VRT

The Flemish Radio and Television Broadcasting Organisation is the public service broadcaster for the Flemish Community in Belgium. It began as NIR between 1930 and 1960, became BRT from 1960 to 1991 and BRTN until 1998, when it took its present name. VRT reaches 90 per cent of all Flemings weekly through three television channels, five radio channels and its digital services. A management agreement with the Flemish Government covering 2026 to 2030 was signed on 22 July 2025 and took effect on 1 January 2026.

Media assets

Television: VRT 1, VRT Canvas and VRT Ketnet

Radio: Radio 1, Radio 2, Klara, Studio Brussel and MNM

Digital: VRT MAX, VRT NWS, Sporza, Karrewiet and nws.nws.nws

Sporza is a sports brand carried across VRT’s channels and digital platforms rather than a separate linear service. The 2026 to 2030 agreement provides for developing Karrewiet and nws.nws.nws as full news brands in their own right, with the aim of guiding children and young people toward VRT’s broader information and analysis offering.

Ownership and governance

VRT is a naamloze vennootschap van publiek recht, a public limited company under public law. This form gives it separate legal and operational personality while retaining public ownership.

The 12-member Board of Directors comprises eight members nominated in accordance with political representation in the Flemish Parliament and four independent directors selected for their expertise. The Board’s current five-year term began on 21 January 2025, with several subsequent changes in membership. Frieda Brepoels is chair and Marleen Nijsten vice-chair.

The Board is supported by three permanent committees: the Audit Committee; the Strategic Committee for VAR and its subsidiaries; and the Remuneration and Appointments Committee.

Frederik Delaplace is chief executive. As of 1 January 2026 the management committee also comprised Karen Donders, Public Mission, Talent and Organisation; Liesbet Vrieleman, Content and Curation; Stijn Lehaen, the New VRT Building; Lieven Vermaele, Partnerships, Data and AI; Griet De Craen, Information; and Pieter De Windt, Operations.

The public-service remit and financial framework are established through a management agreement negotiated with the Flemish Government. The agreement sets detailed objectives and performance requirements while expressly preserving VRT’s editorial autonomy. The Flemish Parliament may adopt resolutions concerning VRT’s public-service remit and management agreement, and its Committee for Culture, Youth, Sport and Media prepared for the current agreement by consulting academic experts and holding eight hearings with media companies, trade unions, sector organisations, the cultural sector, journalists, representatives of disadvantaged groups and the VRT board. Cieltje Van Achter, the Flemish Minister for Brussels and Media, was responsible for concluding it.

Media-Invest Vlaanderen, the investment company previously owned equally by VRT and Participatiemaatschappij Vlaanderen, was dissolved in December 2025. PMV assumed its outstanding loans, while repayments continue to be divided equally between PMV and VRT.

Source of funding and budget

VRT is financed principally through a government endowment, supplemented by income from advertising, distribution and licensing, sponsorship, content exploitation and other commercial activities.

In 2025 VRT recorded EUR 520.0 million in financing before separately reported exceptional and deferral adjustments, of which EUR 319.4 million, or 61.4 per cent, was public funding. Own income amounted to EUR 200.6 million. After exceptional and deferral adjustments, total reported revenue was EUR 528.4 million and recognised government financing was EUR 306.0 million. The financial year closed with a loss of approximately EUR 4.69 million.

The financial plan for 2026 projects operating revenue of EUR 513.019 million, comprising EUR 305.137 million for the public-service remit, EUR 177.882 million in own income and EUR 30 million in barter transactions. Public funding therefore represents approximately 59.5 per cent of planned operating revenue. These are budgeted figures rather than audited outturns.

The 2026 to 2030 agreement provides a base annual endowment of EUR 296.4 million before indexation and other adjustments. For 2026 it also provides EUR 9.2 million toward pension costs and EUR 5.8 million for additional activities including countering disinformation, content for children and young people, digitisation and innovation.

An advertising review mechanism operates alongside the endowment. The agreement recognises pressure on the conventional advertising model and permits VRT to diversify advertising formats, particularly digitally, without increasing the overall advertising burden on users. The Flemish Government and VRT must evaluate 2026 advertising performance by February 2027. If income falls below forecast, the Government will examine how the difference against the permitted advertising ceiling might be addressed. This is a review mechanism rather than an unconditional compensation guarantee.

Editorial independence

VRT’s editorial independence is protected by law, the management agreement and internal rules. The broadcaster’s editorial statute enshrines autonomy in journalistic decision-making, and the 2026 to 2030 agreement requires absolute editorial autonomy and impartial news provision.

VRT participates in the Raad voor de Journalistiek, the Flemish system of journalistic self-regulation. Its staff-elected Ethical Advisory Council, comprising eleven members, advises editorial management on ethical questions, either at management’s request or on its own initiative. VRT NWS also maintains a news ombudsperson who handles complaints and examines compliance with editorial standards. Judit Verstraete has held that position since 1 February 2025, succeeding Bert Lauwers.

Content analyses conducted for State Media Monitor in May 2021, March 2024 and May 2026 found no evidence that state authorities directed VRT’s editorial agenda.

AI and digital policy

The 2026 to 2030 management agreement places binding obligations on VRT concerning artificial intelligence. VRT must develop and publish an ethical framework governing its use of data and AI, provide media users with transparency about that use, and ensure that final responsibility for published content always remains with a person rather than an artificial-intelligence system.

The agreement also provides for experimentation with generative artificial intelligence and participation in the development of a Flemish large-language model. Lieven Vermaele’s management portfolio covers Partnerships, Data and AI.

Classification rationale

VRT remains classified Independent State-Funded and State-Managed (ISFM).

It is publicly owned and governed through a politically weighted board. VRT is a public limited company under public law. Eight of its twelve directors are politically nominated, while four are independent directors. This provides more pluralism than a wholly political board but does not remove political participation from the governance structure.

It is predominantly state-funded. Public financing amounted to EUR 319.4 million, or 61.4 per cent of comparable financing, in 2025. The 2026 plan provides EUR 305.137 million for the public-service remit within projected operating revenue of EUR 513.019 million, against a base annual endowment of EUR 296.4 million before indexation.

Its editorial independence is protected and observed in practice. The management agreement expressly guarantees editorial autonomy, the editorial statute protects journalistic decision-making, and VRT maintains internal ethical and complaints mechanisms including a staff-elected Ethical Advisory Council and a news ombudsperson. Content analyses conducted in May 2021 and March 2024 found no evidence of state direction of its editorial agenda.

September 2026