In 2011, television remains the predominant mass medium that captivates Flemings on a daily basis
VMMa has had a good year for television, with a turnover well ahead of the market. This is partly due to the successful integration of Vitaya into the channel offer.
The flagship channel vtm grew as commercial market leader, achieving a market share of 24.6% thanks to ‘talked about formats’ such as The Voice van Vlaanderen, Tegen de Sterren Op and Code 37 –all of which won a Flemish television award (‘Televisiester’). However, the largest growth came from 2BE and Vitaya, rising to 10.4% and 5.9% respectively. JIM remains the leading youth channel and kids channel vtmKzoom sustained the good figures for its debut year. Still, our television business also faces a number of key challenges. Our competitors are planning a major offensive in the autumn of 2012. Deferred viewing is also affecting the entire television sector.
Qgroup has had a brilliant year. Both stations increased their turnover to a combined figure of 12%, in line with the radio market. 2011 was an outstanding year for market leader Q-music. It celebrated its 10th birthday with a 10-hour-long live show: over 50 artists performed all their numbers live. Complementary channel JOE fm is in a strong position thanks to a combination of well-known hits and trusted DJs, achieving a market share of 9.2%.
In the Netherlands, the radio advertising market in 2011 barely recovered from the sharp fall since the beginning of the crisis. The turnover of Q-music, a wholly-owned subsidiary of De Persgroep, fell slightly. The fires at Q-music’s main radio towers at Smilde and Lopik slowed down the station’s progression significantly. With a market share of 10%, Q-music remains a strong runner-up as the number three radio station in the Netherlands. Its broadcast licence has been renewed for six years for a far lower licence fee. Q-music Nederland is concentrating entirely on gaining listeners. When it comes to creating talked about radio, the programming is in safe hands with young talents Mattie and Wietze as brand-new morning DJs.
In 2012 we are adopting a new approach together with the Vlaamse Media Maatschappij. We are integrating our television and radio brands into a single media company in which we will direct all our audiovisual activities within an overall vision, strategy and structure.
Peter Bossaert
CEO Vlaamse Media Maatschappij
