Aug. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Dutch billionaire John de Mol, creator of the ``Big Brother'' television show, plans to take on some of Europe's biggest broadcasters with Talpa, a TV station mixing sports programming and the reality shows that made his fortune.
He may not repeat the success of ``Big Brother,'' which netted him an estimated $2 billion, according to Sander Fauth, TV strategy director at advertising planning company MediaCom.
``TV viewers won't start watching more with Talpa and advertisers aren't expected to spend more on ads,'' said Fauth, who's based in the Dutch capital, Amsterdam.
Talpa, owned by De Mol, 50, pits itself against channels owned by the Dutch public broadcaster; RTL Group, Europe's No. 1 broadcaster; and SBS Broadcasting SA, the region's second-biggest TV company. All are going after the Netherlands' 850 million-euro ($1.1 billion) TV advertising and sponsorship market.
De Mol's Talpa channel goes live in the Netherlands tomorrow. He will feature his TV presenter sister Linda, Dutch soccer highlights, the fifth series of ``Big Brother,'' and a show about someone seeking a sperm donor called ``I Want Your Child And Nothing Else.'' His shows will go up against programs including ``Desperate Housewives'' and ``CSI: Miami.''
Talpa will broadcast from 6 p.m. to midnight. Outside those hours, on the same channel, Viacom Inc.'s Nickelodeon channel will be shown. De Mol's station aims to win 10 percent of viewers in the age group 20 to 49 within a year, said Maarten van Rooijen, a Talpa spokesman.
Three public-broadcaster channels had a combined 31.8 percent share of Talpa's audience age bracket in 2004, according to a report by Dutch TV rating service Stichting KijkOnderzoek. RTL's three stations had a 28.9 percent market share and SBS, which also owns three channels, had a 25.2 percent market share.
Marielle Slenders, an ad buyer at ZenithOptimedia in Amsterdam, said Talpa may fail to meet its audience goal. ``I think 8 or 9 percent should be achievable.'' ZenithOptimedia, is owned by Publicis Groupe SA, the world's No. 4 ad company.
Spending on ads and product sponsorship on Dutch TV will probably be unchanged, at 850 million euros, in 2005 from last year, according to Spot, a Dutch TV advertising industry group.
``We will definitely feel an impact from Talpa, which enters an already crowded market backed with money and creativity,'' said Eric Eljon, a spokesman for SBS Broadcasting BV. ``We feel very confident. I think the chance Talpa won't be able to meet the market share goal is pretty big.''
Rotterdam- and London-based Unilever, the largest advertiser in the Netherlands, doesn't plan to advertise on Talpa this month. It is in negotiations with the station.
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