[BLOG] It was a strange coincidence. The 538 afternoon team led by Frank Dain was on paid leave (read: live in Germany while the European Championship was not yet alive and the Dutch team was underperforming), the first listening numbers of the week came in, 538 dropped sharply and suddenly Frank Dain fell ill and another person was urgently sent to Germany to pull the football wagon. Yesterday it was suddenly announced that the Dane would not be heard on 538 afternoon due to family circumstances until after the European Championship. Knowing Talpa’s PR machine, all these announcements always smell a bit strange, especially since the hit station is under a lot of pressure and still doesn’t come close to Qmusic in terms of listening numbers. Could Dain have been alerted in Germany that work is being done behind the scenes to prepare his successor? And who should it be? Or is he himself in discussions with another party?

Let’s pick the top three suitable candidates that Uncle Minbo would be willing to change things for starting at 4pm. The dream candidate is of course… Rod de WildeHe spent his best years at NPO Radio 2 and would like to join his old club again, at least to get revenge on Quinn and Sander who he had to make way for when he was 538 years old at the time. He made fun of his former presenter KRONCRV on the air, and then landed at POWN, who also had to suffer on the air recently. Ruud loves a good salary, and now earns a standard in 200 thousand and that was in his best years at 538 million. It is only natural that Minneboo is a great success for John de Mol when, after Gijs Staverman, he also steals the last big name left from the daytime programs at the successful public station, Ruud de Wild.

Another door away, at NPO 3FM, another 538-disc rider says they really shouldn’t have let him go to Bergweg: Barend van Dillen. He scores above the channel average. Now, it’s not that hard on 3FM, but he still stands out in a positive way. Barend and Wijnand in the afternoons on 538 would give the station a massive makeover. There are already calls that he will be the intended successor to Ruud de Wild at NPO Radio 2, so that scenario could still happen if Ruud decides to take advantage of his old age in his old nest with his old friends and new music. Below this blog is another example of how tight-lipped Barend is, something we hear and see very few jocks do anywhere. Also note how Benner and Gilmer don’t care about what he’s doing, so without the support or involvement of his team, Van Dillen still manages to make the most of this talk. Keep looking at your screen, team! And talk through it. Bah bah.

Then the No. 3 candidate to replace Frank Dane, in case he leaves: Jeroen Nieuwenhuis. Do you remember that name? Nowadays he spends two hours reading the newspaper at lunchtime on Radio 10 and shouting words like “cinema” into the microphone in his deep, sexy voice. He actually thinks it’s ridiculous that everyone from Lindo to Dennis is allowed back on 538, which he’s not. You could easily extend Kolkman and Diergaard’s shift by an hour at ten, but you want to set up a music station for another ten, don’t you? Well, stop with those super-short two-hour shifts, they only lead to disruption. Could Nieuwenhuize start playing hits in the afternoon and tell us what’s currently playing in the “bioscaup” (pronounced brick on your stomach). If you had to solve it internally, this is about the only big name from the past who hasn’t returned yet and you could easily get him to do his trick one floor down. And yes, we don’t know yet what’s going on with Dane and his family, but in these turbulent radio times, it’s all too easy to believe whatever Talpa’s PR machine spins. Anyway: Good luck to Frank Dane, whatever happens. Hopefully he’ll be back soon, at 538 or somewhere else.

Patrick Kikin

Van Dillen introduces his colleagues again, presenting to them what the profession was invented for: