Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision holds its bi-annual Week of Dutch television

A solid sample of television programming in the Netherlands can be given based on information extracted from old broadcasting guides, catalogues, Dutch programmes and individual journal entries that are stored at Sound and Vision. But what about the look and feel of the full-length programming of a television channel in any given time period? The leaders, station calls, announcers and closing programs?

The Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision has a comprehensive collection of TV recordings, titled the Dutch Television Weeks. Twice a year, the archive records the programming of all national broadcasting stations for an entire week. This collection provides a comprehensive picture of the broadcast programming, including advertising and purchased foreign productions.
 
Originally, this material was recorded on VHS for study purposes. As of 2009, the Dutch Television Weeks are recorded in files and include 10 channels of national public and commercial broadcasters. In 2013, all VHS will be digitised in the same file format.

2012 marks the 25th year that the weeks of Dutch television are recorded. Traditionally, recording took place in the 10th and 40th week of every calendar year. In honour of the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage, the Institute now announces to move back the autumn Television Week, to annually coincide with this celebration of audiovisual collections worldwide.

The first VHS deck: JVC HR 3300 (Image: Hans Van der Windt, 2010)