Inside CEE Television

chrisdz3
2 days ago
7 min read

Chris Dziadul, July 9 2026

Polish market remains stable as addressable TV grows

Addressable TV was one of the more notable areas of growth in Poland in the first half of this year. An analysis prepared by Media Context shows that the number of aired spots surged by 39.1% and the share of this communication format rose from 2.2% to 2.9% of all broadcasts. Although its share of generated GRPs remains small, the data indicate a steadily growing interest in this solution among advertisers. The analysis also shows that out of home viewing is steadily growing, as is the alternative use of TV screens. The share of "unclassified" signals rose from 12.7% to 13.9%, confirming that viewers are increasingly using their TVs to access streaming services, apps and other non-linear content. At the same time, the share of GRPs generated by out-of-home viewers increased from 9.4% to 10.8%. TV consumption remains surprisingly stable, with the average time spent in front of the TV was 4 hours and 16 minutes per day. This was only 1.45 (35 minutes) less than in the same period last year and is further evidence that linear TV remains strong in Poland. While there have been no significant changes in the ad market, with the number of GRPs falling by only 0.9%, the number of aired commercials rose by 4.5%. This was driven, in part, by the growing number of channels offering advertising space; there are currently 193, an increase of 10 compared to last year. Meanwhile, TV inflation reached 6.3%.

Hungarian media transition gathers pace

The first transitional phase of the transformation of public broadcasting in Hungary has been completed, according to Judit Grósz, Ministerial Commissioner for Public Media. Writing in a letter and quoted by the local media, she added that professional and social consultation will begin in the following period on the future of public media. The letter was dated July 8, a day after the public news channel M1 and Kossuth Radio were taken off the air. The public media news site hirado.hu said: “The public media cannot lie. We apologise for having done this for many years! The public media is now being transformed to be independent and credible in the future.The news service is temporarily suspended. Stay tuned!”

Pay-TV market contracts in Bulgaria

Bulgaria ended 2025 with 1.93 million pay-TV subscribers, or 4.1% fewer than a year earlier. According to the Communications Regulation Commission (CRC), the reduction was mainly due to a reported decrease in satellite and cable TV subscribers at the Vivacom and A1, which account for most subscribers in the country. This was accompanied by a migration from traditional TV platforms to modern internet solutions such as IPTV and OTT. Meanwhile, pay-TV revenues in 2025 amounted to €255 million, down 1.4% on the previous year and the first fall in a decade. The total value of the telecom market in Bulgaria in 2025 was €2.16 billion, up 5% on a year earlier.

Digi sets IPO price

Digi Spain, which is a subsidiary of Romanian-owned Digi Communications, has set an IPO price of €5.60 a share for its upcoming Offering. Based on the capital increase, it implies a market capitalisation of approximately €1,662 million upon completion. Digi Romania is offering 24,500,000 existing shares and, together with the New Offer Shares, equivalent to approximately €137 million at the Offering Price. The Offering will comprise a total of 51,300,000 Initial Offer Shares, equivalent to approximately €287 million at the Offering Price. In addition, Digi Romania will grant an option to Barclays Bank Ireland PLC, in its capacity as the stabilising agent on behalf of the Underwriters to purchase up to 7,695,000 additional shares—equivalent to 15% of the Initial Offer Shares—within 30 calendar days following the commencement of trading of the shares on the Spanish stock exchanges. Digi Spain has received a binding commitment from Global Portfolio Investments, S.L. for an investment of €100 million in the Offering.

Streamers to boost Latvian content market

The Latvian government has given its support to amending the country’s Electronic Media Law and the Film Law to impose an obligation on audiovisual service providers in Latvia – streamers of films, series and broadcasts – to make a financial contribution to the production of Latvian audiovisual content. These funds will be directed to National Film Centre (NCC) competitions, which support the production of high-quality domestic films and TV series, and will amount to 3.5% of the share of subscription fee revenues of on demand services generated in the Latvian market. In Latvia, audiovisual on demand services are provided by 26 electronic media registered in Latvia, the most significant of which are Tet and Latvijas Mobilais Telefons. At the same time, 80 other electronic media registered in the Member States of the European Union provide services on the Latvian market. They include Netflix, Go3, Apple TV+, Google Play LV, YouTube Movies&Shows, Amazon Prime, Discovery+, Disney+, HBO MAX Latvia, Rakuten TV Free, Viaplay Latvia. Foreign-registered streamers could contribute approximately €600,000 a year to NCC’s budget.

Key content deal in the Baltics

Estonia’s Duo Media Networks has signed a long-term cooperation agreement with Go3 to bring the former’s streaming service Duo ONE to Go3 customers in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. As part of the agreement, they will also gain access to Duo Media Network’s portfolio of TV channels. All content will be localised, subtitled in the case of Estonia and dubbed for Latvia and Lithuania. Inside CEE Television notes that Duo Media Networks was formed in 2020 by a merger between Estonia’s leading commercial terrestrial channel Kanal 2, the channels 11 and 12 and several pan-Baltic thematic channels including Kids Network Television (KNTV). It launched Duo ONE in 2024 and has gradually increased its distribution throughout the Baltics. Meanwhile, Go3 is operated by the TV3 Group and the leading streaming and video platform in the region, with at least 600,000 subscribers as of the end of last year.

LaLiga secures Polish distribution

Canal+ Polska has secured exclusive rights to LaLiga EA Sports for the next five seasons, starting 2026/7. As a result, viewers in Poland will be able to watch live games from Spain’s top football league both on Canal+ channels and its streaming service. They will all be available on Canal+ Ultra, which also includes, in its football offer, the Champions League, Premier League and Poland’s Ekstraklasa. LaLiga is shown by Canal+ in over 40 countries worldwide, including sub-Saharan Africa and Haiti.

Czech TV uncertainty may impact audiovisual market

Higher film incentives helped raise turnover in the Czech audiovisual sector in 2025 above CZK11.3 billion (€466.7 million). However, according to the country’s Audiovisual Producers’ Association (APA), the incentives are on hold again and stability is also threatened by uncertainty surrounding the public broadcaster CT. It adds that the main reason for the 14.5% year-on-year growth was the rise in foreign production, which increased by more than CZK1 billion (around 20%), from CZK5.5 billion to more than CZK6.6 billion. The production of Czech films and series recorded a very modest rise of just under 6%, from almost CZK1.9 billion to almost CZK 2 billion – CZK110 million in absolute terms. Advertising rose by CZK202 million, from an original figure of almost CZK2.5 billion to CZK2.7 billion overall. APA notes that if CT loses CZK1 to 2 billion, as the government’s proposed amendment altering the funding of public service media implies, investment in original domestic film and television production will fall by an estimated CZK800 million to CZK1 billion. This will affect debut films, high-quality TV production with international reach, documentaries, animation and content for children and young people. Over the next three to five years, this would be reflected not only in a marked decline in the turnover of the Czech audiovisual industry, but also in a weakening of its international competitiveness and a slowdown in the emergence of much-needed new talent and new genres.

More new media in Serbia

Eighty-eight new media outlets have been registered in Serbia since the start of this year. According to the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM), quoting the Media Register of the Business Registers Agency (APR), this brings the total number in the country to 2,339. Almost all those registered so far this year (82) are internet media, followed by print (five) and radio (one), with no TV stations on the list.

IPTV dominates in Moldova

The number of pay-TV subscribers in Moldova rose by 2.6% in the year to March 31, reaching a total of 703,476. According to the regulator ANRCETI, IPTV remained the dominant reception technology, with 568,301 subscribers (+4.6% year-on-year) at the end of Q1. At the same time, cable continued to decline, with the 134,678 subscribers being 5.4% fewer than a year earlier. Pay-TV penetration per 100 households remained on an upward trend, reaching 65.4% in Q1, while Moldtelecom remained the leading operator, accounting for 54.4% of connections. It was followed by TV Box (19.7%) and Orange Moldova (17.9%).

Serbian media company eyes North Macedonian market

Serbia’s Alo Media System is planning to buy North Macedonia’s NAŠA TV and Radio RFM for an undisclosed fee. News of the proposed transaction has been announced by the Commission for the Protection of Competition of North Macedonia and reported in the local media. Alo Media System is based in Belgrade and its assets include the daily newspaper Alo and several local radio and TV stations in Serbia.

Balkan expansion for Travelxp

Travelxp HD has launched on Yettel TV and SBB in Serbia. As a result, it is now available to almost 80% of the pay-TV market in the Balkan region. Inside CEE News notes that the channel is widely available in the CEE region, having distribution agreements in place across the region. In 2025 it secured carriage on Cgates (Lithuania) and Hungary (Magyar Telekom).

New milestone for Russian app

The RuStore app store was running on 3 million smart TVs in Russia as of the end of H1 this year. Xiaomi leads the list of TV brands where the app store was most frequently installed, accounting for 20% of the total. TCL (18%) and Haier (12%) also ranked among the top brands. Smart TV owners most often use RuStore to install video services and browsers. Popular TV apps include VK Video, Rutube, Kinopoisk, Okko and Yandex Browser for TV. The Russian internet and technology conglomerate VK is the sole developer, owner and operator of RuStore, which is a domestic alternative to Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store.