Ster

What Ster does

Ster (Stichting Etherreclame) is the exclusive advertising sales house of the Dutch public broadcaster (NPO), selling radio, television and online advertising inventory on behalf of the public system. Founded in 1972 and headquartered in Hilversum, the foundation employs approximately 90 people and serves a broad advertiser base that ranges from large commercial brands (e.g., a.s.r., Blokker) and SMBs/startups (e.g., Ziemi, No Fairytales, Bikeboxer) to non-profit organizations (algemeen nut), with museums added as a dedicated vertical through a 2026 partnership with Museumvereniging.

Its commercial offering centers on radio spots (priced per second), TV spots (priced per spot) and online display plus pre-roll video (priced on CPM), distributed through direct sales and the Ster Klantportal self-serve platform. Underlying technology includes a cookieless contextual targeting engine and an ML-based campaign forecasting system launched in 2020, positioning Ster as an early adopter of privacy-preserving targeting in the Dutch market.

Ster operates as a non-profit foundation: surplus advertising revenue, after operating costs, is contributed to the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science to fund public media. Pricing is usage-based across all channels, customer mix is distributed across enterprise, SMB and non-profit segments, and recent product moves (ML forecasting, contextual targeting, a dedicated non-profit vertical, and a museum-sector partnership) point to incremental feature expansion rather than structural business-model change.

Name

Ster

Legal name

Stichting Etherreclame

Website

https://ster.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Ster (Stichting Etherreclame) is the exclusive advertising sales arm of the Dutch public broadcaster (NPO), offering radio, TV and online advertising to commercial brands, SMBs and non-profit organizations across the Netherlands.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Broadcast Advertising Sales

NAICS

Media Buying Agencies (541830), Advertising Agencies (54181)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Media Inventory & Yield Management / Ad Operations (Trafficking, Tagging, QA) (BPAFABAO)

Keywords

• Broadcast advertising sales
• Public media advertising
• Radio commercial advertising
• Television advertising sales
• Online display advertising

Headquarters

HQ city

Hilversum

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Television Advertising: Revenue from broadcasting TV commercials on NPO channels (NPO 1, NPO 2, NPO 3) around quality programming. Pricing based on time slots, program context, and spot length (30-second base rate)
2. Radio Advertising: Revenue from radio commercials across NPO Radio stations (Radio 1, Radio 2, 3FM, Klassiek, Radio 5, FunX, regional stations). Pricing per second based on time slots
3. Online Display Advertising: Revenue from banner advertising on NPO websites and apps (NOS.nl, NPO Start). CPM-based pricing model with Run of Network, Run of Channel, and Run of Specifics options. Available to all advertisers
4. Online Video Advertising: Revenue from pre-roll video advertising on NPO Start and livestreams. Since 2021 exclusively available for non-commercial organizations (algemeen nut) with non-commercial messages

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Ster (Stichting Etherreclame) sells advertising inventory on Dutch public broadcasting (NPO) channels across three media types: television commercials on NPO 1, 2, and 3; radio commercials across NPO Radio 1, 2, 3FM, Klassiek, Radio 5, FunX and regional stations; and online advertising (display banners and pre-roll video) on NPO websites and apps including NOS.nl and NPO Start. Campaigns are sold both directly via account managers and through a self-service Ster Klantportal with machine learning-based reach forecasting, serving commercial advertisers, media agencies, and non-commercial (algemeen nut) organizations in the Netherlands.

Product overview

Ster (Stichting Etherreclame) is the exclusive advertising sales and operations arm of the Dutch Public Broadcasting system (NPO), offering a unified multi-channel advertising platform spanning radio, television, and online. The core offering is media inventory on NPO's national channels (NPO 1, 2, 3, NPO Radio 1, Radio 2, 3FM, Klassiek, Radio 5, FunX) and regional public broadcasters, sold through three media types: Radio Advertising, Television Advertising, and Online Advertising (display banners and pre-roll video). Access and campaign management is centralized through the Ster Klantportal, which features ML-powered forecasting. Online advertising is differentiated by its cookieless, privacy-first contextual targeting system (won the Dutch Privacy Award), with online video pre-roll exclusively available to algemeen nut (public benefit) organizations. Additional products include AdMeasure commercial testing, the Ster Gouden Loeki public advertising award, the Loeki de Leeuw mascot brand, special event advertising packages (e.g., World Cup, Tour de France), and a dedicated rate category for not-for-profit organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Radio Advertising (Radioreclame)
• Television Advertising (Televisiereclame)
• Online Display & Banner Advertising
• Online Video Advertising (Pre-roll)
• Ster Klantportal
• AdMeasure (Commercial Testing)
• Special Event Advertising Packages
• Algemeen Nut (Not-for-Profit / Public Benefit Advertising)

Quantifiable outcome

• 33% target group reach (18-65) during WK Women's Football
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Museumvereniging (Museum Association)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 202612-week pilot partnership starting June 1, 2026 where Ster provides online display advertising space to help museums gain visibility within the public media landscape. Approximately 30 museums can participate, gaining access to a safe, reliable cultural environment on NPO websites and apps like nos.nl.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• RTL Nederland: RTL Nederland operates the major Dutch commercial channels (RTL 4, 5, 7, 8, etc.). Direct Dutch competitor to Ster on linear TV ad inventory and an obvious benchmark for Dutch broadcaster ad yield.
• Talpa Network: Talpa is the largest Dutch commercial broadcaster (SBS6, Veronica, Radio 538, etc.). Competes with Ster directly for Dutch advertising budgets across TV, radio and online, and is the closest Dutch competitor on linear TV inventory.
• BBC Studios / BBC Media Action: BBC's commercial arm operates across a much broader portfolio (production, content licensing, branded). Comparable at the level of public-broadcaster monetization infrastructure, though BBC carries no linear advertising on UK domestic channels, making it only partial peer to Ster.
• DPG Media (incl. AD.nl, regional dailies): DPG Media is a major Dutch cross-media (news, magazines, radio, online) sales house with comparable scale. Competes with Ster for Dutch advertiser budgets, particularly online display where Ster contextual plays against DPG's news/sport audiences.

Direct peers

• France Télévisions Publicité: France Télévisions Publicité (formerly FTP) handles ad sales for France's main public broadcaster after the evening ad ban. Comparable role to Ster with constrained commercial inventory and a similar 'brand-safe public media' positioning.
• ZDF media GmbH: ZDF media is the ad sales house for ZDF, Germany's second major public broadcaster. Comparable because it monetizes another public service broadcaster's TV, radio and online inventory under a regulated, non-profit-friendly mandate.
• ARD-Werbung: ARD-Werbung is the exclusive advertising sales house for Germany's main public broadcaster (ARD). Closest functional analog to Ster: same non-commercial public broadcasting anchor, cross-media sales (TV/radio/online), cookieless/privacy positioning, and operation in a small Dutch-equivalent media market.
• SRG SSR Advertising: SRG SSR's advertising unit monetizes Swiss public broadcasting inventory across TV, radio and online. Comparable to Ster due to small-language market dynamics, public-broadcaster mandate, and tightly regulated ad load.
• ORF-Enterprise (ORF Online & Broadcast): ORF's commercial arm selling advertising on Austria's public broadcaster. Directly comparable to Ster in public-broadcaster-only inventory, DACH-region reach economics, and segment separation between commercial clients and public-service messages.

Emerging players

• AdAlliance (RTL Group): AdAlliance is RTL Group's pan-European ad sales house bundling inventory across multiple broadcasters. Comparable sales-house model and technology/data focus, but operates at a much larger, multi-country scale than Ster.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SterReclame
• LinkedInnl.linkedin.com/company/ster
• Instagraminstagram.com/sterreclame

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ster