VTM or Vlaamse Televisie Maatschappij (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

: ''Flemish Television Company'') is the main commercial television station in

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

(the Dutch-speaking northern region of

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

) and forms part of a network of channels owned by

DPG Media DPG Media Group is a Belgian Media conglomerate, media group. It is active in Belgium and the Netherlands. The exact ownership structure is not clear; it is believed that the group is mainly owned by the Belgian Van Thillo family.Medialaan DPG Media Group is a Belgian media group. It is active in Belgium and the Netherlands. The exact ownership structure is not clear; it is believed that the group is mainly owned by the Belgian Van Thillo family.

). It was launched on 1 February 1989 as the second commercial television channel in Belgium after the French-speaking

RTL-TVI RTL-TVI is a private French-language, Belgian-based television station owned by DPG Media and Groupe Rossel, it was originally owned by the RTL Group until 31 March 2022. Until 2022, it was broadcast with a Luxembourgish licence, but the new ...

, and quickly became the most popular TV channel in the Flemish part of Belgium. Early programming consisted of local versions of game shows like 'Rad Van Fortuin' ( Wheel of Fortune) or 'Waagstuk!' (

Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead g ...

). The channel is also considered to have been instrumental in the rebirth of the local music industry as it was the first TV channel to promote local music through its primetime TV show 'Tien om te zien' (Ten to see), a weekly chart show with only local music productions. The channel's focus on local music and local versions of international TV formats quickly allowed it to outperform public television in 1989 and the early 1990s. Average marketshare went up to over 40% in 1993. Currently VTM is still the Flemish commercial market leader and the 2nd biggest channel in Flanders. It can be received on cable, digital cable, IPTV in Flanders and Belgium and by satellite in Europe. Parent company DPG Group also operates sister channels, including VTMKzoom (children's), as well as

VTM 2 VTM 2 (formerly Q2) is a Belgian television channel owned by the commercial broadcasting company DPG Media. History Ka2 The channel was launched as Ka2 (Dutch pronunciation of K2) on 31 January 1995, the second Flemish private television channe ...

and

VTM 3 VTM 3 is a Flemish television station. The station got its license for 9 years in 1999 and it started to broadcast on 25 August 2000. VTM3 can be seen on Flemish cable and satellite services. The station is part of DPG Media (formerly Medialaan, ...

. Many programs originally aired on VTM may later rerun on these other channels. The broadcaster also owns two radio stations:

Q-music Qmusic may refer to: * Qmusic (Flanders), commercial radio station of the Medialaan group in Flanders since 12 November 2001 * Qmusic (Netherlands) Qmusic (previously written as Q-music) is a Dutch commercial radio station which has been broadc ...

and

JOEfm Joe is a commercial Belgian radio station broadcasting in Dutch, and is mainly dedicated to pop music from the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Since 2007 the radio station has been owned by DPG Media. Joe mainly plays hit music from the 1980s ...

. It also formerly owned the now defunct

Radio BemBem Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connected to ...

. In 2005 there were talks about MEDIALAAN, VTM's former owner, buying the Flemish part of Canal Plus from

Telenet Telenet was an American commercial packet-switched network which went into service in 1975. It was the first FCC-licensed public data network in the United States. Various commercial and government interests paid monthly fees for dedicated lin ...

but this fell through. In 2006 rumours spread that the

RTL Group RTL Group S.A. ("Radio Télévision Luxembourg") is a Luxembourg-based international media conglomerate, with another corporate office in Cologne, Germany. The company operates 56 television channels and 36 radio stations in Germany, France an ...

would buy 50% of MEDIALAAN, but VTM as well as RTL denied those plans. In 2004, VTM lost its market dominance back to the public broadcaster VRT's flagship channel

één VRT 1 is a public Dutch-language TV station in Belgium, owned by the VRT, which also owns Ketnet, VRT Canvas and several radio stations. Although the channel is commercial-free, short sponsorship messages are broadcast in between some programm ...

. After its big rebrand in 2008 and the latest smaller rebrand in 2012, VTM regained strength with popular shows. The channel was rebranded along with

VTM 4 VTM or Vlaamse Televisie Maatschappij ( English: ''Flemish Television Company'') is the main commercial television station in Flanders (the Dutch-speaking northern region of Belgium) and forms part of a network of channels owned by DPG Media ...

VTM Non-Stop VTM may refer to: * Nevatim Airbase (IATA code: VTM), an Israeli Air Force base located southeast of Be'er Sheva, near moshav Nevatim * Telecom Enforcement Resource and Monitoring (previously Vigilance Telecom Monitoring), the vigilance and monitor ...

and

VTM Gold VTM or Vlaamse Televisie Maatschappij (English language, English: ''Flemish Television Company'') is the main commercial television station in Flanders (the Dutch-speaking northern region of Belgium) and forms part of a network of channels o ...

, VTM Kids changed their logo on April 1st 2025

History

On 27 October 1987, nine publishers, each with 11.1% of the shares, founded Vlaamse Televisie Maatschappij (VTM), of which Jan Merckx became chairman of the board of directors. In 1988, this company was given the monopoly for the establishment of a commercial television channel in Flanders. The publishers had little or no knowledge of the medium of television and started looking for practical implementers. From the various proposals presented to them, mainly under the encouragement of Jan Merckx, they chose the proposal of Guido Depraetere, who had previously devoted an extensive study to this. He was appointed program director, with his friend Mike Verdrengh as deputy director. The primary cause for its creation was due to changes in the media environment since the early 1980s. Up until VTM's creation, BRT's two channels held a television monopoly. Thanks to a 1981 demonopolisation clause improving Belgian television advertising laws and the passing of a Flemish Cable Decree in 1988, VTM was granted an 18-year license to operate. The first broadcast took place on February 1, 1989. Already from the beginning, VTM showed an empathic success: BRT(N) TV1's rating share, which in 1988 was of 57%, fell to 29% in 1990. In 1990 alone, VTM achieved an audience share of 36%. VTM launched its second channel, Ka2, on 31 January 1995; the channel was later renamed several times. In 1996 VTM was facing problems due to heavy investments and the arrival of prestige programming that failed due to a decline in advertising revenue. After internal movements at the company, VTM started making profits again in 1998.

Programming

Currently aired Flemish (co-)productions

Benidorm Bastards ''Benidorm Bastards'' is a Belgian comedy television series. Format ''Benidorm Bastards'' is a Belgian hidden camera comedy programme on the Flemish TV channel 2BE. All characters are amateur actors and senior citizens. The programme has a s ...

(reruns only) *Echte Verhalen: De Buurtpolitie *

Familie ''Familie'' (Dutch for Family) is a Flemish television soap opera set in Mechelen. Created by Herman Verbaet, ''Familie'' was first broadcast on 30 December 1991. It has been broadcast consistently for 5-6 evenings per week, with only 2-3 mon ...

(Belgian soap opera) *Het Weer *

I Can See Your Voice ''I Can See Your Voice'' (abbreviated as ''ICSYV'') is a television mystery music game show franchise created by Lee Seon-young and produced by CJ ENM, which originated from I Can See Your Voice (South Korean game show), the South Korean program ...

The Masked Singer ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

The Voice Kids ''The Voice Kids'' is a version of '' The Voice'' TV series franchise in which children participate. Versions The first such variation was '' The Voice Kids'' from the Netherlands, which was followed by other international variants: : Franchise ...

The Voice van Vlaanderen ''The Voice van Vlaanderen'' (; English- Dutch for ''The Voice of Flanders'') is a Belgian reality singing competition for the Flemish part of Belgium. It is part of the franchise that started in the Netherlands as ''The Voice of Holland''. It ...

VTM Nieuws VTM Nieuws is the name of the daily news broadcasts on the Flemish television network VTM. The bulletins were the first competition to VRT NWS Journaal, the news programmes broadcast by the VRT. History ''VTM Nieuws'' was first broadcast on 1 ...

*Wittekerke (reruns only)

Currently aired Imported productions

America's Funniest Home Videos ''America's Funniest Home Videos'', also called ''America's Funniest Videos'' (abbreviated as ''AFV''), is an American video clip television series on ABC, based on a recurring segment on the Japanese variety show '' Fun TV with Kato-chan and ...

* Chicago Fire *

Chicago Med ''Chicago Med'' is an American medical drama series broadcast by NBC and created by Dick Wolf as the third installment of the ''Chicago'' franchise. It stars Nick Gehlfuss, Yaya DaCosta, Torrey DeVitto, Rachel DiPillo, Colin Donnell, ...

* Chicago P.D. * Last Man Standing * Private Practice * Speechless *

Sturm der Liebe ''Sturm der Liebe'' (, "Storm of Love") is a Germany, German television soap opera created by Bea Schmidt for Das Erste. It premiered on 26 September 2005. It airs 50-minute episodes on weekdays (Monday through Friday) at 15:10. It was announ ...

* Suits * Take Two

Formerly aired Flemish (co-)productions

*Aspe *

Benidorm Benidorm ( , , ) is a municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Known as the “New York City, New York of the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean”, Benidorm has been a tourist destinatio ...

*Boer zkt Vrouw *Comedy Toppers *

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

*De Beste Hobbykok van Vlaanderen *De...dagshow *De Grote Sprong *De Juiste Prijs *

De Kotmadam ''De Kotmadam'' is a classic Flemish comedy television series directed by Ronnie Commissaris and Wim Feyearts produced for Belgian television since 1991. The series is written by Jaak Boon and Frans Ceusters. Season 25, which was also the last, ...

*De Vlaamse 10 *Ella * Een ster in de familie *Gina & Chantal *Goedele Nu *Het mooiste meisje van de klas * Idool *Jambers *Jonas&VanGeel *Klasgenoten *Kriebels * LouisLouise *Make Belgium Great Again * My Name Is... * Matroesjka's *Ons geluk *Over Winnaars *Royalty *

Sara Sara may refer to: People * Sara (given name), a feminine given name People with the given name * Sara Aboobacker (1936–2023), Indian writer and translator * Sara Ahmed (born 1969), British-Australian writer * Sara Allgood (1880–1950), Ir ...

So You Think You Can Dance ''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and has ...

*Stressvakantie * The Team (European TV series) *Team Spirit * Telefacts * Telefacts 360 * Telefacts Crime * Vlaamse Hollywood Vrouwen *

X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...

* Zone Stad *Zoom

Formerly aired Imported productions

9-1-1 911, sometimes written , is an emergency telephone number for Argentina, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Fiji, Jordan, Mexico, Pakistan, Maldives, Palau, Panama, Iraq, the Philippines, Sint Maarten, the United States, and Uruguay, as well as ...

All Saints All Saints' Day is a Christian holiday. All Saints, All Saints Day or Feast of All Saints may also refer to: Art and entertainment * ''All Saints'' (film), a 2017 Christian drama film * ''All Saints'' (TV series), an Australian hospital drama * ...

* Border Security: Australia's Front Line *

Boston Legal ''Boston Legal'' is an American legal comedy drama television series created by former lawyer and Boston native David E. Kelley, produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. The series aired from October 3, 2004, to Decem ...

Chuck Chuck () is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet * Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV produce ...

Cold Case ''Cold Case'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series. It ran on CBS from September 28, 2003, to May 2, 2010. The series revolved around a fictionalized Philadelphia Police Department division that specializes in invest ...

Columbo ''Columbo'' is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Columbo (character), Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originall ...

Dawson's Creek ''Dawson's Creek'' is an American teen drama television series about the lives of a close-knit group of friends in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts, beginning in high school and continuing into college. It aired from January 20, 19 ...

DC Super Hero Girls ''DC Super Hero Girls'', also released as ''DC Superhero Girls'', is an American animated superhero web series produced by Warner Bros. Animation for Cartoon Network based on characters from DC Entertainment that launched in the third quarter ...

Diff'rent Strokes ''Diff'rent Strokes'' is an American television sitcom, which originally aired on NBC from November 3, 1978, to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985, to March 7, 1986. The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and ...

Empty Nest ''Empty Nest'' is an American television sitcom that aired for seven seasons on NBC from October 8, 1988, to June 17, 1995. The series, which was created as a spin-off of ''The Golden Girls'' by creator and producer Susan Harris, starred Richa ...

* ER *

Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey (screenwriter), Peter Casey, and David Lee (scr ...

Fresh Off the Boat ''Fresh Off the Boat'' is an American television sitcom created by Nahnatchka Khan and produced by 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. It is loosely inspired by the life of chef and food personality Eddie Huang and his 2013 autobiography ...

* Galidor: Defenders of the Outer Dimension *

Half & Half ''Half & Half'' is an American television sitcom created by Jeffrey Klarik and executive-produced by Yvette Lee Bowser through her Sister Lee Productions banner that aired on UPN from September 23, 2002, to May 15, 2006 (related to the come ...

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

How I Met Your Mother ''How I Met Your Mother'' (often abbreviated as ''HIMYM'') is an American sitcom created by Craig Thomas (screenwriter), Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005, to March 31, 2014, follows main char ...

Lou Grant Lou Grant is a fictional character played by Ed Asner in two television series produced by MTM Enterprises for CBS. The first was ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977), a half-hour light-hearted situation comedy in which the character ...

* Love Bites *

Magnum, P.I. ''Magnum, P.I.'' is an American crime drama television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator (P.I.) living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from December 11, 1980, to May 1, 1988, during its first-run broadcast on ...

McLeod's Daughters ''McLeod's Daughters'' is an Australian drama television series created by Posie Graeme-Evans and Caroline Stanton for the Nine Network, which aired from 8 August 2001, to 31 January 2009, lasting eight seasons. It stars Lisa Chappell and ...

Mercy Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French , from Medieval Latin , "price paid, wages", from Latin , "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, religious, social, and legal contexts. In the social and le ...

Merlin The Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) is an interferometer array of radio telescopes spread across England. The array is run from Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire by the University of Manchester on behalf of UK Re ...

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble ca ...

Packed to the Rafters ''Packed to the Rafters'' is an Australian family-oriented comedy drama television program which premiered on the Seven Network on Tuesday 26 August 2008 at 8:30 pm. The show continued on Tuesdays in this timeslot for its entire run. The dr ...

* Rush *

Second Noah ''Second Noah'' is a television drama that was broadcast in the United States on ABC television from February 5, 1996, to June 8, 1997. Premise The series stars Daniel Hugh Kelly as Noah Beckett, whose wife Jesse (Betsy Brantley) is a veteri ...

Shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...

Shades of Blue Varieties of the color blue may differ in hue, chroma (also called saturation, intensity, or colorfulness), or lightness (or value, tone, or brightness), or in two or three of these qualities. Variations in value are also called tints and sha ...

Sons of Tucson ''Sons of Tucson'' is an American sitcom starring Tyler Labine, Frank Dolce, Matthew Levy and Benjamin Stockham. It premiered on Fox on March 14, 2010. The show was announced as a midseason show to air on Sunday nights at 8:30 pm ET/PT in b ...

The Education of Max Bickford ''The Education of Max Bickford'' is an American drama television series that aired Sundays at 8:00 pm (EST) on CBS from September 23, 2001, to June 2, 2002, during the 2001–02 television season. After a strong initial launch, the show's audi ...

The Event ''The Event'' (stylized as THE EVƎNT) is an American television series containing elements of science fiction, Action fiction, action/adventure and political allegory. It was created by Nick Wauters and aired on NBC from September 20, 2010, to ...

* The Ex List * The Good Doctor *

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

The Voice (U.S.) ''The Voice'' is an American singing reality competition television series that premiered on NBC on April 26, 2011. Based on the original '' The Voice of Holland'' and part of ''The Voice'' franchise, it has aired 27 seasons and aims to find ...

Third Watch ''Third Watch'' is an American crime drama television series created by John Wells and Edward Allen Bernero that aired on NBC from September 23, 1999, to May 6, 2005, with a total of 132 episodes spanning over six seasons. It was produced ...

Touched by an Angel ''Touched by an Angel'' is an American drama television series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994, and ran for 211 episodes over nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and executive produced by Ma ...

Two and a Half Men Two and a Half Men is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn that aired on CBS for 12 seasons from September 22, 2003, to February 19, 2015. The series originally starred Charlie Sheen as Charlie Harper, a hedonis ...

Will & Grace ''Will & Grace'' is an American television sitcom created by Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. Set in New York City, the show focuses on the friendship between best friends Will Truman (Eric McCormack), a Gay men, gay lawyer, and Grace Adler (Debra ...

Yes, Dear ''Yes, Dear'' is an American sitcom created by Alan Kirschenbaum and Gregory Garcia that originally ran on CBS for six seasons, from October 2, 2000, to February 15, 2006, with a total of 122 episodes. It starred Anthony Clark, Jean Louisa K ...

TamTam

For several years, VTM broadcast a kids' strand called TamTam, competing with VRT's

Ketnet Ketnet is a Flemish public children's television channel in Belgium owned and operated by the Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie, VRT, Flemish public broadcaster. It broadcasts a mix of locally produced and imported productions on the VR ...

. It featured programmes such as ''Teletubbies Everywhere'' and ''

Miffy Miffy (, pronounced ) is a fictional rabbit appearing in a series of picture books drawn and written by Dutch artist Dick Bruna. The original Dutch name, ''Nijntje'', is a shortening of the diminutive ''konijntje'', "little rabbit". The first ...

'' for little children and shows such as ''SimsalaGrimm'', ''Tweety and Sylvester Mysteries'', ''Schuif Af'' and ''Kids Top 20'' for older kids. During VTM's latest rebrand on 29 February 2008, the channel decided to discontinue the TamTam brand. The programming block is now broadcast under the VTM brand.

VTM Kids

VTM Kids VTM Kids (formerly known as VTMKzoom) is a Belgian children’s programming block. The broadcasts of the block began on 1 October 2017 on VTM. VTM Kids targeted children. VTM Kids was also a Channel until 2023. History The children channel VTM ...

was the kids channel of VTM. It aired between 6am and 6pm. There was also a channel called VTM Kzoom+ which aired 24/7 and was a digital only channel. The VTM Kzoom channel started on 1 October 2009 and rebranded as VTM Kids on 22 December 2018, and closed in 2023 to focus on VTM GO. Since 15 February 2015, children's programmes have been broadcast on VTM in the morning again, initially only on weekends, and since 3 July 2017 every day. Since 2 October 2017, the morning block is called VTM Kids. VTM Kids finally rebranded its logo on April 1st 2025, to match with the 2024 rebranding.

Teletext

VTM started a teletext service on 1 February 1996 which was stopped on 1 November 2014. The page 888 is still available for subtitles.

Logos

The first logo of the channel was an uppercase VTM wordmark accompanied by red, yellow and green stripes, in reference to the slogan ''VTM kleurt je dag'' (VTM colours your day). The basic concept was used for its first fifteen years on air with a few small modifications to the design, with the wordmark remaining intact. In 2004, VTM radically changed its identity switching to a one-colour orange look and a new wordmark. Unveiled on 29 August 2004 it was touted internally as "warm, atmospheric, quick and lively". This was replaced by a lower case wordmark in 2008. The letters were now connected, under the principle of "bringing people together to watch VTM". On 20 September 2024, VTM unveiled a new wordmark, with the letters becoming separate for the first time in sixteen years. Joining the new logo is a V monogram in order to make the network's brand more recognisable. It also coincided with a revamp of VTM Nieuws.VTM NIEUWS gaat complex nieuws nog beter uitleggen, met een nieuw gezicht én toptechnologie
/ref>

References

External links

VTMVTMKZOOM2BEJimQ-musicJoeFMMEDIALAANVMMtv
{{Authority control 1989 establishments in Belgium Television channels in Flanders Television channels in Belgium Television channels and stations established in 1989 Vilvoorde