Ongehoord Nederland licence plan not based on broadcast, minister says
Education and Culture Minister Letschert told parliament on 2 November that her plan to withdraw Ongehoord Nederland's broadcasting licence rests on three legal grounds, not on a controversial broadcast.
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Minister Letschert (Education, Culture and Science) says she did not weigh the content of a recent Ongehoord Nederland broadcast when she proposed withdrawing the broadcaster's licence. In written answers to parliamentary questions dated 2 November 2026, she said: "I did not take account of whether the content of this broadcast was desirable or not in forming my intention to withdraw the licence."
MPs had asked whether a fragment that, in their words, Letschert called "reprehensible" and "scandalous" influenced the decision. She says the proposal rests on three grounds:
The three grounds
- The media regulator's (Commissariaat voor de Media) finding that Ongehoord Nederland no longer met the management standard
- The public broadcaster NPO's request to withdraw the provisional recognition, citing a structural and manifest lack of willingness to cooperate
- Two earlier sanctions imposed by the regulator
Letschert set out the proposal and its grounds in a letter to parliament on 8 September 2026. She explained the chronology of her decision-making in a debate with MPs on 24 September.
The minister says she does not think it appropriate to discuss the underlying facts with parliament while the procedure is under way. Under the right of reply (zienswijze), Ongehoord Nederland has full opportunity to submit facts and arguments, after which she will take a final decision.
Source: Tweede Kamer
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Ongehoord Nederland
Ongehoord Nederland is a Dutch broadcasting association (omroepvereniging) that makes radio and television programmes within the Dutch public broadcasting system. It holds a recognition (erkenning) from the Dutch government under the Mediawet, which allows it to receive airtime and public funding. The minister can propose withdrawing that recognition, which is a formal decision about whether the broadcaster may continue within the system.
zienswijze procedure
A zienswijze procedure is the Dutch administrative-law step in which an affected party is given the opportunity to submit its views and arguments in writing about a planned government decision before that decision is taken. It is set out in the Algemene wet bestuursrecht (General Administrative Law Act). Once the views have been considered, the authority makes its final decision.