60 years of television broadcasts in the Netherlands

In 1948, 150 people employed with Philips received the first television sets. Trial broadcasts were transmitted from Eindhoven, where Philips was headquartered. Since 2005, watching TV online has become increasingly popular. In 2008, mobile television was introduced.

First broadcasts in 1951

The first regular TV programmes broadcast from Hilversum date back to 1951. From then on, watching television rapidly became popular in the Netherlands. As early as in 1966, three quarters of Dutch households had a black-and-white television. The first colour TV was introduced in 1967 and 14 percent of households bought a colour TV in that same year; 80 percent of households still had black-and-white TVs. Within a decade, 80 percent of Dutch households owned a colour TV. Since 1996, there is at least one colour TV set in every household. In recent years, widescreen TV sets have gained in popularity.

TV-owning households

Online radio and TV increasingly popular

Watching TV and listening to the radio over the Internet has rapidly become widespread. The proportion of online TV watchers has increased from 26 percent in 2005 to 52 percent in 2008. Young people in particular watch television and listen to music over the Internet.

Online listening to the radio and watching television

Mobile TV

In June 2008, mobile television was introduced. More than 10 thousand households currently watch TV via mobile communication networks.

Ger Sleijpen