SBS channel chief steps down

René Oosterman has resigned as channel manager of Dutch free-to-air channel SBS6.

SBS confirmed the news to TBI, saying that Oosterman is leaving the broadcaster because of changes to the channel manager role after just over two years in the position.

The broadcaster said that Peter Lubbers, the director of SBS Television Broadcasting, will cover Oosterman’s duties on a temporary basis. SBS would not confirm whether it planned a like-for-like replacement for the Oosterman.

In a statement, Oosterman said that there had been some “turbulent times” at SBS recently but added: “As a channel manager you sit in a special place and I look back on that with pleasure.”

Lubbers, who joined SBS earlier this year from Zodiak Media, added: “René has spent the last few years working in particularly competitive circumstances. I would like to thank very much for his contribution over the past years and wish him success in his next step.”

Oosterman is a Dutch TV veteran, working for more than thirty years in various positions in the industry, as a producer before becoming a channel manager. He has also been a programme director and, separately, head of sport at SBS’s rival net RTL4.

SBS is owned by Talpa and Sanoma in the Netherlands, with Discovery Communications having been tipped to make an acquisition move for the broadcaster in September last year.