NPO is considering letting users pay for documentaries and series

Plans drawn up by the NPO for 2019 show that the public broadcaster is considering setting up a paywall for online viewing of programs that are currently freely available on public channels. The plans are not final yet.

The plans can be found in the document Annual Plan Video 2019, which is in the hands of De Telegraaf. The document suggests that the public broadcaster plans to make certain documentaries and series only available to NPO Start Plus users.

According to De Telegraaf, the NPO would come up with the plan due to concerns about finances in 2019. The public broadcaster expects the agency to receive 62 million euros less in subsidies next year. At the request of the NOS, a spokesperson for the NPO indicates that such plans are indeed being worked on, but they are still in full development and nothing has been determined yet.

NPO Start Plus is a payment service of the NPO that was created last year. The service costs 2.95 euros per month and makes it possible to watch programs in HD and to see series that were broadcast more than a year ago. Users who don’t pay can’t see further back than a year ago, at a maximum resolution of 540p.

The possible policy change would presumably mean that users who want to watch a documentary or series that have recently aired on public broadcaster can no longer watch it for free. The user then has to watch the series live on TV or pay for NPO Start Plus.