NPO 1
NPO 1 is the first national television station in the Netherlands. It launched on 2 October 1951. It provides public broadcasting and currently exists next to sister channels NPO 2 and NPO 3. Several broadcasting organisations of the Publieke Omroep deliver a wide variety of programs for the channel, usually for larger audiences. In 2018, it was the most viewed channel in the Netherlands, reaching a market share of 22.0%. The channel is also available via cable TV in the Dutch Caribbean, either live or time-shifted.
History
Early years
In the Netherlands, the first television experiments took place in the 1930s. Dutch technology company Philips played an important role in these experiments. In 1951, public radio broadcasters AVRO, KRO, VARA and NCRV established the NTS, Nederlandse Televisie Stichting. The launch of the regular service was approved on 18 August 1950, with a tentative 1 May 1951 launch date for the first tests, as well as a transmitter in Lopik and studios in Hilversum or Duivendrecht.< The first public broadcast began from studio Irene in Bussum on 2 October 1951 at 8:15 pm. It was transmitted from Lopik, soon followed by Hilversum as well. On 5 January 1956, the NTS broadcast their first news programme, NTS Journaal. In the 1950s, television attracted only a low number of viewers due to the high price of television sets at the time. During that same decade, television became available nationally by the introduction of more transmitters and repeaters in Goes, Roosendaal, Loon op Zand, Mierlo, Roermond, Markelo, Ugchelen, Zwolle, Smilde and the new Gerbrandy Tower in IJsselstein.Creation of Nederland 1
From October 1960, NTS began broadcasting daily from 8:00 pm till 10:20 pm. Two years later the broadcasting hours were extended from 26 to 30 hours a week. On 1 October 1964, a second public television channel began broadcasting, Nederland 2 and the first public broadcasting channel was renamed into Nederland 1. In 1967, colour television broadcasts were introduced by using the PAL-system. Also in that same year advertising between programmes was introduced. In 1969, the Dutch government adopted the so-called open-system for the public broadcasting system, allowing more public broadcasting organisations; however, the government dictated that a potential new organisation must have 100,000 members or more to be allowed in. On 29 May 1969, the NTS and the Dutch Radio Union merged into the NOS serving as an umbrella organisation for the public broadcasting organisations. Its main focus is on general news and sports broadcasts and also provides technical and administrative coordination.On 2 January 1967, Nederland 1 increased its airtime slightly, to accommodate the arrival of Ster commercial breaks, shown on Mondays to Saturdays, but not on holidays. Up until then, the channel opened at 6:55pm on weekdays, but the start-up time had to be pushed ahead to 6:45pm. The schedule still opened with a five-minute programme for children followed by a news summary, which had to be increased to five minutes.
Launch of Nederland 3
In anticipation of the launch of new commercial channels broadcast by satellite, a third television network, Nederland 3 launched in April 1988. After the launch of Nederland 3 in 1988, Nederland 1 was the mainstay of the broadcasters KRO, NCRV, VARA and EO. On 30 September 1991, Nederland 1 introduced a new logo which depicts a yellow "1"-numeral that is placed inside a blue diamond, and at the same time, VARA was moved to Nederland 2, while AVRO moved to this channel, thus earning the nickname AKN. Another restructuring was made on 28 September 1992 when Nederland 1 abolished in-vision continuity, in favour for voiceover continuity and at the same time, religious and humanism broadcasters moved from Nederland 3 to Nederland 1, where they were given more airtime for their output. In return, EO moved to Nederland 2, before making their programming output available on all three channels on 24 August 2000 before the huge revamp from 4 September 2006.Luxembourg-based RTL-Véronique began broadcasting in October 1989. In 1992, the government of the Netherlands legalised commercial television, and a number of new commercial channels were established resulting in a reduction in the market share of the public networks. In 2000, the channel was realigned; it continued to carry KRO, NCRV and AVRO programming but partitioned EO programming with Nederland 2; in general, its new audience would largely consist of religious conservatives.
Transition to (U)HD and the NPO
Until 2006, each public broadcasting organisation had been associated with just one channel, being either Nederland 1, Nederland 2 or Nederland 3. In the 2006/2007 season, the three channels got re-arranged. Nederland 1 became the flagship television channel aimed at a wide audience, Nederland 2 got more highbrow programming with news, current affairs, and documentaries, and Nederland 3 is oriented towards children, youth, and innovative television. The NOS is no longer the coordinating organisation as this function is taken over by the newly formed NPO.On 16 September 2007, Nederland 1, Nederland 2, and Nederland 3 switched completely to anamorphic widescreen—before that time, only some of the programming was broadcast in widescreen. On 4 July 2009, all three channels began simulcasting in 1080i high-definition. Before the launch of the permanent HD service, a test version of the Nederland 1 HD channel was made available from 2 June 2008 until 24 August 2008 in order to broadcast Euro 2008, the 2008 Tour de France, the 2008 Summer Olympics, and The Simpsons in HD.
On 12 March 2013, the NPO announced that Nederland 1, 2, and 3 would be renamed as NPO 1, 2, and 3. The reason for this change is to make the channels and their programmes more recognizable. The rebranding was completed on 19 August 2014.
NPO 1 launched its first trials with ultra-high-definition television through KPN, CanalDigitaal and some minor networks on 14 June 2018, using the HLG standard.
KPN started to switch its digital terrestrial television platform to the DVB-T2 HEVC standard in October 2018; this transition was completed on 9 July 2019. The same applied to UEFA Euro 2024 where NPO 1 UHD could be received in 1920x1080 in 50 full frames per second in HDR, or 1080p50/HDR-HLG.
Programming
Currently, most of the biggest productions of Dutch public broadcasting television programs are shown on NPO 1, sometimes called the flagship of the NPO. Some notable programmes broadcast through the year are:| Programme | Rough translation1 | Broadcaster | Description |
| Buitenhof | AVRO, VARA, VPRO | Sunday-morning interview show, politically oriented. | |
| Blik op de weg | View on the road | AVRO | Traffic programme, about traffic and traffic violations. |
| Boer zoekt Vrouw | Farmer wants a Wife | KRO | Dutch version of Farmer Wants a Wife |
| De Erwin Straatsma Rookshow | The Erwin Straatsma Smokeshow | AVRO, TROS | Interview programme |
| De Reünie | The Reunion | KRO | Human interest, old classmates from high school reunite and talk about their lives. |
| De Rijdende Rechter | The Driving Judge | NCRV | An official judge holds a trial on location for people. |
| Detective fiction programmes | mostly KRO | Several detective series, for example Midsomer Murders or A Touch of Frost | |
| EénVandaag | OneToday | AVRO, TROS | Current affairs |
| Heel Holland Bakt | All Of The Netherlands Bakes | Omroep MAX | A baking contest, Dutch version of The Great British Bake Off. |
| Koefnoen | AVRO | Satirical, sketches with impersonations of famous Dutchmen. | |
| Lieve Paul | Dear Paul | VARA | Entertainment, it consists of celebrity interviews, variety performances, and interaction with the studio audience. |
| NOS Journaal | NOS News | NOS | News |
| NOS Studio Sport | NOS | Sport, the most viewed episodes consist of summaries of Eredivisie football matches, but in other episodes, several other sports and sports events are covered.2 | |
| De Wereld Draait Door | The World Keeps On Spinning | VARA | Talk show |
| Sesamstraat | Sesame Street | NTR | Dutch version and spin-off of Sesame Street, moved to NPO 3 from 1 January 2016 in order to enable the airing of Tijd voor MAX, formerly from NPO 2 |
| Spoorloos | Without a trace | KRO | Reality programme where people are helped in finding missing persons, with a focus on finding the biological relatives of adopted people. In the United Kingdom known as ITV's Long Lost Family. |
| Te land ter zee en in de lucht | On land, at sea and in the air | TROS | Game/entertainment show, people must race through an obstacle course in self-made vehicles. |
| TROS Radar | TROS | Consumer programme | |
| Tussen Kunst en Kitsch | Between Art and Kitsch | AVRO | Similar to the British Antiques Roadshow |
| TV Show | TROS | Interview programme with several famous national and international guests. | |
| Vermist | Missing | TROS | Reality programme where people are helped in finding missing persons |
| Villa Felderhof | NCRV | Interview programme, from a luxurious villa in St. Tropez. | |
| Wie is... de Mol? | Who is... the Mole? | AVRO | Dutch version of The Mole. |
| De Simpsons | The Simpsons | NPS | One episode: "Treehouse of Horror VI". |
| De Wiggles | The Wiggles | TROS | Dutch version and spin-off of The Wiggles |
1 Translation added only when it clarifies the original title of the programme.
2 Special, extra long broadcasts are made during important events such as the FIFA World Cup, the Tour de France or the Olympic Games.