The year 2022 was mainly a year of change, says radio DJ Sander Hoogendoorn to the ANP. Hoogendoorn exchanged NPO3FM for Radio Veronica after about ten years. “Everything has turned 180 degrees.”
The channels announced the departure of the DJ in August. Signing a contract with Radio Veronica was “literally” the highlight of the year for Hoogendoorn. “I did a hut tour in Austria, a hike from hut to hut in the mountains.” During that trip he received his new contract. “It had to be done quickly, so I literally signed the PDF on my phone at 2,000 meters, with a ray of 5G somewhere.”
When the DJ was told at 3FM that his morning show would stop, he had to think for himself what he wanted. When the offer came from Radio Veronica, the DJ decided to say yes. “That was exciting.” Because after ten years NPO 3FM had become his “comfort zone”. “But I was really welcomed with open arms at Veronica.” Since then, both his career and his life have changed. “From public broadcasting to a commercial station and no longer at 6 a.m. in the morning, but at 6 p.m. in the evening. So the whole life is different: when you eat, when you go to bed.”
The period around the holidays is also “definitely different” this year. Last year, the DJ participated Serious Request of NPO 3FM, where he was locked up in the Glass House. Now he works for Radio Veronica The basic package, a list of songs ‘you must hear once in your life’. “It’s insane to put that package together with your listeners.” He watched the Glass House “with great love” this year. “It’s nice to be able to watch it from the sidelines.”
Uncertain period for radio stations
Some uncertainty for the new year offers the redistribution of the FM frequencies. It was previously announced that a commercial radio provider may have a maximum of three FM frequencies. This means, among other things, that Talpa, the parent company of Radio 10, Radio 538, Sky Radio and Radio Veronica, will lose one of the four current licenses. “I have not missed the redistribution,” says Hoogendoorn. “But I don’t care about it anymore.” According to him, no channel is “life certain”.
The DJ thinks that Radio Veronica has a good chance of an FM frequency. “What we do on Veronica no other channel does.” He is therefore not very worried about it, also because he “can’t do anything” about it anyway. “The Veronica brand will always exist, I firmly believe in that. In whatever capacity.”
