL Nederland. “This acquisition is a very important and logical step in the effort to ensure the continued existence of strong Dutch journalistic media outlets amid the billion-dollar dominance of American Big Tech and its disruptive algorithms,” says SDM Director Nienke Venema. For SDM, this marks the beginning of a new era, as the ACM has assigned it a more substantial role within DPG.

DPG has provided various safeguards to maintain the journalistic independence and diversity of its portfolio of media titles. These measures include updating and strengthening all editorial charters, increasing transparency and accountability, and ensuring that RTL Nieuws and NU.nl remain freely accessible. SDM also welcomes the establishment of two new foundations that, as co-shareholders alongside SDM, will oversee these titles. SDM now gains control over the sale or discontinuation of all of DPG’s national news media titles and can also block any potential sale of the company. “We will fulfill our supervisory role in close consultation with DPG, but independently and with a critical eye,” said Venema.

With the approval of the acquisition of RTL Nederland, SDM is pleased to note that the future of RTL Nieuws is also secured. “This was a very important point for us,” says Venema. “RTL Nieuws is one of the few commercial TV channels that reaches millions of Dutch people with news generated through journalism. Had the acquisition not gone through, there would have been a real risk that RTL would fall into the hands of a foreign party that would take over the lucrative Videoland but let RTL Nieuws die a quiet death.”

Authoritative
In addition to its role as a shareholder of DPG, SDM views its primary mission as promoting a strong liberal democratic state governed by the rule of law by helping to maintain a pluralistic and independent Dutch media landscape. In doing so, SDM sees itself as an authoritative organization with a clear substantive focus that actively initiates, sets the agenda, and facilitates.

The foundation is firmly committed to fostering a healthy relationship between the media and democracy. Although journalistic media have increased their output, journalistic content accounts for an increasingly smaller share of the total media offering. Tech companies like Google and Meta have acquired a monopoly position in a relatively short period of time: Dutch media companies are increasingly dependent on these platforms for their visibility, while at the same time losing revenue to them. The consequences are significant: some media scholars even predict that the traditional media company will have disappeared within five years.

Dominance
SDM therefore considers it a necessity to protect the current strong and diverse media landscape in the Netherlands as effectively as possible. Increasingly, studies show that the growing dominance of large international technology companies jeopardizes this function. These companies, which take no responsibility for the quality of their information, curate the flow of information for millions of Dutch citizens using algorithms. This is happening while the citizens are not held accountable for this at all, even though their messages influence the public debate.

Venema: “Starting in 2026, we will focus explicitly on promoting the effective functioning of journalistic media for our democracy. We feel a shared responsibility to ensure a diverse range of independent journalism and to create the conditions under which it can thrive. As an independent organization with its own capital, we are committed to serving the Dutch public so that they can participate in democracy as well-informed citizens.”

About SDM
The Democracy and Media Foundation owes its existence to the founders of the resistance newspaper *Het Parool*. After the war, the Het Parool Foundation became the owner and publisher of the newspaper; later, the Perscombinatie was formed, to which titles such as de Volkskrant, Trouw, NRC, and the AD were added. In 2003, the name was changed to the Democracy and Media Foundation.

SDM’s statutory purpose is (paraphrased): “To influence public opinion in the spirit of liberal democratic ideals. This means: safeguarding a pluralistic media landscape as the foundation of democratic opinion-forming, contributing to a strong, resilient democratic constitutional state, stimulating democratic renewal where necessary, defending personal freedoms, and combating totalitarian tendencies. Keeping alive the legacy of those who were deprived of their lives as a result of the German occupation due to their involvement with the illegal newspaper *Het Parool*.”