Give away concert tickets for promotional purposes by Dutch radio stations

Concert Tickets for Promotional Purposes by Dutch Radio Stations

Almost all Dutch radio stations are known to regularly give away concert tickets for promotional purposes. Yet, this is not always lawful. The Dutch Commissariat for the Media has recently given NPO Radio 2 and 3FM a rap over the knuckles. The reason? A public broadcaster is characterized by independence. The programs of a public broadcaster should therefore not be colored by commercial interests and the broadcaster may not foster the ‘more-than-normal’ profit making of third parties. Public broadcasters therefore may only give away concert tickets when they have paid for the tickets themselves.