English Breakfast Radio
English Breakfast Radio (99.4 FM), in short, gets the Netherlands up every morning. The station, broadcast live from Amsterdam, reaches a diverse audience across the country, providing vital flashes of everything the week and weather has to offer. It's all in a day's work for the earlybird professionals who wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Broadcaster Mike Berry fills us in.
How did the station come about?
It's the brainchild of Mr Andy Meredith. Andy is an Englishman who has lived in Amsterdam for years, and during his travels across Europe he noticed how the big European cities all had English media. He thought that radio especially was a missed opportunity for Amsterdam, so, together with his mate Koen Visser and Salto Omroep, he set up English Breakfast!
Are you live seven days a week?
We are currently live 5 mornings per week, and there is talk about the weekends but nothing concrete as yet. Current expansion plans include a Friday afternoon show which will start very soon and will be broadcast live from a bar in the WTC (World Trade Center), as well as broadcasting in The Hague. You can also stream our old shows (up to 2 months) at English Breakfast Radio.
What's the set-up between the radio station and the TV network?
We are all part of the Salto Omroep group. Salto has 5 radio channels and 2 TV channels, all broadcasting shows from various community groups. Our radio show is also captured by TV cameras live, and is then simulcast on Salto A1 TV. Lots of people find us for the first time through the TV as they're channel surfing one morning and end up on UPC channel 715.
How do you pick your material for the week?
Every show has a bunch of segments that are constant. Then each show has their own day-specific material, like an interview. The key to our content is that we try to discuss and unlock local issues and information for those that don't speak Dutch. One of our most popular segments, for example, is This Week in Dutch Politics. We have an expert who calls in and tells us what's been going on with Geert Wilders, Rita Verdonk, or Mr Balkenende.
What kind of guests do you have on?
Our guests are always very varied, from musicians, to artists, to chefs, to anyone interesting really. The most famous were Olly and Gale from English band Turin Brakes. We have also had local anonymous graffiti artist Laser3.14, and there is talk of trying to get Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen!
You recently won the Salto 2009 Public Prize Award. What a scoop! Tell us more…
Yes, we were really happy to win that! Every year Salto holds awards for their 200 radio and TV shows. This prize is voted for by the public via the Salto website, and we were stoked to win this award for a second time. This award is even cooler because the voting on the site is all in Dutch, which doesn't really suit a lot of our audience!
And finally, 2010, what's in store?
Lots happening, with the new Friday show and expansion into the Hague. Guests-wise, my top target is still Beau van Erven Dorens from Deal or No Deal. He's so hot!
Are you on any networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter?
Facebook, yes! Just search for English Breakfast Radio Amsterdam. We're also full-time Tweeters, follow us at EBRamsterdam.
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You can also reach us by phone:
+31 (0)20 254 79 99