Inside CEE Television
- chrisdz3
- Jun 12
- 4 min read
Chris Dziadul, June 12 2025
TV dominates CEE media landscape
Traditional television continues to dominate the media landscape in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), accounting for a projected $9.1 billion in revenues this year. However, according to the latest industry analysis by Omdia, the most significant growth opportunities lie in digital transformation, particularly in streaming video and connected TV (CTV) advertising. The analysis says that the CEE media market is projected to reach $20.1 billion this year, growing at an impressive 7% rate and outpacing global industry averages. Of this total, online video will account for $4.6 billion, games $3.4 billion, cinema $2.25 billion and music $0.8 billion. Meanwhile, with SVOD penetration at just 34% compared to 91% in North America and 73% in Western Europe, CEE represents a significant growth opportunity for streaming services. Global players dominate the online streaming market, with Netflix in first place, (25%), followed by Disney+ (12%), YouTube Premium (11%) and Max (10%). Furthermore, while global CTV advertising (23%) is rapidly approaching linear TV levels, the region’s CTV ad market remains underdeveloped at just 3% of total TV screen advertising and could be improved by partnerships between broadcasters and YouTube.
Polsat launches FAST channels
Poland’s Polsat Plus Group has added 18 proprietary FAST channels to its Polsat Box Go service. Six of the channels are thematic (comedy, crime, history, entertainment, festivals and cabaret) and 12 dedicated to individual shows that have been shown on Telewizja Polsat. Commercial airtime on the channels is being sold by Polsat Media. Polsat Plus Group notes that it also recently added 18 channels from the public broadcaster TVP and the HD version of TVN to Polsat Box Go’s offer, which now consists of over 170 channels.
Delay in Slovenian media law
Slovenia’s new media law is unlikely to be ratified this month by parliament. According to a local report, this follows the coalition’s decision to withdraw the law from the May session of the National Assembly. It adds that there are growing indications that the law may be on hold due to fears of a possible referendum. Inside CEE Television notes that the law has been criticised for, amongst other things, granting the regulator AKOS too many powers and imposing too many financial burdens on operators.
Sony Pictures expands in Ukraine
Ukraine’s Kyivstar TV has signed an agreement with Sony Pictures, expanding its content library by over 100 films and one series. Kyivstar TV is a joint venture between Kyivstar and 1+1 Media. Launched in 2019, it current offers viewers over 430 TV channels and a VOD library of 20,000 films, TV series, cartoons and shows.
Vectra to sell Elsat
Poland’s leading cable operator Vectra has signed a preliminary agreement to sell 100% of the shares in its subsidiary Elsat to Polski Światłowód Otwarty (PŚO) for an undisclosed fee. The latter is the largest exclusively wholesale telecommunications operator in Poland and has 4.1 million households within its broadband network. The transaction will cover a network reaching approximately 2.3 million households, mainly in HFC and FTTH technology, in cities in which Elsat owns the local broadband access infrastructure.
AMC inks Canal+ deal
AMC Networks International Central and Northern Europe (AMCNI CNE) has signed a major multi-territory agreement with Canal+ Luxembourg, a member of the Canal+ Group. It covers the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania, with each continuing to receive AMCNI CNE’s portfolio of pay-TV channels. In the case of the Czech Republic and Slovakia these are Sport1, Sport2, AMC, Film+, Minimax, JimJam, Spektrum, Spektrum Home and TV Paprika, with all being distributed by Skylink. Meanwhile in Hungary, it encompasses all 10 channels in the portfolio, distributed by Direct One, and in Romania AMC, Filmcafe, Minimax, JimJam, Spektrum, Spektrum Home, TV Paprika and CBS Reality, offered to receiving FocusSat.
Magenta TV adds Czech titles
The Czech Republic’s Magenta TV has significantly expanded its video library. According to its operator T-Mobile, it added content from the Czech public broadcaster Ceska Televize (CT) on June 10, and almost 90 hours of films, fairy stories, series and miniseries will gradually be introduced to the service over the coming months. The video library currently offers more than 5,000 films and episodes of series of various genres, including children's shows, documentaries, comedies, dramas and Czech classics.
4iG and Intelsat sign new agreement
Intelsat has announced a long-term renewal agreement with Hungaro Digitel Plc (HDT), a member of Hungary’s 4iG Group and a subcontractor of One Telecommunication. The latter, also part of 4iG Group, provides DTH services in Hungary through the 1degree West neighbourhood. HDT is Hungary’s leading satellite communications service provider and part of the HUSAT satellite programme.
Major expansion for HBO Max
The streaming service HBO Max will be made available in 12 more markets in July. According to its operator Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), four are in CEE (Albania, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), five in the CIS (Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan) and the remainder in other parts of Europe (Cyprus, Iceland and Malta). HBO Max will launch in more markets later this year, followed by Germany, Italy and the UK in early 2026. WBD ended the first quarter with 122.3 million streaming subscribers, or 5.3 million more than three months earlier.
Viaplay partners with Czech Prima
Viaplay has entered a long-term partnership with the Czech Republic’s Prima Group to bring Viaplay Select to the streaming platform prima+. Starting July 1, the latter will offer viewers over 200 hours of series, films and documentaries from Viaplay Select in the first year, with the majority being first-run premieres in the market. In addition to streaming on prima+, selected Viaplay titles will also be broadcast on Prima Group’s linear channels. Viaplay’s Select is available in over 30 markets around the world and in CEE the Nordic group recently renewed an agreement with Pickbox in the Adria region.
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