Inside CEE Television
- chrisdz3
- May 22
- 3 min read
Chris Dziadul, May 22 2025
Markiza bans ad skipping
The Slovak national commercial broadcaster TV Markiza has blocked the skipping of commercials shown on its archive. The move is designed to secure more ad revenue and came into effect on May 21. However, according to local reports, most operators in the country appear to be in no hurry to implement the ban.
TV gains and losses for Polsat
Poland’s Polsat Plus Group had a combined audience of 22.1% for all its TV channels in the first quarter. This was 0.6pp more than the 21.5% posted in the same period last year. At the same time, its ad market share rose by 0.9pp to 28.7%. The group also had 4,661,000 pay-TV subscribers in the first quarter, or 3% fewer than in Q1 2024. It notes that this loss was mainly due to the lower number using satellite TV services and partially compensated by an increasing number of TV services offered in online technologies (IPTV/OTT).
Objection to Telemach sale
The telco HT Eronet has reportedly objected to the sale of Telemach to BH Telecom in Bosnia & Herzegovina (BiH). The transaction, which was first announced in January, is in its final stages, with a ruling expected shortly from the country’s Competition Council. HT Eronet’s main shareholder is the Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina (50.1%), with Croatia’s Hrvatski Telekom (HT) holding a 39.1% stake.
United Group teams up with Oh! Jazz
United Group has entered into a partnership with the global audiovisual platform Oh! Jazz to bring jazz to its TV audiences in Slovenia, Croatia and Bulgaria from May 20, with Greece to follow shortly afterwards. Together with a 24-hour linear channel, users will have the possibility to access the Oh! Jazz’s on-demand catalogue as well as the integrated Oh! Jazz app, featuring over 300 concerts, curated playlists and interviews with artists. The partnership includes support for local jazz production and global visibility for regional talent.
Romanian pay-TV market stagnates
Romania ended 2024 with 7.8 million pay-TV subscribers. This, according to the regulator ANCOM, was unchanged on the total a year earlier. The migration of subscribers from DTH (-138,000) to cable services (+188,000) continued in 2024. Digi was the leading provider, with a market share of 75%. It was followed by Orange (13%) and Vodafone. ANCOM also notes that revenues in the Romanian telecom sector decreased by 5% in 2024 to around €3.2 billion, with pay-TV services accounting for 15% of the total.
Strong growth for Kyivstar TV
Ukraine’s Kyivstar TV ended the first quarter with 2 million MAUs (Monthly Active Users), or 34.9% more than the 1.4 million posted a year earlier. At the same time, its revenue increased by 177%. This growrh was driven by attractive content offerings including the exclusive launch of the Setanta Premium sports channel and a revamped sports section in the app. Significantly, Ukrainian-produced and Ukrainian-language content now represents 81% of the platform’s catalogue. Kyivstar TV has also expanded its reach by launching on Xbox devices.
Polsat adds TVP channels
Poland’s Polsat Plus Group has added 18 channels from the public broadcaster TVP to its offer. The latter’s TVP1, TVP2 and 16 regional TVP3 channels are now available in all Polsat Box Go packages, along with the basic packages of the internet TV service with a Polsat Box decoder. Polsat Box Go offers viewers over 160 TV channels, with the premium one including either Disney+ or SkyShowtime streaming services.
New platform for TV Markíza
The Slovak national commercial broadcaster will launch a news-based digital platform in the next few weeks. Known as TN Live, it will be broadcast online from 9am to 8pm daily and aim to attract a young audience. TN Live is already present in the Czech Republic, where it is operated by TV Markíza’s sister station TV Nova. Both are owned by Central European Media Enterprises (CME).
4iG upgrades TV service
One Hungary, which is part of 4iG Group, has upgraded its OneTV service in collaboration with 3 Screen Solutions (3SS). OneTV delivers next generation TV to more than 400,000 households across the country without requiring customers to replace their existing set-top boxes.
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