BNN or Bart's Neverending Network (formerly ''Bart's News Network'', as a pun on CNN) was a Dutch

public broadcasting Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

association supported by

Netherlands Public Broadcasting (; abbreviated to NPO ; literally "Dutch Public Broadcaster") or Dutch Foundation for Public Broadcasting () is a Dutch public broadcasting organisation that administers public broadcasting services in the Netherlands. The NPO is also the owner ...

. BNN was founded in 1997 by Bart de Graaff, Gerard Timmer and Frank Timmer and targeted teenagers and

young adult A young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages of human development significantly influencing the definition of ...

s. It produced

entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousan ...

and

information Information is an abstract concept that refers to that which has the power to inform. At the most fundamental level information pertains to the interpretation of that which may be sensed. Any natural process that is not completely random, ...

television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising ...

ming, radio programming, and

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

s. Some of BNN's programming dealt with controversial subject matter, including most famously, a hoax reality special made to help raise awareness of the shortage of organ donors in the Netherlands.

History

BNN became a public broadcasting association as a part of the

system on 15 August 1997, replacing former member Veronica. While Dutch media in general is known to be liberal in coverage of sexuality and

drugs A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalat ...

, even BNN's programming has been considered controversial. Some of BNN's programs have included "Try Before You Die" – where presenters attempted to do things that they think people should do at least once in their life, made headlines when presenter Sander Lantinga acted as a streaker during a quarter-finals match at Wimbledon between Maria Sharapova and

Elena Dementieva Elena Viacheslavovna Dementieva (, ; born 15 October 1981) is a Russian former professional tennis player. She won the singles gold medal at the Tennis at the 2008 Summer Olympics, 2008 Olympics in Beijing, having previously won the silver meda ...

. In May 2007, five years after the death of Bart de Graaff, who had suffered from kidney failure for almost all of his life, BNN announced ''" De Grote Donorshow"'' ''(The Big Donor Show)'', an initiative for promoting the filling in of a codicil for

organ donation Organ donation is the process when a person allows an organ (anatomy), organ of their own to be removed and organ transplantation, transplanted to another person, #Legislation and global perspectives, legally, either by consent while the donor ...

, in which three contestants would strive to be the recipient of a kidney donated by a terminally ill woman. The show aired on 1 June; at the end of the show it was revealed to be a

hoax A hoax is a widely publicized falsehood so fashioned as to invite reflexive, unthinking acceptance by the greatest number of people of the most varied social identities and of the highest possible social pretensions to gull its victims into pu ...

, attempting to draw attention to the low number of organ donors in the country.''Washington Post'', June 1, 2007
/ref>The Scotsman
/ref> BNN merged with the VARA on 1 January 2014 to form

BNN-VARA BNNVARA () is a broadcasting association and network within the Dutch public broadcasting system. History BNNVARA was founded on 1 January 2014 through a merger of the BNN (founded 1997) and VARA (founded 1925) associations. These continued to ...

Notable television shows

* '' Cash Cab'' (Dutch version) * '' De Grote Donorshow'' * '' De Lama's'' * '' Spuiten en Slikken''

Presenters

* Bart de Graaff (1998–2002) *

Bridget Maasland Bridget Maasland (born 9 November 1974) is a Dutch VJ, television presenter and producer. Career She worked as a model and appeared on the catwalk in fashionshows for children. Her debut on television was a commercial for fruit as a healthy al ...

(2000–2005) * Eric Corton (2005–) * Edo Brunner (2006) * Hanna Verboom (2004–2006) * Katja Schuurman (2001–2008) * Ramon Stoppelenburg (2005–2006) *

Nicolette Kluiver Nicolette Rianne Staudt-Kluijver (born 29 September 1984) is a Dutch television presenter and former model. she works for RTL 5 (presenting the nude dating show, ''Adam Zkt. Eva''), after spending many years at BNN. When she was 17, she was d ...

(2006–2014) *

Patrick Lodiers Patrick Emanuel Martinus Lodiers (born October 25, 1971) is a Dutch television presenter and a former chairman of BNN. Lodiers is the presenter of Dutch programs like De Lama's, Over Mijn Lijk and The Big Donor Show ''De Grote Donorshow'' ...

(2001–) *

Ruud de Wild Ruud and Rud are surnames of Norwegian origin. Both are also Norwegian place names of numerous farmsteads named Rud or Ruud from Old Norse ''ruð'' meaning clearing. Ruud is also a Dutch masculine given name meaning "famous wolf" although it is al ...

(1998–2004) * Sander Lantinga (2005–) * Wouter van der Goes (2004–2006) *

Yolanthe Cabau van Kasbergen Yolanthe Cabau ( Cabau van Kasbergen; 19 March 1985) is a Spanish-Dutch actress, model and television host. Early life Cabau was born on the Spanish island of Ibiza. Her father, Xavier Cabau (1954–2007), was Spanish, while her mother, Richarda ...

(2006–) * Floortje Dessing (2010–)

References

External links

BNN
– official website
BNN TV
at the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

{{Authority control Dutch public broadcasting organisations Netherlands Public Broadcasting Dutch-language television networks Television channels and stations established in 1997