Inside CEE Television
- chrisdz3
- Jul 3
- 6 min read
Chris Dziadul, July 3 2025
Polish pay-TV market “very stable”
Pay-TV services were received in 76.3% of Polish households as of last year. This, according to the office of Electronic Communications (UKE), this was 1.3pp more than in 2023. With the number of people receiving pay-TV services in 2024 being 11.1 million, up 1.8% on the previous year, the regulator has concluded the market is “very stable”. As of 2024, reception of pay-TV was principally via satellite (41.8% of subscribers), though this was down from 44.9% in 2023. Meanwhile, cable reception continued to grow (38.7% v 36.8% in 2023), as did IPTV (19.3% v 18.2%). Cyfrowy Polsat remained the market leader, though its share fell from 26.8% in 2023 to 25.5% last year. P4 was in second place with 17.5%, followed by Canal+ (17.3%), Vectra (11.2%), Orange (8.9%) and Netia (3.8%). UKE adds that the pay-TV market in Poland was worth PLN6.9 billion (€1.63 billion) in 2024, or 1.4% more than a year earlier. It also forecasts that by 2028 satellite’s share of the pay-TV market will have fallen to 31.5%, while that of cable will have risen to 41.9% and IPTV 26.4%.
ivi eyes foreign expansion
The Russian OTT platform ivi is planning to expand into Europe and Asia. According to a local report, it is looking specifically at Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Cyprus, along with India and Nepal. Germany appears to be the most promising market, given the number of Russian speakers, while India may prove to be difficult due to last year’s merger of Disney and Reliance. Ivi is one of the leading OTT services in Russia and also has a presence in the CIS and Turkey. Inside CEE Television notes that it is unclear how ivi could expand into Europe given the sanctions against Russian media outlets that are currently in place across the continent.
TVN and Nova in the lead
Poland’s TVN Warner Bros. Discovery and the Czech Republic’s Nova Group both achieved top spot in their respective markets in the first half of this year. According to Nielsen TV Audience Measurement, TVN Warner Bros. Discovery claimed an all-day audience share of 22.42% among viewers aged 20-54 and its flagship channel TVN was in top spot with a share of 7.96%. Meanwhile, according to ATO – Nielsen Admosphere, Nova Group achieved a 37.38% primetime audience share in the 15-54 target group, or 7% more than a year earlier. TV Nova was the most watched station in all target groups, both throughout the day and in primetime, while Nova Group’s thematic channels recorded a 14% year-on-year growth in primetime. Compared to the largest competing commercial station, Nova Group achieved more than double the audience share in the target 15-54, both in primetime and throughout the day.
United Cloud extends Nagravision anti-piracy deal
United Cloud will continue to use Nagra NexGuard Watermarking within its antipiracy platform for clients in seven European markets. Nagra solutions help major pay-TV and streaming operators to combat piracy of high value content assets, including premium VOD and live sports. United Cloud develops end-to-end products for telecoms and media and is present in Slovenia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro.
Balázs Szabó head of RTL+
RTL Hungary has announced the appointment of Balázs Szabó as the head of its streaming business RTL+, effective July 1. As chief streaming officer, he will be responsible for the entire RTL+ offering, as well as business and technology strategy. Szabó was most recentlythe head of programming and content acquisition for linear and streaming services CLT-UFA HBD, which is part of RTL Hungary, and the deputy CEO responsible for content management at RTL Hungary. He will continue to hold these positions in the future.However, with this appointment, his focus will shift to the strategic management of the streaming area.
TIVIO Studio secures Stargaze TV licence
The Czech regulator RRTV has granted TIVIO Studio a 12-year licence for a new 24/7 channel built around Polish content creators and influencers. Known as Stargaze TV, it will be broadcast entirely in Polish and developed for local audiences. The channel is expected to launch in the next few months and will be accompanied by the Stargaze platform, offering on-demand content, exclusive creator experiences, live streaming, subscription access and a suite of interactive tools to connect creators with their communities across devices. Stargaze already operates in several European countries, helping creators monetise content beyond social media. Meanwhile, TIVIO Studio develops and distributes next-generation media solutions across Europe, including TV channels, interactive streaming, monetisation tools and content platforms.
Serbian media association sounds warning
Serbia’s Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) has called on “the relevant institutions to prevent the spread of false and disturbing news and to prosecute all those who spread false information that journalists and editors of (United Media’s) N1 and Nova S TV are terrorists.” In a statement, Veran Matić, president of the board of ANEM, added that “journalists and editorial teams of this media group are the most frequently attacked, receiving the highest number of threats and disturbing messages.” He went on to urge the media and international associations to pay much more attention to what is happening in Serbia.
Erika Csikesz to leave Hungary’s TV2
Erika Csikesz is leaving her position as sales and digital director at Hungary’s TV2 Média Csoport to become the CEO of Display Now, part of Indamedia Network. She joined TV2, one of the two main national commercial broadcasters in Hungary, in 2005 and since then has held a number of sales-related positions in the company.
Polish streaming lead for YouTube
YouTube maintained its leading position in streaming’s share of total TV viewing time in Poland in May. Nielsen’s The Gauge shows that among total day viewers aged 4+ it claimed 2.2%, with second-placed Netflix accounting for 1.7% and other streaming services a combined 5.5%. Both YouTube and Netflix gained on the previous month, as did services like Player and Canal+, while streaming’s total share of TV viewing rose by 0.1% to 9.4%.
PPF Group execs assume CEO roles
Kateřina Jirásková, current PPF chief financial and operating officer (CFO/COO), and Didier Stoessel, current PPF chief investment officer (CIO), have assume their roles as group co-CEOs at PPF Group. The new co-CEOs will retain their hitherto responsibilities, overseeing group finances and investments, respectively. Jirásková and Stoessel take over the reins of chief executive from Jiří Šmejc, whose three-year tenure as PPF CEO ended in May.
1+1 Media loses key executive
Olga Zakharova will leave her position as general producer of Ukraine’s 1+1 Media on July 11. According to local reports, the departure is by mutual consent. Zakharova took over as general producer in May 2024 with a clear vision for 1+1 Media’s transformation but was apparently hampered by current market conditions in the country. A manager with over 25 years of experience in the media industry, she joined the group as the director of the Strategic Marketing Department.
A1 Group partners with SPI International
A1 Group and Canal+-owned SPI International have entered into a strategic long-term partnership designed to enhance how content is delivered, distributed and experienced across Southeast Europe. Under its terms, A1 Group will serve as the technical gateway for all SPI International channels in Europe, managing transcoding, encryption, and satellite uplink services via Eutelsat 16A, a key orbital position for broadcasters across the EMEA region. At the same time, SPI channels will continue to be distributed to A1 subscribers in Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, and North Macedonia. In addition, A1 will propose SPI’s SVOD service FilmBox+ to them.
Dorota Eberhardt to head Kino Świat
Dorota Eberhardt has been appointed CEO of the Canal+ Polish affiliate Kino Świat. She was most recently VP, programming, streaming & secondary channel at Warner Bros. Discovery, prior to which she held senior positions at TVN Warner Bros. Discovery, Discovery Networks International and TVN. In her new role Eberhardt will be tasked with accelerating the development and distribution of high-quality Polish productions and ensure the continuity of Kino Świat as a trusted and successful distributor.
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