Lenka Hrivnáková, Author at The Association of Commercial Television

PRIMA’S CEO MAREK SINGER: WE ARE NOT JUST TELLING YOU WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR

We have done anything to spice up the launch of CNN Prima NEWS with adrenaline, says Marek Singer, the Prima group’s CEO, in an interview, remembering the launch of the news channel that celebrates its first birthday on 3 May. “We established the brand as a multiplatform. Thanks to TV and online channels our reach is up to 7.7 million people now,” he says.

In an interview for the CNN Prima NEWS Year 1 magazine, Marek Singer talks about his feeling that the social importance of TV has increased, about his assessment of the previous year and about his future plans for the project. “We are building the platform on the mainstream, on an average Czech viewer, but we have the ambition to address more demanding viewers. And we seek to do an important thing: let the opposing opinions be heard,” he says.

What was the first year of CNN Prima NEWS (CPN)?

By all means interesting. Full of lessons learnt. Even if you think that you have experience in establishing several TV channels and know exactly how it will turn out… The results will be exactly the opposite! Something is slightly below your expectations, other things highly exceed them. That is exactly what happened.

Prima, historically mainly a family TV station, welcomed a continuous news channel. Was it a meeting of two very different worlds?

On one hand, Prima is a family TV station, that is true. But on the other, we have always sought to build a broad portfolio of channels. Of course, we had no hands-on experience with a news station but for example thanks to Prima ZOOM we knew what audience groups we were targeting. However, a news service is naturally a completely different discipline. We need a huge background, in principle you have live broadcasts all the time, it is a very complex and demanding matter. Not to get bored when introducing a new news multiplatform, we moved from Palmovka to Strašnice and started broadcasting from a new studio equipped with the latest technology. We did anything we could to spice up the launch with adrenaline.

Plus you started the CNNPrima.cz website that has quickly become one of the most read in the Czech Republic. In combination with Prima’s traditionally strong social networks, a giant online multiplatform emerged, relying on viewers and readers from everywhere – TV, web, social networks. Was the bet on a multichannel information attack worth doing?

It was the key principle from the very beginning. The news as such is increasingly consumed online. Formerly, news TV was a dominant platform, which applies to CNN too. But even their proportion is 50:50 at the moment. Our CNN Prima NEWS has more online readers than TV viewers. We have been building the brand to work well for both media types since the beginning. In the long run, we should not care whether it is more TV or digital. The aggregate reach is what counts. And from this point of view, it is a very successful project.

And what is the reach?

The CNNPrima.cz website is visited by up to a million real users per day now, which is an excellent result, we are among the top 3 news websites in the Czech Republic. And TV, on which the web content is based, is watched by hundreds of thousands of viewers. If we count viewership of shows in combination with Prima’s main channel, the main news programmes are watched by nearly a million of viewers. I cannot wait when the ratings are presented for those two entities together – we will achieve figures comparable with the largest news platforms in the Czech Republic. I even think that we could be number one.

The sum of TV and online multiplatform measurement has been unofficial so far, media houses are doing it on their own. What is thus the resulting CPN’s reach on all TV and online platforms?

At present we reach up to 7.7 million people. If it is confirmed by official measurement, it may be more than Seznam Zprávy.

How does this multiplatform work in terms of business? We know well the costs of TV and digital advertising. The difference is enormous.

You definitely have to have the background of a big company that is willing to make long-term investments. These costs are not recovered within a year. And of course, it is a big advantage if you have a successful media house with eight TV stations. We managed to get the online news running thanks to the amazing work of Tomáš Večeřa’s team and our online platform highly exceeds our expectations. The TV station has the appropriate growing trend and I believe that the target will be achieved. We are still extremely successful compared to other news TV projects. After eleven months, we have a triple audience share compared to their results for the same period when the competition was lower, or there were much fewer TV stations.

Let’s talk about content. All Czech Republic quoted CNN Prima NEWS for example at the moment when it brought the information that Jan Blatný would end up in his office in the Ministry of Health well ahead of other news services and the information confirmed to be true. And there was a large number of other news taken from CPN. Do you feel that the social importance of Prima has increased?

I definitely perceive that the social importance of the Prima group has increased. Significantly. We build the news platform on the latest news and updates that are interesting for most Czech viewers, we bring opinions from multiple sources. Minority of news media is doing the same these days.

Journalism has become a more active profession for many people, it is influenced by emotions, some journalists become fans…

That is exactly what is happening all around the globe. By the way, we became the most-quoted news medium in the Czech Republic last year. I think that the CNN image is helpful. All the time we have been successful in inviting political or economic leaders and elite and engaging them in the broadcast. Their participation may seem to be a matter of course but it is not. And I am all the more pleased that they want to appear in our programme.

What is the cause of your website success in your opinion? Why has it become so popular so quickly?

I have a déjà vu moment. Six weeks before the launch we were working on the nearly final web design. As I was watching it I said to myself, Is this a strategy that will in fact not copy the most successful visual style on the market? Have we really bet on the fact that the trend of videos and pictures is highly developed, that the mainstream viewers will accept it, that we will not have 24 text links making an impression that you will learn everything in a single place? We have really relied on visual attractiveness. We are combining very interesting headlines and attractive pictures. And that was the winning strategy. Most competitors seek to copy the well-established style of Seznam Zprávy. We have taken the opposite direction with CNN Prima NEWS, which works excellently.

And what about TV? Ratings are growing, there are new shows, for example the news from the regions (Zprávy z regionů) has immediately become one of the most watched programmes of CNN Prima NEWS…

New programmes are not the only things that matter. Our team of editors has become accustomed to a certain scheme and learnt to fill it with content. I think that it is not possible to succeed with what everybody else is doing. It is necessary to take a topic that affects society and develop it in all possible forms. That is what our editors have already learnt. And now they start to reap the harvest. Specifically Zprávy z regionů is a very popular form of content for Czech viewers. It is a logical step, it was a piece of the puzzle that was missing. This format will continue to grow.

What people like about CNN Prima NEWS is also the crime news (Krimi zprávy) that you moved back to the main news block on the main channel. Are you satisfied with that programme?

Yes, I am. Krimi zprávy is a classic format. It is a type of journalism occurring all around the world. For example, crime news is what made Sky News famous. The return of Krimi zprávy to the prime time is highly promising. How did the covid pandemic affect the TV business? In the crisis, firms cut off advertising at first – but it is advertising what makes TV going. The pandemic has impacted our business as well. It was the worst at moments when something got closed all of a sudden. The second quarter of the last year was the worst, we experienced it the most. In the rest of the year, we managed to rebalance the situation and achieve the desired levels. The first quarter of this year was not too bad, there is no increase but the decline is not too sharp. I think that the development will depend on whether the easing will be permanent or whether we will be up and down again. Clients show fatigue rather than panic. This insecurity and a certain resignation is fortunately not reflected in ad spends. But if another lockdown occurs for example in the autumn, there will apparently be some reflection.

And what do you think, how will it turn out?

It is a million-dollar question! (He is laughing.) If I have a look at it from the historic point of view, after the frequently discussed Spanish flu, which spread between 1918 and 1920, the global economy recovered very quickly. After that, people were surprisingly very motivated to start something new although it was said that in combination with World War I, the world was snookered. But the opposite happened… It was an unbelievable start for the 1920s. This is an optimistic scenario for me.

And what about the pessimistic one?

It is simple. Governments have printed an unbelievable amount of money to cover the costs incurred as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. And when the money is spent, there will be a great crisis. But as usual, the truth is likely to be somewhere in between.

What is the future of CNN Prima NEWS?

In the long run, it does not make a difference how I imagine the future. What is important is what viewers expect from the news. There are two rather vigorous trends across all society. The younger the generation, the more vigorous the trends are. The first trend is rather a superficial way of processing information, the other one is the visuality. They go hand in hand. I personally think that it is not the right path. But it is my personal problem. As the classic says: I can disagree, I can protest but it is all I can do about it. And as we are a commercial medium we will logically seek to have the highest attractiveness for the future and current viewers and readers. Infotainment is just part of the mainstream news.

And what about journalistic formats?

I find it very important that journalists seek to apply a modern form of journalism. When journalism does not work, there will be no information tool making people think about an issue, sit down and realize what the issue means to them. But if we think that young people will sit down in front of their TV or a computer and switch on a static debate of three old men on a certain topic, we are naive. Young people accept what they read on social networks…

Yes, that is happening. The question is whether the substance of traditional media disappears with the retreat of traditional political parties. What do you think?

People will be interested in current affairs all the time. This interest has been in people’s DNA since prehistoric times and we will keep it forever. That will not change. But information sources are what may change. Traditional media and their news must develop, otherwise they will end up as the traditional parties.

When CNN Prima NEWS was launched you said that you were targeting mainly those who keept switching the programmes. There are 28% of them according to your estimates. Is there any typical CPN viewer or did you just capture those who were switching over the first year?

Viewers and readers are being profiled. We are really at the beginning. We have learnt to walk but we still cannot run. For the time being, our viewers are younger, a bit more educated and there are more women among them compared to our competitors. But that is what we want as a commercial medium. We are going in the right direction. What I definitely want to emphasize is the fact that 20% of our followers are socio economic classes A or B, for our website it is even 27% and a quarter of our readers are people up to 34 years. If we continue doing our job well, our form will be more accessible than the form of more traditional news media. We do not want to close our viewers in their social bubbles, we want to provoke them a bit. To let them hear an opinion that does not resonate with their views. I think that it is extremely important for people to be exposed to opinions of the other party as part of a factual debate.

The Czech society (and it is not the only one) is simply polarized in a strict, emotional and conflicting manner. Will this change? No, unfortunately I do not think so. I think that a huge number of conflicts arise from the fact that we no longer want to listen to each other. The business model of social networks is to blame. They are providing us with content that we want to hear so that we spend as much time as possible with them… It would be a path to hell if the fight for an objective discussion was given up by the news media because it is more comfortable to select a target group and keep telling it what it wants to hear.

What would you tell to those who doubt CNN Prima NEWS?

(Smiling) I would like to let them know: 7.7 million viewers.

Source: cnn.iprima.cz

WORLD TELEVISION DAY CELEBRATES A TRUTH THAT HOLDS AROUND THE GLOBE: TV MAKES A DIFFERENCE

TV companies around the world celebrate World Television Day on 21 November to remind us that TV makes a difference in people’s lives. As part of the annual United Nations initiative, a 30 second-spot will be broadcast on-air and shared online worldwide. The clip will be adapted and translated into many languages.

Putting the spotlight on society

For its 24th edition, World Television Day celebrates a truth that holds around the globe: TV makes a difference! Our medium has made and will continue to make a difference in society by putting the spotlight on racial and social injustice, hate speech, the pressing climate issues and the support TV has provided to people and businesses throughout the continuing COVID crisis.

“While circumstances kept us apart this year, TV has brought us together. TV is and always has been a social glue. As viewing rocketed, broadcasters the world over reacted to the unique circumstances nimbly and with great creativity to ensure that TV was there for us all as a source of trusted information, comforting distraction, and much-needed escapism,”

asserts Lindsey Clay, President of the Global TV Group and CEO of Thinkbox.

“This pandemic demonstrates like never before the role of television to support society and democracy. Throughout these difficult months, TV is there to care. Care for the provision of editorially responsible trusted news. Care for the distribution of entertainment to bring light in times of darkness. Care for preserving variety and cultural diversity in the media landscape. All in all, TV is and will continue to be a true beacon of resistance against the Coronavirus”,

proclaims Guillaume de Posch, President of the Association of Commercial Television in Europe.

“The past year, TV has continued to uphold its long tradition of addressing the critical issues in our global community. It brings our attention to social injustice, sheds a neutral light on society’s mishaps, helps relieve the strain of an unprecedented era giving us a hopeful outlook on the future. World TV Day is an opportunity for us all to pay tribute to the many professionals who make the magic happen both on screen and from behind the scene. We invite everyone to once again celebrate our medium around the world,”

says Laurent Bliaut, President of egta and Deputy General Director, Marketing and R&D, TF1 Publicité

“At the time of COVID-19, Television has never been so present and important. Broadcasters have a dual responsibility to inform and to connect people by sharing positive and verified stories about building back better and greener. Thank you to the TV industry for making a difference,”

says Caroline Petit, Deputy Director United Nations Regional Information Centre for Europe (UNRIC).

For more information, please visit:
• www.worldtelevisionday.com
• youtu.be/BvRp8nNNEPQ

Press contacts:

Alain Beerens,
MarCom Manager, egta
Association of television and radio sales houses
T : +32 2 290 31 38
alain.beerens@egta.com

ABOUT THE GLOBAL TV GROUP
The Global TV Group is an informal grouping of broadcasters’ and sales houses’ trade bodies in Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia and Latin America, whose joint objective is to promote television and remind advertisers, journalists, agencies and industry peers about the effectiveness and popularity of TV.
www.theglobaltvgroup.com

ABOUT THE ASSOCIATION OF COMMERCIAL TELEVISION IN EUROPE (ACT)
The European commercial broadcasting sector is a major success story. We entertain and inform hundreds of millions of EU citizens each day via thousands of channels available across Europe. The Association of Commercial Television in Europe represents the interests of 29 leading commercial broadcasters across Europe. The ACT member companies finance, produce, promote and distribute content and services benefiting millions of Europeans across all platforms. At ACT we believe that the healthy and sustainable commercial broadcasting sector has an important role to play in the European economy, society and culture.
www.acte.be

ABOUT egta
egta is the association representing television and radio sales houses, either independent from the channel or in-house, that markets the advertising space of both private and public television and radio stations throughout Europe and beyond. egta fulfils different functions for its members in fields of activities as diversified as regulatory issues, audience measurement, sales methods, interactivity, cross-media, technical standards, new media, etc. During its more than 40 years’ existence, egta has become the reference centre for television and radio advertising in Europe. egta counts more than 150 members operating across 43 countries.
www.egta.com

ABOUT UNRIC
The Brussels-based United Nations Regional Information Centre for Europe – UNRIC – provides information on UN activities to 22 countries and is active on social media and websites in 13 languages. It acts as the European communication office of the United Nations and its aim is to engage and inform European citizens about global issues. It also liaises with institutions of the European Union in the field of information. Its outreach activities, joint public information campaigns and events are organized with partners including the EU, governments, the media, NGOs, the creative community, and local authorities.
unric.org

CNN PRIMA NEWS BOSS SINGER: IN A GOOD WAY, WE WANT TO BE MAINSTREAM

Tomorrow night, viewers can get their first taste of what the alliance between Prima Group and American news station CNN entails. CNN Prima News will kick off its main programme before 7 p.m., followed by other programmes. There will be a total of 30 of them, broadcast between the continuous stream of daily newscasts. Deník spoke to Prima Group CEO Mark Singer about the new project.

How has the launch of the project been affected by the coronavirus pandemic?

Unfortunately, the pandemic hit exactly in the final preparations, which involved experts from CNN, so all foreign colleagues had to leave. I estimate it delayed us by about a month.

Don’t you regret missing what was probably the most newsworthy month?

From a long-term investment perspective, the launch date doesn’t really matter. Coronavirus has certainly attracted a lot of viewers to TV screens who don’t regularly watch news channels, but we want to build a station that has lasting value, so one month doesn’t play a role in that.

What exactly does the partnership with CNN involve?

It manifests itself on three levels. When CNN chooses you as a suitable partner, you are contractually allowed to use the CNN brand in your name, which they are very protective of. Next, they help you build a newsroom and set up a way of producing news that nobody here can do. They’ll provide coaches and experts to make it look like CNN. And the third benefit is that you have access to a global database of CNN content that our editors can tap into and even assign stories to at any time.

So if something happens on the other side of the planet, you can instantly pick up CNN’s coverage from the ground?

Yes. Plus, we can see in real time on their system what they’re preparing, so we can use that for our news feed.

You talked about the trainers who oversaw CNN Prima News to make sure that it was as immersive as CNN, thanks to its state-of-the-art studio and technology, but also that the editors were up to the quality of their American colleagues. Can this be learned in a few months?

You can start the process. I think we’re pretty far along that path, but it’s certainly going to get better. It’s a different style of work that people have to learn. American experts praise us for how far we have come, but of course we cannot yet be at the same level as someone who has been doing it for 20 years.

Viewers will have a chance to judge that as they are offered shows by news icons Christiane Amanpour and Richard Quest. Specifically, Amanpour has worked as a war correspondent, has been at all the turning points of this millennium, has interviewed world leaders, and in short has a vast knowledge base, even at her age. Don’t you miss people like that on your team?

I think we have managed to get just such people. When you see our broadcasts, I hope you will confirm that, for example, Pavlina Wolfová’s 360º shows that she is that kind of journalist. She has a lot of life and professional experience behind her, she has a lot of insight and her show could be the Czech equivalent of Amanpour.

“Within a year we would like to have 1.5 per cent viewership, which is a reasonable ambition in relation to ČT24.”

Your editorial team is 70 per cent female. Is that intentional?

It wasn’t the original intention, but it has worked out that we have a large majority of women in key positions at CNN Prima News. From that point of view, we will also be an interesting alternative to existing news channels.

On what basis did you assemble the team of about 40 key faces of the station?

We started with a smaller team of people who ran the newsroom. In the first phase of the project, the editor-in-chief Martin Ondráček had a lot to do with the selection. People like him, i.e. with journalistic experience, the ability to learn new things and moderating skills, selected other colleagues, so it snowballed into the final editorial shape.

You mentioned the experienced journalist Martin Ondráček. Why did he leave the project last November?

This is a terribly demanding discipline, an exhausting profession. There are times when it gets too much, and Martin and I agreed that he would resign from the project for personal reasons at a moment when it was clear that most of the work was still ahead.

The newsroom will be managed by a somewhat unconventional three-person team – Eliška Čeřovská, Petra Benešová and Online News Director Tomáš Večeřa. Will it work?

It is something new in the Czech lands, but the main American branch of CNN, for example, works on this principle. If the three people can work together perfectly and complement each other, it will definitely work.

What do you want to do to beat ČT24, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary and has the continuous news craft in its blood, besides technological gadgets and links with CNN?

We don’t want to beat them. They have built up a specific style of reporting in over 15 years that serves as a public service. But in all markets with a developed news business, you see that there is room for at least two or three different styles of channels. We don’t want to take viewers away from ČT24 because there is a place for commercial news alongside the public service platform. It works very well in Britain, for example, where the BBC and Sky News thrive side by side.

Z1 there is Seznam TV, but it is limiting its news programmes. Are you not afraid of a similar fate?

We are not afraid of that. We assume that there are 28 percent of the adult population who jump between different sources of information during the day. I don’t want to evaluate the previous experiments you mentioned. It was probably a combination of economic factors and perhaps an underestimation of the production background that led to them being less successful in the final analysis.

One of your key advisers, British journalist Tim Lister, talked to Info.cz about CNN Prima NEWS profile: “We want to honour accuracy and fairness. No one who sees the broadcast will be able to say we are siding with anyone. That we prefer a certain politician, that we are neglecting a border region. We are not going to pander.” That sounds to me like an extract from the public service television code. Not to you?

Our professional rules were inspired by CNN. But they are very similar in the democratic world, and a good journalist has to follow them in any TV station. I wouldn’t expect it to be any different from the ČT or BBC code. But I see a big difference in the way it is handled. You can accurately, fairly and impartially assess a particular event, but it’s how you present it to the viewer that matters. You can do it in a more complicated way, so that you can be understood primarily by a person with knowledge of the subject, or you can do it in such a way that it catches the attention of the ordinary reader of Deník in Benešov at first sight.

I also ask because until now TV Prima has been perceived in news and journalism as a kind of counterpart to ČT, a station that, for example, sided with Miloš Zeman during the presidential election. Next year there are parliamentary elections, and in January 2023 there will be presidential elections. Won’t you become a TV station that will cheer for the current ruling party?

I’ll ignore your statement about Miloš Zeman, because I don’t think it’s accurate. We are certainly not going to copy the American model, where TV stations tend to favour certain views. We want to follow the motto “no matter the consequences”. We think that we will be specific in this as well, because many media in the Czech Republic show this inclination. It is in objectivity that we could attract a lot of viewers.

So you’re not going to push anyone’s political cart?

We haven’t pushed it so far, and we certainly won’t do so in the future.

Do you really think that the TV duel between Drahoš and Zeman before the second round of the election was not pro-Zeman in its arrangement and moderation? And when the president wants to say something, he chooses TV Prima to do it, for example in the coronavirus crisis…

To this I would just say that we sent the topic headings to both parties at the same time five days in advance, and nobody made any comments on them, even before the debate started. After the presidential election debate, both candidates thanked me for my objectivity, and only afterwards did the media convince one of them that he should make a stand.

The CNN Prima News project, including the hypermodern studio, must have cost hundreds of millions. How are you going to make a return, albeit probably easier in a group with nine stations?

That’s one element, we sell advertising across all our channels together, so we don’t have a problem like Z1, which had to rely on itself. Our model is based on a similar premise to CNN’s business plan, which is a private for-profit broadcaster. It’s a combination of traditional advertising and special shows. On CNN, for example, you’ll see Travel Minute, which is sponsored lifestyle content. This is a cocktail that can be profitable.

After the economy shuted down, the media have big losses due to advertising and advertising blackouts. Do you expect any help from the government in this regard?

When shops and services close down, the client of course does not need advertising. We solve this by agreeing to postpone it to a later date. We are all counting on the timetable for the relaxation of government regulations coming to fruition and getting back to normal operations within a few months. So I see this as a time-limited problem, but it is also costing us a lot of money. We have big, albeit short-term, downturns, and that’s why we’re in talks with the government, as we all are, about some form of assistance, particularly in the area of producing our own content. It turns out that in crises like this it is television and news that citizens turn to.

Do you have a target for audience share?

We are targeting a broad audience, which I would define as average Czech citizens. We are not going to target intellectuals, nor are we going to present anything tabloid-like. In a good sense, we want to be mainstream. Within a year we would like to have a 1.5 per cent viewership, which is a reasonable ambition in relation to ČT24.

Source: prazsky.denik.cz

A THIRD OF CZECHS WATCH AN ILLEGALLY DOWNLOADED MOVIE OR TV SERIES FOR CHRISTMAS

The end of the year is one of the busiest times in terms of TV viewing. Fairy tales are the most popular programmes and free-to-air stations are the most visited ones, with up to 94 per cent of people watching them. However, roughly one in three Czechs watches a film or TV series that they download illegally on their days off.

That is the finding of a survey conducted by Axocom on TV habits and routines at the end of the year. “Interestingly enough, even those who do not have a TV set at home watch TV during the holidays. In fact, TV often runs as a backdrop during visits, so almost everyone actually gets to watch it,” says the company’s director Erika Luzsicza

Although streaming services are on the rise globally, their viewers are definitely in the minority in the Czech Republic. According to a recent survey, only four per cent of respondents watch Netflix or Amazon shows, while at least 15 per cent of people choose from pay-TV offerings.

“The share of pay-TV viewers has been growing for a long time, but slowly as opposed to other markets. Compared to other Eastern European countries, the Czech Republic still has the largest share of terrestrial broadcasting, accounting for more than half of the population,” Luzsicza explains.

Most surprisingly, as many as one-third of all respondents admitted in the survey that they had downloaded illegally obtained content from free available servers. Unlike nostalgists, they want to catch up on what they missed during the holidays in order to keep track of what is going on and keep up with people around them, often committing piracy as a result.

Source: idnes.cz

WORLD TELEVISION DAY CELEBRATES THE DIVERSITY OF TV CONTENT AROUND THE GLOBE

TV professionals around the world celebrate World Television Day on 21 November to remind us that TV is so much more than linear viewing. As part of the annual United Nations initiative, a 30 second-spot will be broadcast on-air and shared online worldwide.

Diversity of TV content that entertains, informs and inspires.

The topic of the 23^rdedition of this global celebration is Diversity. TV offers an unmatched variety of premium films and series, trustworthy news, informative documentaries, entertaining shows and more to viewers around the world – millions of stories, just waiting to be discovered, changing the viewers’ perception of the world. This premium content, available when and where they want on a multitude of TV platforms triggers the curiosity, interest and loyalty of viewers, always in a brand safe environment.

The topic of Diversity is a larger societal topic increasingly featured in TV programmes and advertising campaigns. Through the wide range of content on offer, TV plays a powerful role as a force for good and contributes to a democratic debate in society. The diverse quality content can incite viewers to broaden their mind and look beyond the everyday life through inspirational shows.

“Diversity is a critical component of a positive and vibrant society and should be seen as a richness rather than a threat. Every effort to Leave No One Behind can only contribute to a better world “, asserts Caroline Petit, Deputy Director United Nations Regional Information Centre for Europe (UNRIC).

“TV is truly entrenched in the lives of so many diverse people around the world. With millions of stories at their fingertips, viewers are invited to an endless journey of discovery. This is also the trusted environment advertisers are seeking more than ever. We invite everyone to once again celebrate our medium around the world – now and for many more years to come.” says Katty Roberfroid, Director General, egta.

For more information, please visit www.worldtelevisionday.com.

ABOUT THE GLOBAL TV GROUP

The Global TV Group is an informal grouping of broadcasters’ and sales houses’ trade bodies in Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia and Latin America, whose joint objective is to promote television and remind advertisers, journalists, agencies and industry peers about the effectiveness and popularity of TV.

http://www.theglobaltvgroup.com/

ABOUT EBU

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is the world’s foremost alliance of public service media (PSM). Our mission is to make PSM indispensable. We represent 116 media organizations in 56 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and have an additional 34 Associates in
Asia, Africa, Australasia and the Americas. Our Members operate nearly 2,000 television and radio channels alongside numerous online platforms. Together, they reach audiences of more than one billion people around the world, broadcasting in more than 160 languages. We strive to secure a sustainable future for public service media, provide our Members with world-class content from news to sports and music, and build on our founding ethos of solidarity and co-operation to create a centre for learning and sharing.

https://www.ebu.ch/home

ABOUT egta

egta is the association representing television and radio sales houses, either independent from the channel or in-house, that markets the advertising space of both private and public television and radio stations throughout Europe and beyond. egta fulfils different functions for its members in fields of activities as diversified as regulatory issues, audience measurement, sales methods, interactivity, cross-media, technical standards, new media, etc. During its more than 40 years’ existence, egta has become the reference centre for television and radio advertising in Europe. egta counts more than 150 members operating across 42 countries.

http://www.egta.com/

ABOUT ACT

The Association of Commercial Television in Europe (ACT) represents the interests of leading commercial broadcasters in 37 European countries. The ACT member companies finance, produce, promote and distribute content and services benefiting millions of Europeans across all platforms. ACT engages with the EU institutions to achieve a balanced and appropriate regulatory framework which will encourage further investment and growth in our sector.

https://acte.be/

ABOUT UNRIC

The Brussels-based United Nations Regional Information Centre for Europe – UNRIC – provides information on UN activities to 22 countries and is active on social media and websites in 13 languages. It acts as the European communication office of the United Nations and its aim is to engage and inform European citizens about global issues. It also liaises with institutions of the European Union in the field of information. Its outreach activities, joint public information campaigns and events are organized with partners including the EU, governments, the media, NGOs, the creative community, and local authorities.

https://www.unric.org/en/

AN INDEPENDENT ASSOCIATION OF TELEVISION BROADCASTERS WILL BE ESTABLISHED IN 2020 IN SLOVAKIA

Television and radio broadcasters are planning collaboration on intersecting topics.

There will be a structural change in the Association of Independent Radio and Television Stations (ANRTS) at the beginning of 2020. While television and radio stations are planning to continue collaborating on all relevant media topics, in the future there will be various formal institutions representing both types of media. Commercial television stations decided to establish an independent Association of Television Broadcasters, whose founding members include Markíza-Slovakia, s.r.o., Mac TV, s.r.o. a C.E.N., s.r.o., similar to the Association of Commercial Television (AKTV) in the Czech Republic.

The departure of television broadcast operators from ANRTS occurred by mutual agreement and with the understanding that these media types – television and radio – need to focus on their own development and legislature. Both audiovisual media groups, however, remain in close contact and will support each other in their mutual interests within the scope of media sphere.

The Association of television broadcasters intends to focus upon the legislation of television broadcasting, copyrights, and the formation of a Slovak television market so that these processes are in compliance with European audiovisual legislature. Additionally, it will promote a correct market environment in Slovakia and free economic competition. One of the Association’s key goals remains protection of free speech and free spread of information via television broadcasting. The Association is also planning a close coordination with its Czech partners.

“The Association of Television Broadcasters has a lot of work ahead, but also visions which will guide us to a future meaningful development of television broadcasting. Today nobody doubts that television as a medium is changing and provides many options to choose from. To be able to do that it needs not only energy and investments but, most of all, good legislature and a transparent space to implement its plans,”

said Marcel Grega, JOJ Group’s CEO and President of ANRTS.

“Private radio will continue in protecting its interests via the existing Association and we are ready to continue mutual constructive collaboration in the areas that connect us and in which we see mutual interest,”

said Ivan Antala, CEO of Radio Express and Vice-President of ANRTS’s Radio section.

Source: anrts.sk

EGTA’S CEO SURVEY – A TV AND RADIO ADVERTISING INDUSTRY IN TRANSFORMATION

Results of an exclusive egta survey confirm top management’s expectations for the industry.

Over 100 CEO’s and senior executives from surveyed egta members – leading TV and radio sales houses across Europe and beyond – expect growth in ad spend for both Total Video and Total Audio in the next three years. An exclusive survey carried out by the Brussels-based trade association sheds light on the continued transformation the advertising industry is expecting.

Opportunities ahead lie in targetability and personalisation

With change comes opportunity. Approximately 88% of respondents perceive targetability – enabling advertisers to pinpoint their target markets – and personalisation – creating relevant and unique experiences that hold attention for longer – as a priority for their company in the coming years.

Other particularly important growth areas highlighted by senior executives are streaming/online audio, new ways for audiences to access content (additional screens and devices), new sources of data shared by advertisers and or telco providers, and addressable TV.

Reaching audiences where they are today

While opportunities abound on the horizon, senior executives also identified some of the challenges they foresee in this changing media landscape. More than 80% of C-suite executives state that they are relentless in their attempt to reach audiences where they are today – thus making up for the decline in linear TV ratings. Their focus is on building the right infrastructure that will allow today’s TV to compete with international online platforms and speed up the process around the identification and adoption of cross-platform measurement solutions.

Shaping the future of advertising

77% of TV members and 78% of radio members are positive about the future advertising market. Optimism remains – if slightly higher this year compared to two years ago – that both the Total Video and Total Audio ad markets continue to grow.

Broadcast TV and radio currently remain by far the biggest advertising revenue sources for broadcasters. However, respondents aim for online to take a larger share in the future. Approximately 90% of C-suite executives believe that advertising on online properties will represent a greater proportion of their revenue sources by 2022.

Commenting on the results of the survey, Katty Roberfroid, egta’s Director General said: “The homogeneity in the results we received from a vast majority of select top executives does show the way forward. If we are to future-proof today’s TV and radio’s business, both on air and online, we must continue to cooperate and innovate on all fronts: infrastructure, formats, measurement, and more. This will help advertisers reach the consumers around the premium content they love – in an always brand-safe environment that is respectful of their experience and privacy.”

Several CEO’s who participated in the survey added their comments:

“If we – as an industry – are to compete against international online platforms, it is all about competing on content, and collaborating on tech, currency, measurement and more. This common sense will help us create a truly seamless total video experience for both advertisers and users.”

Malin Häger, Sales Director & Chief Commercial Officer, TV4 Sales

“In an age of audience, it’s all about finding new ways for listeners to access the great content we have in abundance. In this battle for time and attention, Total Radio embraces innovation with plenty of opportunities with regards to personalisation, podcasting, streaming, on-demand radio and more – which will all contribute to a growing advertising market.”

Saskia Schatteman, Chief Executive Officer, VAR

“We need to experiment and continuously push the envelope with regards to targetability, personalisation and more to advance our industry. As addressable advertising is going to vary per market, we need to dig deeper into the data value, the return on investment and the scalability.”

Christian Kurz, Senior Vice President Global Consumer Insights, Viacom

“We’re living in an era where it’s no longer about linear or non-linear TV. When we’re in contact with marketers every day, we see they’re overwhelmed with solutions and fragmented media. We need to be the guiding light that helps them find the audiences where they are today, helping advertisers and their brands as a trusted partner with insights in this Total Video ecosystem.”

Stéphane Coruble, Chief Executive Officer, RTL AdConnect

“For us at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the bar is set high. As streaming video grows and younger viewers move online, we’ve been incessantly innovating to follow audiences online – as a multiplatform player amid fast-changing viewer habits. In our unique position, bridging the US and European market, we’re focussing on building the right infrastructure as we expect more revenue from online in the coming years.”

Jean Mongeau, General Manager & Chief Revenue Officer Media Solutions, CBC/Radio-Canada

Source: egta.com

AKTV HOSTED THE CEO AND TOP EXEC’S SUMMIT IN PRAGUE

As a part of its membership in the professional organization egta, the Association of Television and Radio Companies from Europe and beyond, the Association of Commercial Television was granted the opportunity to host egta’s 2019 professional CEO & Top Exec’s Summit – the annual, 2-day egta-member meeting, where media companies share their experience, inspiration and contacts. This year’s meeting took place on June 6-7 and included more than 220 participants from 33 countries.

Amongst the 35 speakers, who were representatives of egta members but also advertisers, media or research agencies, were Ivan Yamshchikov, AI Evangelist from the Max Planc Institute, Stéphane Berubé – L´Oréal’s CMO for Western Europe, and Kim Younes – from the French media group M6 Publicité and Chris Goldson – from the British commercial leader ITV. The Czech media houses were represented by Jan Vlček from TV Nova/CME, Martina Říhová from Active Group and the client’s point of view was brought by Petr Janeba from Škoda Auto ČR.

“The subheading of this year’s summit was “Building Bridges,” which is a big and up-to-date topic and not only for our television industry. This era has been changing rapidly; technologies are developing very fast and have crucial impact on consumer behavior. We, the media, thus have to adjust not only to the changing viewer habits but also to the demand and expectations from advertisers. Events like egta CEO Summit give us a valuable perspective on what and how our foreign colleagues deal with and, at the same time, inspire us as to what could work for us,”

says Marek Singer, AKTV’ s president

“The CEO and Top Exec’s Summit was the ideal opportunity to remind our delegates that both TV and radio are thriving now that they have digitally transformed and are available across a multitude of screens, devices and audio platforms. The exchange of insights, benchmarks and best practices in our constantly evolving industry illustrate that – whereas we can compete on the content that we propose to viewers – there are plenty of reasons for broadcasters to collaborate in the face of increasingly international competition. Our sincere thanks goes out to AKTV for graciously hosting the Summit in the beautiful city of Prague and providing the ideal conditions for these insightful two days,”

adds Katty Roberfroid, Director General, egta

LAW AND ORDER, CRIME AND PUNISHMENT: WHILE SHARING IS PUNISHED, DOWNLOADING FROM THE INTERNET IS USUALLY NOT

Is it legal to download games, movies and music from the internet? Although the internet may seem like a place of freedom and anonymity, sometimes the opposite is true. In particular, beware of intellectual property infringement.

Most of us know about netiquette and our digital identity but our digital footprint has other connotations. In the wild 1990s, and for many years after the turn of the millennium, there was no great problem getting anything on the global network, ranging from truly illegal stuff to matters that fall into the grey area.

Today, however, downloading illegal content is dangerous due to changes in legislation around the world and the fact that we have become “accustomed” to the internet, which is no longer a bizarre novelty but a ubiquitous thing.

There are precedents. The harshest punishments are given to those who run illegal servers for downloading programmes and other things, and large fines or jail terms have also been handed out to hackers who steal user data. However, those who redistribute illegal content and either make it available to others through uploading or direct mailing or sell it directly will not escape the hands of justice.

For personal use, the situation is more complicated and further escalated by the absolutely unclear Copyright Act. However, it will soon be amended in our country as a result of the approval of a new EU directive, which contains, among other things, controversial Articles 11 and 13.

Downloading films, music and video games

Let us focus directly on the three most popular media formats: films and TV series, music and video games.

The clearest situation is for video games: any downloading from an illegal source – anything not sold directly by the developer, distributor or a verified third party such as a digital platform – is illegal and potentially subject to punishment.

In practice, however, downloading a video game, even a brand new one, is not usually punished. Firstly, it would be very difficult to deal with systemically, and secondly, anti-piracy unions and publishers are fighting the cause, not the effect; they are trying to prevent distribution.

For example, beware of downloading from torrents (if you are not careful you also upload the downloaded data back, i.e. you are distributing illegal content) or any other distribution of downloaded content. This can be punished and legal precedents exist, regardless of the ethical side of the matter. And mind you, it does not matter whether you give the downloaded stuff away or sell it, any distribution is illegal.

For films and music that are not classified as computer programmes, the situation is different, albeit in detail. Due to outdated laws, it is generally legal – or at least in a grey legislative zone – to download films and music for personal use. It is not that simple but the Copyright Act more or less implies it; let us stress, however, that the Act dates from 2000 and has undergone only partial changes since then. Soon it will be subject to a more significant amendment.

Illegal downloading of programmes is an essential seedbed for viruses and malware.

What is important is that downloading music or movies is virtually worthless on today’s internet. With services like Spotify or Deezer for recorded music, and Netflix or HBO GO for films and TV series for a few hundred crowns a month, it is completely pointless to bother with potentially dangerous and illegal downloads of poor-quality music and films.

GDPR

Another EU directive has provided users with more power and ability to decide how companies handle their data – and not just European companies, the global ones as well. On virtually all services collecting user data (programmes, websites, mobile and PC apps, etc.), it is possible to tick or review how the service handles users’ information.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has helped transform the world of information and is currently inspiring similar rules in other countries around the globe, including the United States.

But one thing is important for European users: GDPR makes it much harder for companies to sell user data to third parties. It is also the reason why on most websites a notice pops up about how they collect our information, or a little bar appears, telling us how they use that data in compliance with GDPR and contractual terms.

Source: insmart.cz

WORLD TELEVISION DAY CELEBRATES THE QUALITY OF TV AROUND THE GLOBE

TV professionals around the world are celebrating World Television Day on 21 November to remind us that TV – as in Total Video – is so much more than linear viewing. As part of the annual United Nations initiative, a 30 second-spot will be shown by broadcasters on air and online across the globe.

TV content that entertains, informs and inspires.

The topic of the 22^ndedition of this global celebration is quality content. The outstanding quality of TV programmes is reflected in how this proven medium has the unmatched capacity to entertain, inspire and inform viewers, across all platforms.

Last year alone the production of TV fiction in the European Union amounted to about 920 different titles, representing over 16 400 episodes and more than 11 000 hours, according to the European Audiovisual Observatory’s latest report.

Quality content can incite viewers to broaden their mind and look beyond the everyday life through inspirational shows. It also has the power to entertain and unite scores of people around live programming,
such as the recent World Cup (3.4 billion people watched some of the World Cup this year, according to GlobalWebIndex). Finally, TV informs viewers through in-depth news broadcasts, makes them aware of current societal issues and provides learning through quality children’s programming or insightful documentaries.

“Television must continue to play its role as to educate and engage viewers, especially young audiences. This includes sharing success stories about individuals or organizations that are part of making our society better and more sustainable. This is amplified by the theme ‘premium content-content that unites, inspires and informs’ of this year’s World Television day, November 21st.“ asserts Caroline Petit, Deputy Director United Nations Regional Information Centre for Europe (UNRIC).

Nothing beats the unique combination of sight, sound and (e)motion.

A clear indicator of the good health of television is the vast amount of money being invested in programmes by broadcasters around the world, both in original content as in the acquisition of shows. Figures¹ gathered from IHS Markit for a total of 27 countries and a survey among egta members in 21 countries show that last year, close to 140 billion dollars was invested in programmes – with North America accounting for $ 61 bn – surpassing any investments made by OTT platforms around the world. The most notable investments² in television programmes in Europe were made by the UK (€ 8,6 bn), Germany (€ 8bn), France (€ 5,5 bn) and Italy (€ 4,4 bn).

In addition to this, figures gathered from over 24 countries by The Global TV Group in the second edition of its Global TV Deck highlight TV’s resilience and effectiveness as an advertising medium.

For more information, please visit http://www.worldtelevisionday.tv

World TV Day – spot TV Nova

World TV Day – spot TV Prima

World TV Day – spot Óčko

Press contacts:

Alain Beerens

Marcom Manager, egta

Association of television and radio sales houses

T : +32 2 290 31 38

alain.beerens@egta.com

Anne Brochot

Senior Project Manager,

Eurovision TV, EBU

European Broadcasting Union

T +41(0) 22 717 28 88

brochot@ebu.ch

Grégoire Polad
Director General, ACTAssociation of Commercial Television in EuropeT +32 2 738 76 12gp@acte.be

Sources:

IHS Markit Channels & Programming Intelligence – TV programming expenditure 2017 by region ($ billion) – data from 27 countries
egta member survey in 21 countries

ABOUT THE GLOBAL TV GROUP

The Global TV Group is an informal grouping of broadcasters’ and sales houses’ trade bodies in Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia and Latin America, whose joint objective is to promote television and remind advertisers, journalists, tech gurus, agencies and industry peers about the effectiveness and popularity of TV.

http://www.theglobaltvgroup.com/

ABOUT ACT

https://acte.be/

ABOUT THE EUROPEAN BROADCASTING UNION (EBU)

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is the world’s leading alliance of public service media, with 73 members in 56 countries from Europe and beyond. The EBU operates Eurovision and Euroradio and is devoted to making public service media indispensable. The EBU supports and strengthens public service media, provides first-class media services and offers members agile platforms for learning and sharing.

www.ebu.ch

ABOUT egta

http://www.egta.com/

ABOUT UNRIC

AVMSD REVIEW: A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION, WITH MORE WORK AHEAD

Egta – the association of television and radio sales houses – commends EU policymakers for reaching an agreement on a new Audiovisual Media Services Directive. Two years of challenging negotiations have delivered some welcome flexibility in commercial communications which should contribute to a more competitive environment for European broadcasters.
We are encouraged by the liberalisation of the rules on advertising minutes and the much-needed protection of media service providers’ signal integrity. In tandem with the new responsibilities that video sharing platforms will have to abide by, sales houses see this as a first step towards a level playing field for European content producers.
egta and its member sales houses saw the revision as an opportunity to modernise the European audiovisual regulatory framework. Despite a constructive dialogue with the European institutions, it should be acknowledged though that the net result is one of modest progress rather than a future-proof legislation that reflects market realities.
Malin Häger, egta President, comments: “We sincerely welcome the positive progress made on the rules that govern audiovisual commercial communications, particularly with regards to advertising time limitations. However, we must also recognise that on some aspects, the text is less ambitious than we hoped for at the beginning of this process. Broadcasters remain far more heavily regulated than online actors who are competing for the same advertising revenue. In order to provide long-term value, it is therefore crucial that the measures foreseen in the reform are applied and enforced consistently”.
The audiovisual advertising sector contributes positively to the European Digital Single Market, and egta is confident that we can work together with regulators to ensure that this revision delivers tangible benefits to the industry.
About egta:

egta is the association representing television and radio sales houses, either independent from the channel or in-house, that market the advertising space of both private and public television and radio stations throughout Europe and beyond. egta counts more than 140 members across 40 countries.

www.egta.com

THE MEDIA MARKET JOINTLY SUPPORTS AN AMENDMENT TO THE MEDICINES ACT TO REGULATE ADVERTISING

Media operators and advertising agencies associated in professional associations jointly support the amendment to the Medicines Act, which will be voted on Friday in the plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies and which proposes to repeal the latest amendment to the law on advertising regulation. In fact, last year, an amendment to the Medicines Act amended the Advertising Regulation Act by extending responsibility for the compliance of the content of advertising for selected types of products – human medicines, food supplements and food for special and infant nutrition – with the law to its mere disseminators. Until then, only those actually involved in the advertising of such products were responsible for the compliance with the law, as is the case for other types of products. The amendment seeks to return to the original form of the law on advertising regulation.

The problematic amendment, which introduced the joint and several liability of the advertiser for the compliance of the content of advertising for medicinal products for human use, food supplements, food for special nutritional uses and infant formulae with the law, has been in force since April 2017. It has not led to any increase in the level of consumer protection, it has just proved to be easily exploitable for the competition of the producers of the products concerned. Already last spring, the entire media sector warned that extending liability to the disseminators of advertising cannot lead to greater consumer protection. Advertisers do not have the professional qualifications or the legal tools to be able to gather the necessary evidence and make an informed assessment of whether or not the advertised product, for example, actually boosts immunity.

“Media operators understand that the aim of the amendment was to provide greater consumer protection, but shifting responsibility to the advertiser is not the right way to go. Consumer protection can only be increased by effective enforcement of legal obligations on advertisers. We hope that the legislators will understand this fact and support the amendment that returns the wording of the Advertising Regulation Act to its original form and reject the current amendment as unconceptual and unsystematic,”

comments Ján Simkanič, Chairman of the Association for Internet Development (SPIR).

Sdružení pro internetový rozvoj (SPIR)
Asociace komerčních televizí (AKTV)
Asociace televizních organizací (ATO)
Unie vydavatelů (UV)
Asociace provozovatelů soukromého vysílání (APSV)
Asociace komunikačních agentur (AKA)
Asociace českých reklamních agentur a marketingové komunikace (AČRA MK)