NPO 3FM

NPO 3FM is a Dutch pop/rock radio station controlled by public broadcaster NPO. Its format is a combination of contemporary hit radio, alternative and rock. It can be compared with BBC Radio 1.

History

Launching on 11 October 1965, NPO 3FM was created as Hilversum 3 (later Radio 3) by the Minister for Culture and Social Recreation, Maarten Vrolijk, to counterbalance the popular new offshore stations such as Radio Veronica.

Due to the nature of the Dutch public broadcasting system, with several broadcasters being awarded airtime based on the numbers of paying members they have, 3FM hosts radio shows by different broadcasters. In the early days of the station, this led to a mixed bag of programs barely linked to each other. As an example, Christian broadcaster EO used to broadcast Christian-themed programs (including a request show with religious music), followed by the now legal Radio Veronica with a format based on Top 40-pop.

Up until the early 1990s, NPO 3FM (then known as Radio 3) did not have a horizontal radio format, with each public broadcaster filling one day a week. This prevented the station to gain a recognisable stature, although it was easily the most-listened to radio station in The Netherlands, aided by the fact that commercial terrestrial radio was illegal until the early 1990s.

Serious Request

Serious Request is a family of annual multi-day, multimedia fundraising events for International Red Cross initiatives, typically hosted by radio stations in the week before Christmas. The project was begun in 2004 by Dutch public pop music radio station 3FM. Serious Request projects have since been adopted in Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, Kenya, South Korea, Austria, Latvia and Portugal.

During the Dutch 3FM Serious Request, three popular radio DJs are locked up for six days in a small temporary radio studio (the "Glass House"), placed in a main square in a different city each year. Living on a juice-only fast, the DJs make an interactive, themed broadcast around the clock, while regular programming on the station is suspended. Instead 3FM and its website are completely dedicated to the event, which is also transmitted as a continuous audio and video live-stream. Additionally there is television coverage, integration with social media, and a dedicated mobile app.

Funds are raised in a few different ways. While the DJs are in residence, they play songs requested by listeners and visitors, in return for their donations. Celebrities and artists also donate personal possessions or performances, which are auctioned off. Straightforward donations are made into the project's bank-account, and by physical visitors depositing cash and cheques into the house's letterbox. Additionally, members of the public run a variety of supporting initiatives, and in some cities more glass houses are popping up. All totalled the Dutch editions have raised €76.8 million.