Inside CEE Television
- chrisdz3
- Jun 5
- 4 min read
Chris Dziadul, June 5 2025
Serbian channel dispute escalates
United Media’s news-based channel N1 has criticised the Serbian telco Orion Telekom for dropping it from its offer. In its view, the move, without any valid explanation, “represents one of the most drastic examples of censorship aimed at eliminating any form of media pluralism in Serbia”. It adds that “N1 was removed despite a contract that is in force until March 2026, without any warning, negotiations or reason that would justify such a move”. N1 has also identified the business Orion Telecom does with the Serbian state – estimated to be worth €4.4 million including VAT – as a possible reason for dropping the channel from its offer. For its part, Orion Telekom says it began cooperating with N1 and United Media during the pandemic but “at this moment there are clear indications that its continuation will soon be impossible.”
New FAST channel for Ukraine
Ukraine’s leading OTT platform Megogo and the state enterprise Multimedia Platform of Foreign Broadcasting of Ukraine have launched a new FAST channel named Dim+. It offers viewers popular series, as well as content dedicated to Ukrainian culture, music and history, that have already been shown on the Ukrainian foreign broadcast channel Dim.
TVN partners with Vectra
Poland’s TVN Warner Bros. Discovery and leading cable operator Vectra have entered into a long-term strategic partnership. It will give Vectra subscribers access to the full programming offer of the TVN Warner Bros. Discovery group, including channels from the broadcaster’s portfolio, both in linear and OTT versions, along with innovative solutions in the field of dynamic advertising replacement (DAI). Important parts of the agreement include the expansion of the distribution of TVN7, TVN Fabuła, Metro, TTV channels as part of the OTT offer, as well as comprehensive promotional cooperation between the broadcaster and operator.
Bosnia set for DVB-T2
Bosnia & Herzegovina (B&H) should finally get digital terrestrial broadcasting within a matter of months. According to a report in the Croatian media, the Croatian state-owned national transmission company (OiV) has committed to establish digital radio and TV signals in B&H by December. Originally, OiV and a Banja Luka-based company named Sirius 2010 were granted the right to introduce digital broadcasting in B&H. However, the latter came under US financial sanctions after it was found to have links to Milorad Dodik, the sanctioned president of Republika Srpska. Significantly, B&H is the only country in Europe not yet to have completed the transition to digital broadcasting.
Russia’s Future launches
Yulia Navalnaya, widow of the murdered Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, has announced the launch of a new TV channel named Russia’s Future together with Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Dedicated to preserving Navalny’s legacy and promoting freedom of expression in Russia, it began broadcasting on June 4, which would have been Navalny’s birthday, and is available on the Svoboda satellite package on Eutelsat Hotbird at 13 degrees East.
prima+ expands reach
The Czech streaming service prima+ is now available to customers of the IPTV operator SledovaniTV. The latter has introduced a completely new programme offer, which now consists of four main (S, M, L and XL) and three thematic packages, and with the most notable feature being the inclusion of Prima Group’s prima+ in most of the packages. SledovaniTV offers viewers more than 170 TV channels and 120 radio stations. It provides IPTV to end users and cooperates with more than 700 local internet providers in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
T-Mobile stops DTH sales
The Czech Republic’s T-Mobile ended the sale of satellite TV reception equipment on June 1. According to the company, the number of satellite TV users has been significantly decreasing in recent years and they only currently account for 4% of Magenta TV’s 304,000+ customers. At the same time, interest in OTT is growing and T-Mobile has now introduced super-fast internet with speeds of up to 2 Mbps on more than 800,000 of its connections. The operator points out that Magenta TV in its OTT format has a number of advantages over satellite TV including features such a rewind, watching on multiple devices and a wide range of VOD content, including Netflix and Max.
Hungarian deal for Media Press and Telekom
Media Press Hungary has entered into a partnership with Magyar Telekom to provide Creative Studio services. The latter is a premium-quality photo delivery, featuring cast and crew images and an enhanced EPG service designed to elevate the visual experience on the TelekomTV platform. Media Press Hungary is part of Media Press Group, Europe’s only entertainment metadata provider and enabler at scale.
New head for ATM Grupa
Przemysław Kmiotek has been appointed the president of ATM Grupa, Poland’s leading independent production studio. Formerly the VP, he has been with the company for over two decades. Meanwhile, Urszula Piasecka, who joined the board of ATM Grupa in May, is now the company’s VP. As previously reported by Inside CEE Television, Andrzej Muszyński resigned from his position as president of ATM Grupa late last month.
Henryk Ciski passes
Poland’s Chamber of Electronic Communications (PIKE) has announced the passing of Henryk Ciski. Ciski was the editor in chief of TV-Sat Magazyn, a pioneering publication that not only extensively covered Poland’s cable and satellite TV industries but played a key role in its development from 1989 onwards.
Ukraine extends TV licences
The Ukrainian regulator National Council has extended the broadcasting licences of 20 companies for another 10 years. Among them are 13 TV channels with national coverage, including Inter, XSPORT, 1+1, NTN, Mega and Enter-film. The remaining are four regional and local TV channels and three radio stations.
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