The RTBF’s bottomless pit
BAM has often criticised how close to the authorities our RTBF’s journalistic content was during the Covid period, but we have never talked about its property management… which is just as shambolic.
At a time when taxes are raining down in an attempt to keep the good ship Belgium afloat, the “Gabelgie” series (a blend of gabegie, French for wasteful mismanagement, and Belgique) keeps growing.
We have long talked about the Reyers ocean liner.
Historically, the street was called boulevard Militaire, after the site’s former use as the national firing range. No coincidence.
Kilometres of corridors, a tower planted on the boulevard Reyers…
Well, this ocean liner is not going to become a museum or lofts: it is mostly going to be razed, after budgets were blown to rebuild everything right next door.
Behind the pretty word Mediapark
First, the Brussels Region buys the RTBF–VRT site, 19 hectares, for an amount estimated at between 150 and 200 million euros to launch the new district. A move made under Rudi Vervoort.
Next, the RTBF’s new headquarters, Media Square, was announced at 187 million. With inflation and delays, it now stands at around 236.5 million: 179 for the building and 57.5 for technology, officially “self-financed” through the public endowment, internal savings and the sale of the land.
So a substantial increase due to uncertainties. A 112-million lawsuit is under way, brought by service providers who fell victim to the dithering over decisions, with a serious delay as the result. Business as usual when it comes to public buildings.
On top of that comes the Frame media house, which hosts Molengeek and BX1 and otherwise echoes hollowly because it is empty. A first public building costing more than 20 million euros, co-financed by the Region and Europe.
The VRT too
The VRT is following suit: a new headquarters first budgeted at 122 million, now climbing to around 133–150 million, with a 10-million European subsidy for the sustainability side.
A glut of broadcasting channels
Today the RTBF is roughly four TV channels, nine radio stations and two big in-house digital platforms, Auvio and RTBF Actus, for a population of 4.5 million French speakers.
The RTBF now employs around 2,400 to 2,500 people in the broad sense, all statuses combined, with about 1,800 to 1,900 in-house employees according to recent official figures. Sheer madness.
The bill, please
The result: leaving Reyers without leaving Reyers comes to more than half a billion euros of public and semi-public money, between the land, the two headquarters and the district’s facilities.
The old liner will disappear. Planned works: 4 years.
You couldn’t make it up. The tower will be repurposed, but nobody knows into what.
One question remains for listeners and viewers watching their bills climb: was it really necessary to spend so much on public broadcasters that are, in effect, funded by citizens? All the more so at a time that is very unfavourable to international media, which are drastically scaling back. Belgium spends without really, properly, counting. An absurdity.
A commission?
If someone like Charles Alloncle wants to come and unwind in Belgium with a little inquiry, the management of our INR would give him plenty to laugh or cry about. I would put him up at my place to save on costs.
And we might also recall that there was a time when Jean-Claude Defossé’s programme, Le Journal des Travaux Inutiles (the Journal of Useless Works), drew fine audiences. Charity begins at home…
Pietje Schramouille
The opinions expressed in this op-ed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of BAM!
Illustration by BAM!
Sources (in French):
236 millions d’euros pour Media Square : Jacqueline Galant réclame des résultats concrets à la RTBF
Un litige à 112 millions d’euros autour du nouveau siège de la RTBF
Le nouveau siège de la RTBF coûtera plus cher que prévu | 7sur7.be
