CEE TV industry news stories
- chrisdz3
- Apr 30
- 4 min read
Chris Dziadul, April 30, 2025
Video viewing falls in Poland
The average time viewing video content in Poland fell to 59 minutes a day in March. This, according to Nielsen’s All Screens Video Landscape report, was 3.2% less than in February. At the same time, the time spent watching traditional content sources – cable, satellite and terrestrial – fell by 3.8% to 3 hours and 40 minutes. The report notes that Warner Bros. Discovery strengthened its position as the leader in terms of audience share with 18.8%, with the composition of the top 10 unchanged otherwise apart from Netflix switching position with SPI, which rose to 8th in the ranking. TV remained the most popular way of watching video content, though there was a 1% fall in the share of the big screen compared to other devices in the viewership of Google, Netflix and Canal+. In their cases, TV accounted for 28% (Google), 83% (Netflix) and 97% (Canal+) of viewership respectively.
Czechs prefer films and series
Almost half of Czechs now use streaming services. Figures published by Atmedia show that in the second half of last year 47% paid for at least one VOD service, and they on average used two different services at the same time. The top five most watched platforms on the Czech market have long been Netflix, Voyo, Max, Disney+ and Prima+, followed at some distance by Amazon Prime Video, SkyShowtime, Canal+ and Apple TV+. Atmedia notes that despite the emergence of new platforms, television broadcasting remains the most widespread way of consuming video content. A total of 92% of Czech households watch television content and 68% of viewers aged 15+ turn on the TV every day, spending an average of 3 hours and 36 minutes watching it. It also notes that films and series have long been among the most popular genres of Czech viewers, regardless of whether they watch classical TV stations or prefer paid streaming services. Furthermore, a significant proportion still prefer local productions.
Voyo introduces e-sports
The Slovak broadcaster TV Markiza has added e-sports to its streaming service Voyo. As of April 28, subscribers are being offered the Ygames Pro Series competition in the popular computer game Count-Strike 2 (CS2). TV Markiza is owned by Central European Media Enterprises (CME) and has sister stations across CEE including the Czech Republic. In the latter, Voyo was recently merged with O2 TV to create a new streaming service named Oneplay.
Estonians favour app usage
Watching TV programmes via apps is becoming increasingly popular in Estonia. According to the telco Elisa, quoting a recent survey, while two years ago only 28% of its customers considered the presence of a smart TV app important for a TV service, the total now stands at 53%. Elisa notes that in the world of television, this convenience is as app-based viewing experience without the need for any additional device, directly from the television.
Major changes at Czech TV
The Czech President Petr Pavel has signed off a major amendment to public media legislation that will see TV receiver licence fees increase to CZK150 (€6) and their radio equivalents to CZK55 a month from this May. The legislation also covers multimedia devices such as smartphones, tablets and PCs and will allow Czech Television (CT) to restore several programmes and perhaps also reintroduce its channel CT3. At the same time, the leadership of CT’s CEO Jan Souček has been called into question and his future will be decided at a meeting of CT’s Council on May 6.
RTL Hungary loses legal battle
The Media Council of the Hungarian regulator NMHH has won a lawsuit against M-RTL (RTL Hungary) in two cases. According to NMHH, RTL’s media service provider challenged the legality of a HUF3 million (€7,392) fine imposed for the broadcast of a programme named Reggeli in October 2023 and HUF10 million imposed for the broadcast of Sztárbox in November 2023, as well as the obligation to publish notices of violations.
Marek Singer to head Czech TV association
The Czech Association of Commercial Television (AKTV) has announced that its new president will be Marek Singer, the CEO of Prima Group. He will replace Klára Brachtlová, the interim deputy CEO and chief external affairs of the CME media group. The AKTV, which brings together the Nova, Prima and Óčkotelevision groups, traditionally replaces its presidency during its anniversary and is currently celebrating its eighth year of operation.
CME promotes Michal Malencik
Michal Malencik has been appointed the new chief strategy and transformation offer at CME. Malencik has been at CME for over a decade and was most recently group product and strategy director. In his new role, he will lead the development of its overall business strategy, accelerate its OTT transformation, champion the adoption of advanced data analytics and AI models, and strengthen its partnerships.
SPI International expands into Bosnia
Canal+’s SPI International has launched its 14 TV channels with BH Telecom in Bosnia & Herzegovina. The agreement between the two parties covers four FilmBox film channels and 10 thematic channels. The latter includes Turkish series-based Dizi, which is part of the telco’s basic package, with the remaining 13 channels being placed in the Moja TV net M and Moja TV net L packages.
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