RTL Nederland and Talpa Network plan to merge....what is Patty's future on television?

Earlier this week, Dutch commercial broadcasters RTL Nederland and John de Mol’s Talpa Network announced that they reached an agreement to merge their broadcasting and affiliated media businesses in the Netherlands. The transaction, which has been approved by the Board of Directors of RTL Group and Talpa Holding, is expected to close in the first half of 2022, subject to regulatory approval.

RTL Nederland’s brands include RTL4, RTL5, RTL7, RTL8 and RTLz and streaming service Videoland. Talpa’s channels include SBS6, Veronica, Net5, radio 538 and Sky Radio. 

RTL Nederland will have 70% of the shares in the new company, Talpa the remaining 30%.

If the merger is approved, it would mean all the Dutch language commercial broadcasters, with the exception of the ESPN sports channel, are in the hands of one company.

Talpa Network’s content units, Talpa Concepts and Talpa Entertainment Producties are not part of the deal. They will enter into a content agreement with RTL Netherlands for newly developed formats for linear TV channels and for the streaming service Videoland.

De Mol has been using the Talpa content units as incubators for new reality concepts that he then has piloted on Talpa TV channels before selling as formats around the world.

“I started Talpa Network to build a strong Dutch media company able to compete with the growing global platforms in order to preserve local content,” John de Mol said. “This next step will allow us to do just that – and I am pleased that the deal creates a strong Dutch company that not only guarantees Dutch quality content but is also able to take on the American and Chinese tech players. On top of that, it allows me to fully focus once again on what I like best: the creation and development of new innovative content.”

Sven Sauvé will continue in his current role as CEO of RTL Nederland, leading the combined group after closing the transaction. Pim Schmitz, CEO of Talpa Network, will represent Talpa Network by joining the new Supervisory Board of RTL Nederland which will be chaired by Elmar Heggen, COO and Deputy CEO of RTL Group.

The combined group would have a 2020 revenue of €909 million and an operating profit of €84 million. The annual content spend of the combined group amounts to more than €400 million. The potential synergies of the merger are estimated between €100 million and €120 million per year, to be fully realised in 2025, the companies said.

"Following the proposed merger of Groupe TF1 and Groupe M6 in France, the combination of RTL Nederland and Talpa Network is the second major step to scale up our broadcasting businesses across our European footprint,” Thomas Rabe, CEO of RTL Group, said. “The new cross-media group will have the size, resources and creativity to compete with global tech platforms in the Netherlands when it comes to investing in premium content, offering the most advanced addressable advertising opportunities, and expanding Videoland, the leading national streaming service for Dutch viewers.”

J.P. Morgan is acting as exclusive financial advisor to RTL Group and PJT Partners as exclusive financial advisor to Talpa Network.

In this context, the question is: what will Patty Brard's future be in this new group? Two years ago, the former Luv' singer signed a 4-year deal with Talpa TV. Read the article posted on March 16th, 2019: All About LUV' (past, present, future and more): Patty Brard signs a 4-year contract with Talpa Network (luvgirlgroup.blogspot.com) 

Prior to this contract, Patty had been in touch with RTL but she didn't sign a deal with this group as both parties didn't reach an agreement. Read the article posted on January 23rd, 2019: All About LUV' (past, present, future and more): Patty Brard has not signed an exclusive deal with RTL (luvgirlgroup.blogspot.com)

Since her return on SBS6 in 2019, the TV shows hosted by Patty have been disappointing in terms of viewing figures. Read the article posted on February 26th, 2020: All About LUV' (past, present, future and more): Has Patty Brard lost the Midas touch on television? (luvgirlgroup.blogspot.com)

• The infotainment program "6 inside" was a complete failure. 
• The repair show "Zo Goed Als Nieuw" scored mediocre TV ratings last Autumn (except the episode featuring the Meiland family whose presence boosted the viewing figures). 
• The celebrity figure skating competition "Dancing On Ice" had a promising start: the two first episodes were successful but the next ones lost the ratings war against the other TV networks. 
• Gordon and Patty appeared on a travel show (in search of eternal youth) which reached disappointing viewing figures. The duo was supposed to co-host a talk show but due to the Covid-19 pandemic this project was shelved. 
• Patty's appearances on De 5 Uur Show didn't improve its bad viewing figures. 
• At the moment, SBS6's entertainment news show Shownieuws (featuring the diva as a showbiz expert) is the only TV program that keeps Miss Brard active on the small screen on a regular basis. 

Yesterday, Dutch TV columnist Angela de Jong wrote in the "Algemeen Dagblad" that Patty Brard and her rival Bridget Maasland (working for RTL) could compete against each other on "Boxing With The Stars". "Patty Brard versus Bridget Maasland would be a great match that would make Rico versus Badr boring," Angela told. 

Moreover, according to media expert Piet Bakker who was recently interviewed on  NOS, RTL Boulevard and Shownieuws might not be broadcast side by side due to the RTL-Talpa merger. If both entertainment news shows merge, Shownieuws experts might join the RTL Boulevard team. It would mean the reunion of Bridget Maasland and Patty Brard!!! 

Even if Patty's heyday on television is over, the larger-than-life media personality has other strings to her bow. Last year, her biography was a bestseller in the Netherlands. Patty has already launched three collections for Kruidvat, the Dutch retail, pharmacy and drugstore chain specialised in household, health and beauty products. Currently, she is preparing a fourth collection. History shows that anytime Patty's career on TV was in danger she came back to Luv': in 1993 as she had no shows to present, the ungrateful entertainer was reunited with Marga Scheide and José Hoebee to release the successful Luv' Gold compilation. Live and TV performances with the girl group followed until 1996. In 2006, as she was not on good terms with RTL, Patty made another comeback with Luv' including a profusion of projects: a reality show with the ladies (Back In Luv'), the Completely In Luv' box set released by Universal Music, a DVD and a series of concerts until 2012. 

Television has been the main source of income for La Brard since 1983. What will happen if TV executives decide to cancel her contract due to her bad viewing figures? Will she go back to Luv' again?

Source: Deadline.com, RTL Nieuws, AD, Martin Vink, RTL Boulevard, Realscreen, Broadband TV News, Dutch News, Mediacourant.nl...