Chris Dziadul, February 6, 2025
Digital progress for Czech TV
The digital platforms operated by the Czech public broadcaster Ceska Televize (CT) averaged 2.4 million users a month in 2024. Its streaming service iVysílání was the most successful online product, averaging 1.4 million users a month. In total, iVysílání viewers watched 195 million videos from almost 23,000 available programmes. Almost half of views were via HbbTV and smart TV applications, of which more than half were by the latter, available for most TV brands. CT’s online platforms recorded 237 million video views last year, with smart TV applications adding a further 47 million.This was 4% more than in 2023.
Streaming leads in Poland
Streaming platforms such as Netflix, Spotify and Max are received by 86% of Poles who pay subscription fees. All told, according to a report on e-commerce by Santander Consumer Bank, subscription services are used by 62% of Poles and they typically spend from PLN51 (€12.07) to PLN100 a month.
Telia partners with Netflix
Telia Lithuania has added Netflix to its offer. According to the company, its streaming platform Telia Play will introduce Netflix in two stages. All Android set-top boxes (STBs) issued by Telia already work with the Netflix app, and the second stage will come into effect later this year. It will see Netflix subscriptions offered in new Telia plans, integrating it with communications and TV services. This will allow customers to save money by opting for plans rather than buying services separately.
TVP VOD posts record figures
2024 was a record year for the Polish public broadcaster’s streaming service TVP VOD. Aside from noting a 27% increase in video views compared to 2023, it saw a 30%+ increase in average monthly users. Furthermore, its subscriber total increased by 32.5% during the year. Video views grew most significantly for the TVOD segment of the service (+222% y-o-y), followed by SVOD (+25%), FVOD (22%) and AVOD (+19%). In terms of TV reception of the service, the biggest growth was seen on Apple TV (+82% y-o-y), with Android TV claiming 62% and smart TV 61.5%.
R2B2 strengthens monetisation and AdTech position in CEE
The Prague-based AdTech company R2B2 has acquired the video advertising SaaS company Caroda for an undisclosed fee. R2B2, which is majority owned by the private equity fund Genesis Capital Growth, was founded in 2014 and specialises in programmatic advertising and developing proprietary solutions to increase online publishers’ ad revenue. It operates across 46 markets and has a strong presence in the CEE region. Meanwhile, Caroda’s technology is used by publishers and internet users across dozens of countries daily. It recently extended its activities in North America and Eastern Europe.
Vodafone position confirmed for Dinu Dragomir
Dinu Dragomir has been appointed the business director at Vodafone Business Romania, effective February 1. He has been with the company for almost 11 years and has held this position on an interim basis since last autumn, replacing Mihnea Rădulescu.
FILM.UA promotes Iryna Kostyuk
Iryna Kostyuk has been appointed the general producer at Ukraine’s FILM.UA Group. In her new role, she will be responsible for its content production strategy, exercise creative supervision and contribute to the establishment of the most effective work of creative teams and the discovery of new talents in the market. She will continue to work as a producer on her projects within the group and will also supervise all FILM.UA Group projects. Kostyuk is a specialist with 25 years of experience in the media industry. She joined FILM.UA Group 2014, and before that held managerial positions in TV, in particular, as general producer of the TET TV channel.
Online piracy revenues fall in Russia
Revenues from pirated video content in Russia amounted to $36.4 million. This, according to figures released by F.A.C.C.T. and published in Kommersant, was 4% lower than in 2023. Search traffic to pirate portals also fell by almost 4%, while that to legal online video services rose by 25%. Yet despite this, the number of illegal domains is growing and accounted for 94% of the video content segment in 2024.
Comments