Talpa (TV)
Encyclopedia
Tien previously known as Talpa, was the name of a commercial television channel
Television channel
A television channel is a physical or virtual channel over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the broadcast or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, with carrier frequencies of 55.25 MHz for NTSC analog video and...

 in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

. Tien opened on August 13, 2005 as Talpa, following a name dispute with SBS Broadcasting. SBS owned the trademark TV10 and objected to the use of the word Tien. The owner of Tien, Dutch media mogul John de Mol, decided to rebrand the channel as Talpa, the Latin word for mole
Mole (animal)
Moles are small cylindrical mammals adapted to a subterranean lifestyle. They have velvety fur; tiny or invisible ears and eyes; and short, powerful limbs with large paws oriented for digging. The term is especially and most properly used for the true moles, those of the Talpidae family in the...

 (the animal),mol in Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

. Talpa is the name of De Mol's holding company and refers to his surname of its founder.

In the first months Talpa shared its channel with Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...

. On December 16, 2006, Nickelodeon switched to The Box and Tien started broadcasting full days.

In december 2006 Talpa and SBS Broadcasting solved their dispute. Talpa was renamed as Tien.

In the summer of 2007 the assets of Talpa Media were sold to RTL Nederland
RTL Nederland
RTL Nederland is a subsidiary of the RTL Group. The media company is located in Hilversum. Although the licences of it tv-stations RTL 4, RTL 5, RTL 7 and RTL 8 are officially Luxembourgish, the company targets the Dutch market...

, which meant the end of the Tien television channel. RTL Nederland used the vacated cable spot to launch a new television channel called RTL 8
RTL 8
RTL 8 is a commercial television station which launched in the Netherlands on 18 August 2007. The channel apperead by the former Tien, previously known as Talpa, which was launched in August 2005, and other assets of John de Mol's Talpa Media were amalgamated with RTL Nederland...

. Also included in the deal were the broadcasting rights for the Dutch football league and radio station Radio 538. Tien closed on August 17, 2007.

Programmes

Programmes included 'De Wedstrijden' (summaries of the Eredivisie
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....

 football league), Big Brother
Big Brother (TV series)
Big Brother is a television show in which a group of people live together in a large house, isolated from the outside world but continuously watched by television cameras. Each series lasts for around three months, and there are usually fewer than 15 participants. The housemates try to win a cash...

 and Expeditie Robinson
Expeditie Robinson
Expeditie Robinson is a popular reality television program in the Netherlands and Belgium, that debuted in 2000. It was the second production worldwide of a format that was developed in the UK, a format that has since then also been produced in many other countries, most notable under the title...

. Tien is also noted for programming original Dutch drama, such as Gooische Vrouwen, Lotte, Van Speijk, Boks, Voetbalvrouwen
Voetbalvrouwen
Voetbalvrouwen is a Dutch dramedy favourably compared to Footballers' Wives. Three seasons have been taped since 2006; the first was shown in 2007 on the demissionary channel Tien, the second and third on RTL.-Cast:...

and the daily comedy show Samen. Van Speijk, a highly publicized police series, attracted an average amount of 900,000 viewers weekly. Season one of "Gooische Vrouwen" attracted more than a million viewers each episode. Samen was the world's first daily comedy show.

Programming & Ratings

Talpa suffered disappointing ratings. From the beginning, tampered with the pressure transmitter. Expectations were high, because Talpa owned the rights to summaries of matches played in the Eredivisie
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....

, the Dutch top-flight football league. The live broadcasting rights were owned by Versatel
Versatel
Tele2 Netherlands Holding N.V. is a listed telecommunications company operating on the Dutch and Belgian market. It has more than 1,900 employees and over 1 million customers...

, another De Mol venture.

In the beginning, football programme De Wedstrijden scored disappointing ratings. Although by far the most-watched programme on Talpa, De Wedstrijden failed to attract the audience that NOS
NOS
-Business:* National Occupational Standards, people are expected to achieve* New old stock, merchandise being offered for sale which was manufactured long ago but that has never been used-Geography:* NOS, IATA code for Fascene Airport, in Nosy Be, Madagascar...

 programme Studio Sport used to have. Dutch celebrities like Ivo Niehe
Ivo Niehe
Ivo Johannes Ignatius Niehe OON is a Dutch radio and television presenter, television producer and actor.Niehe was born in Amsterdam in 1946 he studied French at the University of Amsterdam and received his MA in French Language and Literature in 1973...

 and Henny Huisman
Henny Huisman
Hendrikus Josephus Huisman is a Dutch television presenter. He presented the Miniplaybackshow and the Soundmixshow in the 1980s and 1990s. Huisman is Patron of the Netherlands Positive / Nederland Positief.-External links:...

 also failed to attract their former audiences on Talpa. Niehe returned to his former employer TROS
TROS
TROS is a Dutch television and radio organization part of the Netherlands Public Broadcasting...

 in January 2007. Niehe was also one of the most outspoken critics on the failure of the station in general. Huisman already left for EO
Evangelische Omroep
Evangelische Omroep is one of the twelve member-based broadcasting associations contributing to the Netherlands Public Broadcasting system. It has as its mission to bring people into contact with Jesus Christ and its statement of faith is a form of Evangelicalism...

 after his unsuccessful stint with Talpa.

With Jack Spijkerman Talpa thought to have a guaranteed ratings hit, but his audience at Talpa was just one quarter of his former ratings at VARA. The football discussion program Spijkerman hosted with Humberto Tan was also unsuccessful and eventually axed.

Not all programmes flopped on Talpa. The controversial show Joling & Gordon over de Vloer (Joling and Gordon about the house, hosted by openly gay singers Gordon Heuckeroth
Gordon Heuckeroth
Cornelis Willem Heuckeroth is a Dutch performer and radio and television personality, better known by his nickname Gordon...

 and Gerard Joling
Gerard Joling
Gerard Jan Joling is a Dutch singer and television presenter. Known for his high tenor voice, he rose to fame in the late 80's and released a string of singles including "Ticket to the Tropics", "Love is in your Eyes", and his biggest hit, "No more boleros", a song that reached the top 10 in...

) scored 1.2 million viewers. Other major hits were comedy drama series Gooische Vrouwen
Gooische Vrouwen
Gooische Vrouwen is a Dutch drama series, created by Linda de Mol for her brother John's Tien channel. Favourably compared to Desperate Housewives and Sex in the City, the series chronicles the lives of four upper-class women residing in Het Gooi and ran from 2005 to 2009...

 (Women from 't Gooi
Gooi
Het Gooi is the area around Hilversum in the centre of the Netherlands. It is a slightly hilly area characterised by its green landscape, its historical charm, the wealth of its inhabitants, and its villas. Het Gooi is known in the Netherlands as the home of the rich and famous.- Name :The name...

, 1.6 million viewers) and Voetbalvrouwen
Voetbalvrouwen
Voetbalvrouwen is a Dutch dramedy favourably compared to Footballers' Wives. Three seasons have been taped since 2006; the first was shown in 2007 on the demissionary channel Tien, the second and third on RTL.-Cast:...

, the Dutch version of Footballers' Wives
Footballers' Wives
Footballers' Wives is a British television drama surrounding the fictional Premier League Association football club Earls Park F.C., its players, and their wives. It was broadcast on the ITV network from 8 January 2002 to 14 April 2006...

 (1.4 million viewers). Expeditie Robinson
Expeditie Robinson
Expeditie Robinson is a popular reality television program in the Netherlands and Belgium, that debuted in 2000. It was the second production worldwide of a format that was developed in the UK, a format that has since then also been produced in many other countries, most notable under the title...

, Miljoenenjacht
Miljoenenjacht (Netherlands)
Miljoenenjacht , officially Postcode Loterij Miljoenenjacht, is a Dutch game show, sponsored by the country's postcode lottery, where a contestant and at-home viewer could win up to €5,000,000 or as little as €0.01. The show is broadcast at various times, spanning across six episodes for each set...

 and Postcodeloterij Miljoenenjacht (1.5 million viewers) and 1 vs. 100
1 vs. 100
1 vs. 100 is a game show created by Endemol that is aired in several countries. The game pits one person against 100 others for a chance to win a large cash prize. The game first aired in the Netherlands as Eén tegen 100, sponsored by the Nationale Postcode Loterij .- General format :In all...

were also among the reasonably scoring shows, albeit with much smaller audiences than at the former broadcaster.

Further reading

  • Versteeg, D. (2005). Talpa — de geboorte van een televisiezender. Naarden: Strengholt's Boeken. ISBN 90-5860-233-8.
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