Inside CEE Television
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- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Chris Dziadul, April 30 2026
Spotlight on RTL Hungary
RTL Hungary’s announcement of another reorganisation has casts doubts on its future and further fuelled speculation that it may be sold. Earlier this week the broadcaster said in a statement that it is “entering the next phase of its transformation: building on the stable foundations of linear television, further strengthening its digital and streaming positions and, to this end, comprehensively renewing its sales operations.” It added that it will create two new areas under the leadership of Gergely Dudás, chief revenue officer: a unit supporting digital revenue growth, and an area developing and operating digital products, whose work is closely linked, thus supporting RTL Hungary’s revenue goals. Local reports say that the reorganisation has been accompanied by more redundancies, following on from ones back in February when around 90% of its PR department was laid off. Speculation is also growing that RTL Hungary may be sold, with Central European Media Enterprises (CME) mentioned as a potential buyer.
Oneplay set for regional expansion
PPF Group plans to introduce the Oneplay streaming service model it operates in the Czech Republic to other markets in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Speaking at the Shifts conference in Prague and quoted by the local media, PPF Group’s co-CEO Didier Stoessel said that the first market would be Romania, followed by Slovakia. Stoessel pointed out that Oneplay, which was formed by the merger of Voyo and O2 TV, is already the most popular streaming service in the Czech Republic, having one and a half times more subscribers than Netflix. One of the key points of Oneplay is that it doesn’t share its content on YouTube and therefore also not its revenues. Inside CEE notes that in late 2025 Daniel Grunt, the CEO of Central European Media Enterprise (CME), which is owned by PPF Group, said that there were plans to expand Oneplay to other markets, starting this year.
Polish creator rewrites YouTube history
Poland has recorded a new all-time peak for a live stream on YouTube. According to ScreenLovers, Piotr Garkowski, known online as Łatwogang, raised over €60 million for children with cancer in just nine days. In doing so, he broke the Guinness World Record for the largest amount ever raised in a single charitable livestream. At its peak, 1.65 million people watched the stream on YouTube simultaneously. At the same time, only three Polish TV stations – TVP2, Polsat and TVN – drew a higher peak audience than 1.6 million and not a single sports broadcast or game show came close. Indeed, the only entertainment programme on Polish TV to achieve a higher average weekly audience than 1.65 million was Dancing with the Stars - a reminder of just how rare this scale of viewership has become outside of traditional broadcasting.
Piracy a “socially present practice” in Croatia
Digital piracy in Croatia is not a marginal phenomenon but a socially present practice, especially pronounced among younger groups. According to research undertaken by Telemach and Ipsos, more than a third of respondents aged 16-34 say they know someone who uses illegal IPTV or streaming services, which indicates the availability and frequent consumption of such content. The research also shows a clear gap between awareness of risks and actual user behaviour. Although some respondents recognise the dangers, only 30% believe that such services often carry security risks. Respondents single out security threats such as viruses and data theft as the biggest risk (52%), while legal consequences are recognised to a much lesser extent (28%). More than half of respondents believe that it is films that are most often consumed through pirated sources, while almost half cite lower prices as the key reason for using illegal sources (47%). For a third of respondents, the reason is simple accessibility and a wide selection of content.
Voyo boosts content offer
The Slovak SVOD platform Voyo has added 10 new linear channels to its offer. Effective April 29, its customers can watch nine popular channels from the AMC Global Media Central Europe portfolio, as well as the news channel ta3. The AMC channels include Sport 1 and Sport 2, AMC, Film+, Spektrum, Spektrum Home, TV Paprika, Minimax and JimJam. All 10 channels are available in the Voyo maximum subscription. Voyo is operated by Central European Media Enterprises (CME) and besides Slovakia is also available in Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania/Moldova, Serbia and Slovenia. In the Czech Republic, it was merged with O2 TV to create Oneplay.
Polsat loses pay-TV subs
Poland’s Polsat Plus Group ended 2025 with 4,546,000 contracted B2C pay-TV subscribers, or 2.9% fewer than a year earlier. It had a total of 5,634,000 contracted (pay-TV, mobile telephony and internet) subscribers, down 1.8% on the end 2024 figure. According to the company, the erosion of its base was down to the lower popularity of satellite technology, partly offset by an increasing number of TV services offered in online technologies (IPTV/OTT) and consolidation of services under a single contract within a household. Separately, Polsat Box Go has added HBO Max to its offering as a standalone service. HBO Max is now available with the Polsat Box Go basic packages Polsat Lovers, Premium and Premium Sport for PLN20 (€4.7), PLN35 and PLN55 respectively per 30 days.
CRA streaming platform draws closer
The Czech national transmission company České Radiokomunikace (CRA) has taken a major step forward in its plans to build a comprehensive streaming platform by acquiring Play.cz from Cordiant Digital Infrastructure for an undisclosed fee. Play.cz created the first widely used platform for radio distribution over the internet, is a long-term technological innovator of radio streaming and also a provider of DAB broadcasting for radio stations. In late 2025 CRA acquired nangu.TV, bringing a comprehensive solution for streaming, IPTV and VOD services to its portfolio.
Czech broadcasters focus on copyright awareness
The Czech Association of Commercial Televisions (AKTV) says the principal focus of its activities this year will be the protection of copyright, with particular emphasis on public education. The main pillar of its preventative and awareness-raising activities is the launch of the information website NormalneLegalne.cz, which offers a catalogue of legal sources of content and education on copyright issues. AKTV was launched in 2017 and brings together the TV groups Nova, Prima and Óčko. It will continue to be headed by Marek Singer for another year.
Unique TV channel for Latvia
The Latvian technology and innovation company Tet has expanded its TV offering by launching a new channel named Tet+ Classic. Offering a mix of films, series and shows, ranging from classic to modern classics, it is produced in collaboration with Helio Media and the first ever channel in Latvia showing content 100% created in the country.
Fast channel expands into Poland
The Ukrainian FAST channel 1+1 News is now available on Rakuten TV in Poland. 1+1 News broadcasts current international news, documentaries about Ukraine, historical programs, reports from war correspondents, and interviews with influential figures and politicians. 1+1 News content is voiced in English or available with English subtitles. Rakuten TV is available in 43 European countries via mobile, web and TV and reaches more than 150 million households.
TVP goes Georgian
The Polish public broadcaster TVP has launched a news service in Georgian. Known as VT Sakartvelo News, it is available via satellite on Belsat and online on YouTube and Facebook. VT Sakartvelo News is supported by Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and expected to cover all EU Eastern Partnership countries. It is another initiative of the multilingual Vot Tak editorial team of TVP’s Media Centre for Abroad, which launched services in Armenian and Romanian earlier this year. The latter is called VT Moldova News and since its debut in February has gained 1.9 million online users and 5.5 million views. It has been watched for over 100,000 hours. Inside CEE Television notes that Sakartvelo is the name for Georgia in its native language.
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