Net5

Net5 was launched by the SBS Broadcasting Group as their second commercial channel in the Netherlands next to SBS6. The head of SBS was Fons van Westerloo who left the company to work until 31 January 2008 to head the main competitor RTL Nederland (part of the RTL Group). Van Westerloo announced the new broadcast on 4 December 1998. It was supposed to become a commercial version of the Netherlands Public Broadcasting. Net5 was launched on 1 March 1999[2] and the first broadcast was the film Braveheart.

Since there were not that many commercial channels at the time, the Net5 brand was partly chosen to compete directly with the RTL 5 channel. The goal was for viewers to put Net5 on position 5 of their remote control settings instead of the older channel RTL 5. But research showed that more people would place RTL 5 on five, and Net5 on position nine.

From January 2000 to August 2002, Net5 shared its channel with the children's channel Kindernet. Kindernet broadcast from the early morning until 15.00.[3]

The German ProSiebenSat.1 Media took over the parent company, SBS Broadcasting Group, on 27 June 2007.[4] In 2011, all of SBS's activities in the Netherlands (through SBS Broadcasting B.V.), including the three TV stations (SBS6, Net5 and Veronica), the two TV guides (Veronica Magazine and Totaal TV), production, design and text activities were sold to a joint venture between Sanoma Media Netherlands (67%) and Talpa Holding (33%).[5]

On 10 April 2017 Talpa Holding acquired a 67% stake from Sanoma Media Netherlands.[6]

• Official website