CEE TV industry news stories
- chrisdz3
- Mar 20
- 4 min read
Chris Dziadul, March 20, 2025
5G Broadcast trials for Poland
The Polish national transmission company Emitel is planning to undertake 5G Broadcast trials in Warsaw. However, according to Maciej Staszak, its VP of the management board, sales director, speaking to the local media, a lot of work will still need to be done before the start of regular broadcasts, particularly in the area of reception equipment. Elsewhere in Europe, 5G Broadcast trials have already taken place in several countries including Germany, Austria, Denmark and the Czech Republic. According to the 5G Broadcast Strategic Task Force, commercial services are expected to be launched by 2027.
Concerns raised over US funding cuts
The Association for International Broadcasting (AIB) and European Broadcasting Union (EBU) are among a number of bodies that have expressed deep concerns about the US government’s move to end funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and other US public international media. Following the move, RFE/Radio Liberty has gone on to sue the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM), as well as USAGM official, in order to block their attempted termination of its federal grant. In a related development, the cuts to US support programmes could, according to Mykyta Poturayev, the vice chairman of the Verkovna Rada Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy, result in up to 51% of Ukrainian media ceasing their activities.
Eutelsat sanctions ruling expected shortly
The French regulator Arcom is shortly expected to rule on Eutelsat’s compliance with European sanctions on Russia. News of the upcoming development was provided to Reuters by the regulator. Reuters notes that although Eutelsat stopped broadcasting three Russian channels in 2022 following a request by Arcom, it still has contracts with such Russian companies as Zvezda and VGTRK. The NGO Diderot Committee says these do not comply with EU sanctions.
TV viewing falls in Latvia
Television services are now watched by only 75% of Latvians. According to a study commissioned by the regulator NEPLP, TV3 is the most popular channel, especially among younger viewers, being watched by 50% of the population. It is followed by LTV1 (46%), LTV7 (39%, especially among ethnic minorities) and TV24 (33%). Meanwhile, on demand audiovisual services such as Netflix and Go3 are used by 38% of Latvians, and audio streaming services such as Spotify by one in three (33%).
Surprising dip in streaming viewing in Poland
The share of streaming in total TV viewing in Poland declined from 9.7% in January to 9.3% last month. While this was the first time in a while, Nielsen’s The Gauge also points out that the share stood at a much lower 8.3% in February 2024. In streaming, both Netflix and YouTube achieved a 2.1% audience share last month. While YouTube’s was unchanged on January, Netflix’s was down from 2.3%. The Gauge notes that most other streaming platforms also declined last month, with Amazon Prime and Player among the few exceptions. Furthermore, Poles watched four minutes less traditional TV and one minute less streaming content per day in February.
TV Barrandov secures three licences
The Czech Radio and Television Broadcasting Council (RRTV) has awarded the company IFIS akvizice II satellite, terrestrial and internet licences for the national broadcaster TV Barrandov. All are valid for a period of 12 years and under their terms require TV Barrandov to offer a 24-hour, full-format service in the Czech Republic, with the satellite licence also allowing distribution in Slovakia.
Nova Docu and Marquee TV expand in South East Europe
United Media’s curated documentary channel Nova Docu is now available in Greece on the EON platform and Nova. Nova Docu made its debut last year in Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro. Separately, and has been previously reported in the CEE TV industry news update, it has been confirmed that United Group and Marquee TV has joined forces to launch the latter’s first ever linear channel – it was previously only available as an SVOD service – on Vivacom Bulgaria, Telemach Croatia, Telemach Slovenia, Telemach Montenegro, Telemach Bosnia and Herzegovina, SBB Serbia and Net TV Plus.
Vectra facing heavy fine
Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has brought charges against the country’s leading cable operator Vectra for unilaterally changing contracts and illegally increasing subscription fees. This is not the first time the UOKiK has taken action against Vectra for such practices and the operator could be fined up to 10% of its turnover and obliged to return illegally collected fees.
SkyShowtime first in North Macedonia
A1 has become the first telecom company in North Macedonia to offer the European streaming service SkyShowtime with local language subtitles. SkyShowtime is a joint venture between Comcast and Paramount Global. Launched in 2023, it is available in 14 markets across CEE including North Macedonia.
Canal+ promotes Olgierd Dorn
Olgierd Dorn has been appointed deputy CEO-Operations at Canal+ Polska. He has been at Canal+ Polska since 1995 and up until now the TV technology director. Prior to joining the broadcaster, he held positions at Telewizja Polsat and NTW.
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© Chris Dziadul, 2025
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