NDC Mediagroep


NDC Mediagroep is a Dutch publisher of newspapers, magazines, and websites focused on the three northern provinces of the Netherlands: Drenthe, Friesland and Groningen. It is owned by foundation Fryslan Boppe Oranjewoud in Oranjewoud and the foundation Je Maintiendrai in Sint Annaparochie. Headquarters are in Leeuwarden, other offices in Groningen and Meppel. In addition to three main provinces, NDC publishes and distributes also in the Kop van Overijssel, Noordoostpolder, and northern Flevoland.

History

The history of the NDC Mediagroep starts at the very earliest with the first publication of the Leeuwarder Courant by Abraham Ferwerda, on 29 July 1752.

20th century

On 1 January 1955 the publishers of the Friese Koerier of Heerenveen and the Leeuwarder Courant merged to form the Friese Pers. On 1 November 1969 the Friese Koerier was merged into the Leeuwarder Courant.
On 2 January 1990 the Friese Pers merged with the Nieuwsblad van het Noorden to form the Fries Gronings Drentse Pers. On 3 January 1994 FGDP bought the newspapers of Wegener in its region, the Drentse Courant and Groninger Dagblad. FGDP was renamed Noordelijke Dagblad Combinatie on 1 July 1994.

2000s

On 2 April 2002 the Groninger Dagblad, Drentse Courant, and Nieuwsblad van het Noorden were merged into the Dagblad van het Noorden. The Leeuwarder Courant continued as is.
NDC merged March 2005 with Veen Bosch & Keuning Publisher to form NDC|VBK. On 1 June 2007 the NDC Mediagroep was established as the subsidiary of NDC|VDK that would handle interests in periodicals, radio and TV. The group's interest in radio and TV was temporary.

2010s

Late 2012 the VBK book publication activities were spun off. As a result, the NDC|VBK became obsolete. On 1 July 2013 the Friesch Dagblad, a title owned by Fryslan Boppe Oranjewoud, was added to the NDC Mediagroep and FB Oranjewoud became the majority stakeholder in the company. Other shares were held by ING Bank and foundation Je Maintiendrai. On 19 June 2015, when ING Bank exited NDC Mediagroep, FB increased its holdings to 83%, with Je Maintiendrai owning the other 17%.
In June 2017, NDC Mediagroep purchased Boom Nieuwsmedia in Meppel, the subsidiary of Royal Boom that managed newspapers, magazines and websites. The purchase enabled NDC Mediagroep to strengthen its position in South Drenthe and South Friesland and in North Flevoland and North Overijssel. NDC continued to use the name Boom Nieuwsmedia for its publications centered in Meppel until 1 January 2018. The Kop van Overijssel and the North Flevopolder were extensions of NDC's reach.

2020s

As a consequence of expensive acquisitions and reorganizations and deteriorating income from subscriptions, sales, and advertisements, NDC Mediagroep reported in February 2020 losing 5.2 million euros over 2017 and 4.8 million over 2018. It is unclear if the company can continue independently or will be sold to a larger media company.

Publications

Daily newspapers

Drenthe