Inside CEE Television
Chris Dziadul, October 15 2026
Emitel wins Polish DTT contest
Poland’s Office of Electronic Communications (UKE) has awarded Emitel the right of operate the national multiplex MUX5 until the end of 2033. Emitel scored a maximum 260 points in a contest in which it competed with MWE Teleport (188.77 points) and BCAST (133.22 points) for the licence. MUX5 will carry a maximum of eight FTA HD channels in the 470-694 MHz frequency range and employ the DVB-T2/HEVC standard, with a separate competition being held by the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT) for the channel licences. Emitel, which is wholly owned by the investment fund Cordiant Digital Infrastructure Limited and already operates six national multiplexes, will be required to launch commercial services on MUX5 in at least eight parts of Poland with the next 10-12 months. Furthermore, it will have to ensure that MUX5 covers at least 50% of the country within 15 months and reaches at least 95% of the population within two years.
Telemach Croatia sale in the offing
BC Partners is reportedly preparing to sell United Group’s Croatian operation for a potential $700 million. According to Bloomberg, the process, which is being advised by JPMorgan Chase & Co, is likely to start in the second half of this month. Potential buyers are being sought for Telemach Croatia among mostly large private equity firms and infrastructure funds. BC Partners originally planned to sell its operations in Southeast Europe as a single entity but now may do so on a market-by-market basis.
Canal+ Polska probed over Champions League package
Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has challenged Canal+ Polska’s practices, alleging that they infringe upon the collective interests of consumers. This follows reports from consumers who lost access to the Champions League package after June 30, 2024, even though their contracts with Canal+ Polska remained in place. At the same time, Canal+ Polska continued to broadcast matches, moving them to other paid packages. UOKiK notes that if the allegations are confirmed Canal+ Polska could face a fine of up to 10% of its turnover. UOKiK has also launched an investigation into whether Canal+ Polska customers were not provided with complete access to Spanish LaLiga matches this year.
More Polish content for Netflix
Netflix has signed a licensing agreement with TVN that will give it access to almost 450 hours of programming produced by the Polish broadcaster. The titles will be shown by Netflix while at the same time also remain on TVN, Player and HBO Max. Furthermore, TVN will retain the long-time rights to the titles. Commenting on the agreement, Łukasz Kłuskiewicz, director of content for Central and Eastern Europe at Netflix, said “we are excited to partner with TVN and believe the market's future lies in collaborative models where leading streaming services and media groups work together to expand access to great content.”
Skylink name to disappear
The Czech and Slovak satellite and internet TV provider Skylink will be officially rebranded as Canal+ on October 22. Alongside this, four new linear channels – Canal+, Canal+ Drama, Canal+ Crime and Canal+ Classics – will be added to its line-up. Inside CEE Television notes that these changes come alongside Skylink’s satellite and internet TV infrastructure and standalone Canal+ streaming app being merged into a single digital platform.
Protest at ex-United Group portal
Journalists and staff members at the Serbian news portal Nova.rs have staged a protest over editorial changes imposed by the new management. The Alpac Capital, which took over Nova.rs and other assets of United Group’s Adria News Network (ANN) back in August, has appointed Marko Stjepanović as the new editor-in-chief, and Ivana Mastilović Jasnić as his deputy, with both come from the pro-government newspaper Blic. At the same time, it has offered employees at Nova.rs severance payments. Inside CEE Television notes that N1 TV and Nova.rs are now also controlled by Alpac, and Serbia is set to hold a snap parliamentary election on October 25. Furthermore, the election observation mission of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has expressed serious concerns regarding editorial independence at ANN, the former United Media.
Knife-edge referendum on Slovenian licence fees
Slovenian voters have narrowly rejected plans by the government to abolish receiver licence fees to fund the public broadcaster RTV Slo. The results of a referendum, which initially appeared to be in favour, then changed as of Monday, October 12 to be 50.04% against the abolition and 49.96% in favour. This was a difference of fewer than 700 votes in a turnout of 50.04%. As a result, the result remains provisional and the Slovenian National Electoral Commission will officially count all mail-in and overseas ballots on Monday, October 19 to determine a final result. Significantly, the referendum was consultative and non-binding.
Major re-brand for SPI International
SPI International has been rebranded Canal+ Content Benelux & Central Europe. In practical terms, this means that Canal+ Group is now fully absorbing its subsidiary, which it has 100% owned since 2023, into its core European operations to establish its own brand name, unified streaming services and original programming across the continent. Looking to the future, SPI’s standalone digital apps such as the FilmBox+ streaming service may be phased out or integrated into a single Canal+ app, while SPI channels may be rebranded at some stage to include the Canal+ name. Canal+ Content Benelux & Central Europe currently operates more than 50 channels and two streaming services. It is one of the leading providers of content, TV channels and streaming services in Central and Eastern Europe and the Adria region.
Telia to shed staff in the Baltics
Telia plans to lay off around 900 employees and resource consultants by the end of this year, with 110 of them being based in Lithuania and 100 in Estonia. It expects the move will result in gross annual savings of SEK1 billion (€89.4 million). The Swedish company is also aiming to transfer approximately 220 positions primarily from its common Technology unit to the country units.
Antik Telecom, A1 and Eutelsat extend partnership
Eutelsat has renewed its long-standing partnership with Antik Sat, the DTH platform operated by Antik Telecom and A1. Under the agreement, Eutelsat will continue to provide satellite capacity at its flagship 16 degrees East orbital position to homes in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. A1 will deliver headend hosting, uplink and associated broadcast services, while Antik Sat will continue to provide its subscribers with a comprehensive line-up of TV content.
Anti-piracy move in Bosnia
The Association of Cable Operators and Network Service Distributors of Bosnia & Herzegovina (AKOP BiH) and Association for the Protection of Audiovisual Works in Bosnia & Herzegovina (APAWBiH) have signed an agreement aimed specifically at combatting illegal IPTV operators in the country. This followed a meeting in Sarajevo in which the two associations were joined by representatives from online platforms and the advertising sector. The meeting focused on enhancing cooperation in the fight against the advertising and distribution of illegal IPTV services, particularly by establishing clearer and more efficient procedures for reporting and removing problematic advertisements. According to AKOP BiH, "the fight against illegal IPTV does not end with the detection of illegal services. It is equally important to restrict the channels through which they reach users, and online advertising is one of them. We therefore believe that an effective system for reporting and removing problematic ads can yield concrete results and significantly reduce the availability of illegal IPTV services”.
Russia reveals satellite fleet spend
Russia plans to allocate R53.6 billion (€570.7 million) towards the construction of its Express communications and broadcasting satellite fleet over the next three years. According to local reports, eight craft are currently being built to replace ones whose operational lifespans in orbit expire by 2029 or 2030. The funds will be received by the Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC), which currently operates 12 geostationary spacecraft.
Key RTL Hungary executive resigns
Zsófia Demeter has reportedly resigned from her position as ad sales director at UPC Hungary. She will be replaced by Gergely Dudás, chief revenue officer, who will take over the management of the sales division. Demeter has been in UPC Hungary for 22 years and the broadcaster has been transforming its revenue division in recent month.
Marketing director exits Starlight Media
Olena Martynova has stepped down as marketing director of Ukraine’s Starlight Media. She has been at the broadcaster since 2019, prior to which she held a number of positions in the media industry including strategic marketing director at 1+1 Media, another leading Ukrainian broadcaster, between 2014-18.
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