Persistence is rewarded. That’s the thought that went through my head when the Board of Directors greenlighted the proposed takeover of RTL Nederland. This wasn’t our first attempt to get involved in the Dutch television market. For a long time we had been convinced DPG Media and RTL Nederland were a match made in heaven. But sometimes, in business as well as in life, things work out differently than expected. Yes, patience is a virtue. Not always easy, but generally effective. This also applies now we’re waiting for the decisions by the works councils and the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM).

We ended 2023 by wholeheartedly saying yes to the further growth of DPG Media. Not because growth is a goal in itself, but because scale provides a basis for a media company to stay successful. For instance in turbulent financial times, or in a year when the results of one of the business entities are somewhat disappointing. In such cases, this can generally be compensated by other entities. But most of all, to be able to make a lasting investment in the necessary digitalisation of the company.

That digitalisation certainly did not turn out to be a paper promise. In 2023, we translated our digital value strategy into concrete innovations in the media offering, both in terms of technology (in apps and sites) and the way in which content is delivered to consumers. It’s typical of DPG Media that we opted for high-paced deployment of the creative and innovative prowess of all of our employees, that we dared to be selective and that we immediately started to achieve results. After all, the digital share of our turnover and profit grew considerably in 2023.