Tulips wilt at HMG
Board to run Dutch net in wake of chair's resignation
While no official reason has been given for Porsius' resignation, speculation has been rife for months that he would step down in the face of increasing problems at the three-channel network and amid rumors that he was suffering ill health.
Board members to run
CLT/Ufa owns a 65% stake in HMG, the largest commercial network in Holland, which will now be run by three current executive board members: VP of radio and television Unico Glorie, VP of sales and marketing Dick van der Graaf and VP of finance and general affairs Marc Fortems.
Jean-Charles de Keyser, who will move up to become CLT/Ufa's exec VP of television activities for the non-German-speaking territories, will serve as an adviser to the board.
Porsius' resignation caps a harsh chapter in the history of HMG and particularly for lead channel RTL 4, which has been the commercial market topper in the territory for 10 years.
The former chairman of NOB, Holland's largest technical facilities, Porsius stepped up to the plate in January 1998, promising to bring HMG back into the black, which he did.
Roller-coaster ride
But Porsius' cost-cutting efforts also brought HMG bitter employee disputes and scathing headlines in this labor-friendly territory. Cuts in programming budgets resulted in a loss of audience share at principal channel RTL 4 and the loss of some longtime top-draw talent.
Though CLT/Ufa co-CEO Remy Sautter said that Porsius "has done a good job," his performance in the end "proved to be a disappointment," said one TV industry analyst.
In the last year alone, RTL 4's audience share has slipped to a miserable average of around 15%, down from some 30% in 1995 before the advent of new competitors like SBS Broadcasting webs SBS6 and Net 5.
(Sharon Swart in London contributed to this report.)
