Mass media in Belgium


The mass media in Belgium is characterized by its diversity due to the linguistic divide in the country.

Radio and television

Radio and television regulation are regional competencies.

Radio

In 1998, Belgium had 79 FM radio stations, 7 AM stations and 1 SW station, serving 8.075 million radios owned in the country. Transmission is primary by terrestrial broadcast antenna. Analogue transmissions are provided by Norkring Belgium, Broadcast Partners, D'Hont Noël and TVVV Sound. Digital transmissions are provided by Norkring Belgium. Digital cable operators and internet providers also provide radio signals. Satellite transmission is provided by TV Vlaanderen.
Public radio in Belgium is controlled by the VRT for the Dutch-speaking region the RTBF for the French-speaking region and the BRF for the German community in Belgium. Numerous private operators exist. The main competitor in the Flanders and Brussels regions is VMMa. The main competitor in the Wallonia and Brussels regions is RTL Group.
Next to these regional channels, local channels exists. E.g. Radio 2 Limburg and GO FM. In 2009 radio market share in the Dutch-speaking region was 63.08% for the VRT channels and 2.65% for the Corelio/Concentra joint venture channel.

Publicity management

Radio advertising is managed in house in most cases. Two radio advertising agencies operate, Vlaamse Audiovisuele Regie and IP Plurimedia.

Television

Transmission is primary by fiberoptic or coax cable television network or copper telephone line. Terrestrial transmission also exists. In terms of television, there were 25 broadcast stations in 1997, and a further 10 repeaters. This digital terrestrial network is owned by Norking Belgium. Small operators of analog networks exist. Satellite transmission in Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia is operated by Airfield Belgium or Digidream. MNO's Proximus and Mobistar offer digital television over mobile phone. In 1997, 4.72 million televisions were owned nationwide.
Public television in Belgium is controlled by the VRT for the Dutch-speaking region the RTBF for the French-speaking region and the BRF for the German community in Belgium. Numerous private operators exist. The main competitors in the Flanders and Brussels regions are VMMa and SBS Belgium. VMMa is a joint venture of De Persgroep and Roularta Media Group. The main competitors in the Wallonia and Brussels regions are RTL Group and AB Groupe.
Next to these regional channels, local channels exists. E.g. TV Oost and ROB TV. In Flanders, VRT channels had a combined market share of 42.0% in 2012, VMMa channels 28.8%, SBS Belgium channels 10.5% and Concentra 0.5%.
There are numerous public and private media companies that specialise as producer or distributor of channels, content and video services. E.g. Studio 100 and Woestijnvis.

Production facility providers

There are numerous public and private media companies that specialise as producer or distributor of television production facilities. e.g. Videohouse.

Printed press

Major newspapers and magazines in Belgium are printed monolingual either in Dutch or in French. Bilingual publications are very minor. Belgium's major news agency is Belga. Minor news agencies exist. Belgium's major photo agencies are Scripta, IP Plurimedia or Mediashake.

Newspapers

Major Dutch-language daily newspapers in 2008 were Het Laatste Nieuws , Het Nieuwsblad , Gazet van Antwerpen , Het Belang van Limburg , De Standaard , De Morgen and De Tijd . Mediafin is a joint venture of De Persgroep and Groupe Rossel.
Major French-language daily newspapers in 2008 were La Dernière Heure , Le Soir , L'Avenir , La Libre Belgique , L'Echo and La Meuse, La Capitale, La Nouvelle Gazette, La Province and Nord éclair .
The only major German-language daily newspaper in 2008 was Grenz-Echo. Metro is a major daily free newspaper in a Dutch and French edition.
The Brussels Times is the leading daily online newspaper in English. They also publish an English language printed magazine.

Magazines

Major Dutch-language weekly magazines in 2008 included Kerk en Leven , Dag Allemaal, HUMO, Libelle , TV-Blad, Story , Plus Magazine , TV-Familie/Blik, Flair , Knack , Trends , 't Pallieterke.
Major French-language weekly magazines in 2008 were Trends, Le Vif/L’Express , Télé Moustique, Femmes d'Aujourd'hui.
Numerous by-weekly and monthly magazines exist. E.g. Eos Magazine, P-Magazine, and ZozoLala.
The Brussels Times magazine is published every two months for English speakers.

Media groups

There are several major media companies in Belgium, active in numerous media and telecommunication sub-sectors. These companies hold interests in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Republic of Ireland:

Intellectual property rights

Intellectual property rights in Belgium are managed by SABAM.