The HilversumTV app bundles ‘the best’ of the public broadcaster of the past 65 years. From Van Kooten & De Bie to Theo & Thea and even old news broadcasts can be viewed.
The best of Dutch television
The HilversumTV initiative was created last year as a website with the aim of bundling the most beautiful broadcasts from Dutch television history in one place. The videos can all be found on YouTube, but on HilversumTV they are all together. It concerns broadcasts of programs of the public broadcaster that have been put on YouTube by private individuals or broadcasters. HilversumTV has picked the currants out of the porridge.
In addition to a website, there is now also an app. It can be downloaded for free from the App Store. The creator of the app is media entrepreneur Richard Otto, who wants to ‘renew the old look’. Episodes that are in danger of being forgotten will be brought into the spotlight again with the app.
Mess
The broadcasts are presented via the HilversumTV app. You watch the videos via a YouTube player. At least if they are still on YouTube, because we also came across some videos that were no longer available. You can share the broadcasts directly via social media with a handy button, and it is also possible for users to leave a comment.
Slightly less useful is the app’s interface. It looks rather old-fashioned and has a somewhat illogical layout. For example, there is a hamburger menu on the main page on both the left and right. The right menu leads to the settings and information about the app, the left to different categories of Hilversum TV, such as entertainment, film and music. In addition, swiping does not quite work as you would expect from an app in 2017 and windows slide strangely over each other. In short, it is a mess.
Download HilversumTV
That does not alter the fact that HilversumTV offers a nice glimpse into our television past. Do not expect to be able to follow complete old series, but dozens to hundreds of individual films and series will go a long way. The range will be expanded further in the coming period, the makers promise.