In this first egtabite of the new year, we look back at the recent festive season and spotlight how the Belgian media united on Christmas Eve for a unique live programme, bringing together the country’s entire population.
The live show “Christmas with 11 million” was broadcast on 24 December between 6 and 7 pm on the country’s five largest channels to bring a warm message of hope, light, and connectedness.
Belgium. Uniquely phenomenal
The program was part of “Belgium. Uniquely phenomenal”, a multi-annual campaign by the federal government to boost the country’s image, both domestically and across national borders in a humorous and modest way.
The promotional campaign started with an informative poster campaign. A website in four languages shows 99 good reasons to love Belgium and (re)discover what the country has to offer in terms of art, gastronomy, tourism, sport, culture, or simply ‘the good life’. The website and the campaign also highlight the Belgian qualities that can attract foreign investors. In addition to this, there is also the Federal Truck, a truck that travels around the country bringing federal information campaigns as close to Belgium’s citizens as possible.
The organisation of the live broadcast itself and coordination between the media groups was in the hands of Alice Events, an independent agency which organises institutional events and TV productions.
A chain of light
RTL-TVI and La Une on the French-speaking side and VTM, Eén and Vier on the Dutch-speaking side, joined forces for the occasion. The positive and heart-warming broadcast featured Belgian artists’ performances at enchanting locations, aerial images of a beautifully illuminated Belgium, short testimonials, a national commemoration moment for all corona victims, and a contribution from the Royal Family. The yearly Christmas speech of His Majesty King Filip was directly linked to the broadcast.
The common thread running through “Christmas with 11 million” was light. Across all ages, social classes, beliefs, and points of view, light is the pre-eminent symbol to express solidarity and hope in this dark period and this eventful year. Many fellow countrymen had already put up signs of light in their windows or their gardens in the weeks preceding Christmas.
The idea was to figuratively make a chain of light from all those points of light on Christmas Eve. The program called for lighting a candle for the people, viewers wanted to thank or remember, or for those who deserved extra attention in their eyes.
Results
The program achieved good viewing figures, especially in Flanders. On the public channel Eén, 774,438 people watched, which represents a market share of 45.1 per cent.
Including deferred figures up until 1 January 2021, 374,745 people viewed the special on VTM. Vier reported 75,000 viewers and RTBF registered 224,537 viewers on the evening itself. RTL-TVI did not disclose any figures as of yet.
“We were delighted by the success of the show and the great collaboration among the various channels. The vast number of viewers is clear proof that TV is the medium par excellence to unite an entire country around a single cause. The heartfelt messages of hope and the feeling of connectedness were much welcomed in these trying times. It was a wonderful initiative which we would be happy to repeat,” says Valérie Van Dyck, producer news & projects News City at DPG Media.
OTHER CASE STUDIES
AD EMISSIONS MEASUREMENT: LESSONS FROM THE FINNISH MARKET
31. 3. 2026Finland’s commercial TV broadcasters spent the past year developing a carbon emissions measurement framework for linear TV advertising, starting with no local methodology and ending with a validated model owned by an industry body. For markets facing the same challenge, the experience offers a useful reference point. Start narrow, then scale The project focused exclusively… Continue reading EGTABITE 325: HOW THE BELGIAN MEDIA CELEBRATED CHRISTMAS WITH 11 MILLION PEOPLE
A NEW WAY FOR FRANCETV PUBLICITÉ TO SELL CONTEXTUAL VIDEO ADVERTISING
27. 3. 2026FranceTV Publicité (FTP), the advertising sales house for French public television, has introduced Context.IA into its digital video offer. The solution uses programme context to decide when an ad should appear, instead of relying only on fixed scheduling. That makes Context.IA a new commercial tool inside FranceTV Publicité’s own video inventory. Context.IA links programme cues… Continue reading EGTABITE 325: HOW THE BELGIAN MEDIA CELEBRATED CHRISTMAS WITH 11 MILLION PEOPLE
BUILDING A SHOPPABLE, ATTENTION-READY CTV OFFER: THE BIG BROTHER CONTEXTUAL CASE
26. 3. 2026In 2025, Paramount Australia, in partnership with FreeWheel and egta, hosted a webinar outlining a forward-looking view of the evolving advertising market. One key topic explored the industry’s shift to pull-based discovery, experience-driven engagement, and frictionless content-commerce integration. Paramount Australia’s Contextual Advertising Suite directly responds to these trends, reinforcing the company’s leadership in premium CTV… Continue reading EGTABITE 325: HOW THE BELGIAN MEDIA CELEBRATED CHRISTMAS WITH 11 MILLION PEOPLE
GLOBO CREATES HOME SCREEN PROMINENCE FOR FREE-TO-AIR TV ON SMART TVS
26. 2. 2026Globo, Brazil’s largest commercial TV group, is rolling out DTV+, a next-generation free-to-air TV standard designed for connected TVs. It brings broadcast channels into the TV operating system, with app-like navigation, login and interactive layers placed directly on top of live programming. The move fits Brazil’s viewing reality. Linear TV accounts for 57.9% of total… Continue reading EGTABITE 325: HOW THE BELGIAN MEDIA CELEBRATED CHRISTMAS WITH 11 MILLION PEOPLE
THE VISUAL TRANSFER EFFECT: HOW SOUND BUILDS BRANDS
24. 2. 2026In collaboration with neuro-marketing agency Unravel, Talpa Media has produced the scientific proof that audio does not just complement TV. It actively reactivates it, reconstructing visual brand memories in the consumer’s mind through sound. The findings carry significant implications for how audio is planned, sold, and valued within the wider media mix. Context Talpa Media… Continue reading EGTABITE 325: HOW THE BELGIAN MEDIA CELEBRATED CHRISTMAS WITH 11 MILLION PEOPLE
RMB TURNS QR CODE VOTING INTO A SHARED VIEWING MOMENT THAT STRENGTHS BRAND IMAGE FOR SPRITE AND DELI CHOC
24. 2. 2026Campaign objectives The chocolate snack Deli Choc and soft drink Sprite brands worked with RMB to reach younger audiences by becoming part of Belgian hip-hop show “PLAYGROUND”, supporting new rap talent through a live QR vote and cross-platform content. This helps the brands appear as enablers of the format rather than separate ads. For RMB… Continue reading EGTABITE 325: HOW THE BELGIAN MEDIA CELEBRATED CHRISTMAS WITH 11 MILLION PEOPLE
CANADIAN SUPERSTAR ANDREW PHUNG HELPS VIA RAIL CHALLENGE CAR CONVENIENCE ASSUMPTIONS WITH LONG-FORM STORYTELLING ACROSS CBC’S TV ECOSYSTEM
24. 2. 2026Campaign objectives VIA Rail, the company operating Canada’s national passenger rail service, combined a new product launch with brand building, using long-form content to tackle misconceptions that tend to block conversion in travel: comfort, ease, and whether rail feels like a realistic alternative to driving for intercity trips. The objectives behind this campaign were to… Continue reading EGTABITE 325: HOW THE BELGIAN MEDIA CELEBRATED CHRISTMAS WITH 11 MILLION PEOPLE
HOW L’ORÉAL PARIS AND RTL MADE STREET HARASSMENT HARD TO IGNORE
24. 2. 2026Context Sexual harassment in public spaces is one of the most common forms of gender-based violence in the world. Two figures frame the issue: 80% of women have experienced street harassment, but 85% of people say they lack training on how to intervene. Ad Alliance and L’Oréal created a campaign to respond to this problem… Continue reading EGTABITE 325: HOW THE BELGIAN MEDIA CELEBRATED CHRISTMAS WITH 11 MILLION PEOPLE
HOW AD ALLIANCE USED VIRTUAL SET GRAPHICS TO RESKIN THE LET’S DANCE STAGE FOR UNIVERSAL PICTURES
24. 2. 2026Context This campaign promotes a film by changing the look of a well-known TV studio during the ad break, so the show setting becomes part of the idea. Universal Pictures International Germany supported the live-action version (made with real actors) of How to Train Your Dragon, based on a well-known animated franchise. The ad special… Continue reading EGTABITE 325: HOW THE BELGIAN MEDIA CELEBRATED CHRISTMAS WITH 11 MILLION PEOPLE
CHANNEL 4 SHOWS HOW PUTTING ACCESSIBILITY FIRST BENEFITS BOTH CUSTOMERS AND COMMERCIAL WITH CURRYS’
24. 2. 2026Context Channel 4’s Diversity in Advertising Award 2025 set its brief under the theme “Inclusive by Design”. It asked brands to embed inclusive practices into the creative, rather than at the end of production. The initiative linked that ambition to airtime: £1m of advertising space across Channel 4’s portfolio sat behind the winning campaign. The… Continue reading EGTABITE 325: HOW THE BELGIAN MEDIA CELEBRATED CHRISTMAS WITH 11 MILLION PEOPLE
HOW BMW USED A COUNTDOWN TO HOLD ATTENTION FOR TWO MINUTES
24. 2. 2026The iX3 launch in Belgium used prime time to make a first impression quickly. The plan did not rely on many repeated 30-second ads. Instead, it opened with a two-minute film that ran without interruption. In this campaign, this timeframe was used as a clear countdown linked to the car’s driving range. The number on… Continue reading EGTABITE 325: HOW THE BELGIAN MEDIA CELEBRATED CHRISTMAS WITH 11 MILLION PEOPLE
TURNING PEAK TV SHOW ATTENTION INTO TRUSTED CONTEXTUAL SPOTS AND FAN FOLLOW UP CONTENT
24. 2. 2026Context A plot cue inside a flagship soap can set the terms of the next ad break, because viewers stay anchored in the same scene and characters. Emmerdale’s familiarity, plus its own show social channels, gave the message a recognisable voice on TV and somewhere to continue after broadcast. In this case, the ITV campaign… Continue reading EGTABITE 325: HOW THE BELGIAN MEDIA CELEBRATED CHRISTMAS WITH 11 MILLION PEOPLE