Broadcasters loose tv-guide monopoly in Chamber vote

THE HAGUE – The public broadcasting entities must share news of their program schedules with outsiders. The Second Chamber vote indicates that these broadcasting corporations and societies no longer will have a monopoly on this information for the weekly program guides they publish. To date, broadcasters refused to provide such information to any publisher planning to start a tv-guide. The vote creates problems as well. The broadcasting entities expressed concerns that they could be faced with dropping numbers of members if the news is freely available, which in turn could mean deteriorating program quality. Some parties in the Second Chamber support a move to offer the broadcasters compensation for the monopoly loss.