It probably hasn't escaped your notice: the upcoming merger of RTL and TALPA. Officially it is a joint venture, but because RTL Nederland will own 70% of the shares and RTL CEO Sven Sauvé will be in charge, they will be the dominant party. What does this mean for you as an advertiser? STROOM is happy to update you on these developments.
WHY THIS MERGER?
According to TALPA and RTL, the two media houses are condemned to each other to offer a counterweight to the ever-expanding power block of tech giants from America (e.g. Google, Facebook) and China (TikTok, Alibaba, AliPay). Therefore, according to RTL/TALPA, the total advertising market from TV, radio to (digital) out of home needs to be looked at. If you don't, and look only at TV, you would see a dominant power block emerging in the TV landscape. When you look at the bigger picture of media in general, it is a logical step that there are strong large Dutch media companies such as DPG and RTL/Talpa that want to counterbalance the tech giants with digital and video on-demand platforms (Videoland, Viaplay, Amazon Prime, Disney+ etc.).
In the short term, not much will change for consumers in the linear TV landscape of the Netherlands. For advertisers, if it all goes through, TV will create one commercial party that can unilaterally raise prices. We saw this happen at the end of 2018 when BrandDeli's channels (24Kitchen, National Geographic, TLC, Comedy Central, etc.) were acquired by RTL and merged into AdAlliance (sales organization). The expected and communicated synergy benefits from the merger will hopefully actually be seen in stronger (local) content that attracts more viewers and listeners.
MEDIA STRATEGIC CONSEQUENCE FOR YOU AS AN ADVERTISER
For advertisers in the Dutch market, there are two main strategic considerations involved in this change:
- How do you keep using media smartly?
By making strategic choices from good insights, it remains possible to deploy media smartly. With the implementation of the new media research NMO in 2022, it will be possible to evaluate cross-media better. This means that in time, the role that each medium type plays in the media mix and in the journey of a consumer will become clear. By also using these insights in strategic considerations, we can make even smarter media choices with you.
- What other parties can you sit down with to build your brand?
This will only really become clear once the merger has taken more shape: which channels will remain and which will be divested? Will channels go to DPG or Mediahuis?
As it looks now, a number of major media parties will remain in existence in the Netherlands: STER, DPG, Mediahuis and RTL/TALPA. Almost all of these parties offer media under one roof in many forms: TV, radio, branded content, influencers, online video, performance media, etc. To make the right choices within this umfeld, STROOM helps you set up a cross-media strategy and planning.
HOW TO CONTINUE?
The merger of RTL and TALPA is big news. The question is whether it will be approved by the European Commission and the Consumer and Market Authority in connection with monopoly power for the TV landscape in particular. If approved, the merger will take effect sometime in 2022. For 2021 and Q1 2022, we do not expect any immediate changes. Of course, we will continue to monitor this closely and share our findings.