Posted: Wed., May 7, 2003, 2:15pm PT

Nick's ditching Veronica

B'caster seeks partnerships for TV, radio

AMSTERDAM -- Nickelodeon will launch a 24-hour service Sept. 1 in Holland, ending its channel sharing deal with Dutch TV broadcaster Veronica.

The tooner now airs during daytime and general entertainment broadcaster Veronica takes over in the evening.

This is the latest in a series of setbacks for Veronica, once one of the territory's strongest entertainment brands.

Veronica started off as a wealthy public broadcaster, then became one of the channels in the Holland Media Group (HMG) commercial network.

After leaving HMG, Veronica attempted to start on its own last year in a share deal with Nickelodeon.

But heavy competition in Holland made it impossible for Veronica to get the programming or the auds it needed to challenge the nine other entertainment channels.

Miserable ratings have also made cable companies eager to get something else on the air that pulls auds.

Parent group Veronica Holding, which owns two radio stations, Internet investments and the dominant TV magazine, has had on-again off-gain talks with various parties, including SBS Broadcasting, in efforts to find partners for its TV operations.

A spokeswoman for Veronica said it was in negotiations with several parties to form a partnership for its TV, radio and other assets.


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