Omroep

Omroep is a Dutch word meaning broadcasting or a broadcasting organization. In everyday usage it refers to the public broadcasting system in the Netherlands, where the Publieke Omroep consists of multiple semi-independent omroepen that create radio and television programs for the national networks. Each omroep has its own editorial identity and historical background, often linked to a particular audience or philosophy, such as general public programming, religious, liberal, socialist, or cultural strands. They contribute programs to the public service, which are broadcast on the channels of the national network, historically branded as NPO (Nederlandse Publieke Omroep).

Historically, the Dutch public broadcasting system was built around a set of active omroepen that produced content for radio and television and competed for airtime within the public network. Over time several omroepen merged to form larger organizations, while still operating under the public service remit. Notable examples include AVRO, VARA, NCRV, KRO, VPRO, and TROS; mergers have produced entities such as AVROTROS (from AVRO and TROS) and BNNVARA (from BNN and VARA). The system aims to reflect a range of perspectives and audiences, from general audience programming to specialized and religious or cultural content.

Funding and governance are provided within the Dutch public broadcasting framework, with oversight through laws governing the public service and the broadcasting system. The term omroep also appears in other Dutch-language media contexts to denote broadcasters in general, and in regions outside the Netherlands the concept continues to influence public media branding.

In addition to the Netherlands, the word is used in Dutch-language media contexts in Belgium (Flanders) to refer to public or private broadcasting entities.