Inside CEE Television
- chrisdz3
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
Chris Dziadul, April 23 2026
Euronews owner targets N1
The Portuguese investment group Alpac Capital is reportedly in advanced talks to buy N1 and other news media outlets owned by United Group. According to Vreme, Pedro Vargas David, the CEO of Alpac Capital, has extremely close ties with Hungary’s outgoing PM Viktor Orbán. Furthermore, his father Mario David, a former member of the European Parliament, has worked closely with Orbán and also maintains good relations with Serbia’s president Aleksandar Vučić. Alpac Capital has owned Euronews since 2022 and according to some critics has transformed the pan-European channel into a “franchise for autocrats” ranging from Serbia to Georgia. It most recently supported Orbán’s unsuccessful re-election campaign. Significantly, the Serbian version of Euronews is operated by HD-WIN, a company wholly owned by Telekom Srbija. When asked to comment on the reports of the sale of N1 and other news media outlets, Adria News Network (ANN), under which the outlets have been grouped since earlier this year, said that ownership decisions are a matter for the shareholders.
Netflix makes Russia move
Netflix has filed applications to register two identical trademarks in Russia. Quoting Rospatent, local reports say that the move was made from the US on April 20. They add that the trademark is planned to be registered under classes 9, 35, 38, and 41 of the International Classification of Goods and Services (ICGS). This includes downloadable programmes and applications for accessing entertainment content and online environments, marketing promotion of entertainment projects and films, and the creation, production, and distribution of audiovisual products. The company also intends to register the English-language trademark under classes 16, 19, 21, 25, 28, and 41. Inside CEE Television notes that the streaming service has been unavailable in Russia since early March 2022.
Outflow of streaming viewers in Poland
Streaming’s share of overall viewership in Poland fell to 10.5% in March, according to Nielsen’s The Gauge. YouTube maintained its steadily lead with a 2.3% share, while Netflix fell to 2%. Cable was the strongest performer overall, with its share increasing by 0.7pp to 38.4%. Meanwhile, in the channel rankings Polsat reclaimed the lead, overtaking TVN and TVP2.
Czech public broadcasting under pressure
Concerns are growing in the Czech Republic about plans to replace receiver licence fees with state subsidies as the source of funding for the public broadcaster Česká televize (ČT) and its radio (ČRo) counterpart. In a statement published on April 20, they list a number of shortcomings in proposed legislation that will change the method of funding. In their view, the biggest shortcomings include that it abolishes their current legal establishment without convincingly ensuring to continuity of their existence, rights, obligations and internal rules; introduces ambiguity into the validity of the Code, Statute and Memorandum and into the position of media councils; vague and contradictory definition of public service; and abolishes the authorisation to use frequencies allocated for broadcasting and ignores activities in the field of new broadcasting services including on demand. Unions and employees at ČT and ČRo have also declared an indefinite strike alert.
Key Polish partnership for Nielsen
Nielsen has entered into a long-term partnership with the Polish Organisation of Advertisers (POR) in order to support effective marketing, drive innovation, and set the highest industry standards in the dynamic, $3.7 billion Polish advertising market. Under the partnership, both organisations will collaborate on several key goals, namely Stimulating Industry Development; Promoting Innovation; Enhancing Knowledge Sharing; and Professionalising the Market. In a separate development, Nielsen has announced in its All Screens Video Landscape report for March 2026 that the two most-watched programmes of the month were the two playoff matches for the Polish national team to qualify for the World Cup, broadcast on TVP1 and TVP Sport.
Pay-TV growth continues in the Czech Republic
The average amount Czech viewers spent on pay-TV services in the second half of 2025 was CZK460 (€18.9). This, according to the latest findings of the atmedia index research carried out by Atmedia, was 9% more than in the same period a year earlier. Atmedia notes that despite the gradual increase in price, the popularity of pay-TV among Czech viewers is growing. In the second half of last year, it was already used by 67% of Czech TV viewers aged 15–69. The main driver of the growth of pay-TV in recent years has been IPTV, which, together with cable TV, is already used by more than half of viewers (54%) as the main source of TV broadcast reception. On the other hand, the share of satellite reception has been falling in recent years and in the second half of last year stood at 13%. Viewers appreciate the flexible options for watching video content, with 48% identifying the ability to watch programmes again, 34% appreciating the possibility of watching TV programmes simultaneously on other devices and 32% the ability to rewind commercials. Although pay-TV is particularly popular amongst the younger demographic, with almost three-quarters (74%) of TV viewers aged 15-34 using services, it dominates all age categories of viewers, including older generation. In those aged 45-69, it has a share of 63%. Cable and IPTV are more popular in locations with over 100,000 inhabitants while satellite reception is significantly more common in smaller towns and villages.
Financial concerns for Hungarian TV stations
Hungary’s main commercial broadcasters are likely to take a financial hit following the change in government. According to Media 1, TV2 Group, which is close to the former PM Viktor Orbán, received 60% of the total state TV ad spend of HUF7.7 billion (€21 million) in 2025. This amounted to around 8% of its total revenue and effectively made it profitable. The situation at its main competitor RTL Hungary could be even more difficult. Hungary’s new PM Péter Magyar has promised to divert money spent on “propaganda” to other areas such as healthcare.
Tricolor advances on all fronts
One in four Russians now watches television services provided by Tricolor, the country’s leading pay-TV operator. As of the end of 2025 its subscribers base exceeded 12.363 million, with the number of new DTH customers 10% up on a year earlier. Tricolor points out that it has always been a customer-focused operator, with 30% of its subscribers having been with the company for more than 15 years and 61% willing to recommend it to family and friends. It adds that in 2025 it released a record number of devices (20), including QLED TVs in four different sizes and next generation set-top boxes. Meanwhile, its online service Tricolor Kino i TV saw the average daily number of viewers on smart TVs increase by 25% and total viewing time by 8.5% in 2025. Tricolor also says that it continues to invest in its core business satellite TV. Uniquely for the Russian telecom market, it launched three positions for TV broadcasting – 36, 56 and 75 degrees East – this year. Tricolor now also produces over 50 of its own TV channels, 17 of which are already distributed by other operators.
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