Lenka Hrivnáková, Author at The Association of Commercial Television

THANKS TO DIGITAL, CME CHANGES ITS REVENUE STRUCTURE AND CONTINUES ITS TRANSFORMATION

The media group CME, which includes the Czech TV Nova, is continuing its digital transformation, gradually changing the structure of its revenues. However, in the countries where it operates, it does not apply a purely centralised strategy, explains Klára Brachtlová, Deputy CEO of the CME group.

Digital transformation, changes in viewer behaviour, and the growing role of paid video content. The media group Central European Media Enterprises (CME), which operates in six markets in Central and Eastern Europe, decided four years ago to strategically focus on digital services. The result has been, among other things, the development of its own VOD platform, which is used by over a million subscribers, as well as a significant diversification of revenues. “Five years ago, advertising accounted for about 80 percent of total revenue; today, it’s at most two-thirds,” says Klára Brachtlová, Deputy CEO and Chief External Affairs Official at CME.

Unlike some global players, CME does not apply a uniform model across all markets. The strategy is adapted to local conditions and viewer habits. “It’s not that we blindly follow one path as the only possible way,” she adds.

The group continues to strengthen its financial results and maintains its position as the commercial leader in the linear television segment in four out of six markets. In the following interview, Klára Brachtlová discusses CME’s strategy, market differences, viewer preferences, and the potential for future development.

Exactly four years ago, CME officially introduced its new strategy focused on the digital environment, into which it directed a significant portion of its investments. Has it been successful in implementing this digital strategy across the countries where CME is active?

The strategy outlined four years ago is being fulfilled. The entire group has embarked on a path of digital transformation, adapted to the conditions and situations of individual markets. Each market where CME operates is in a slightly different position. In some places, video-on-demand (VOD) services are more developed, while in others they are gaining ground more gradually alongside linear television. Overall, however, our vision is coming to fruition. We set a goal in terms of the number of subscribers, and we are sticking to that plan — in fact, we are even surpassing it.

The plan that CME CEO, Didier Stoessel, set out at the time was based on building the Voyo service and focusing on non-linear viewing. Voyo has managed to establish itself, and now it is transforming into Oneplay on the Czech market. What’s next? What is the strategy for the coming years?

The current era is very dynamic, and that’s not going to change — in fact, it will accelerate. We are still at the beginning of the transformation. The first logical step was the shift toward non-linear services. A clear decision was made to enter and expand in the VOD market under the Voyo brand. On the Czech market, we have essentially fulfilled Voyo’s potential, and in order to continue growing, we needed to take the next step. That step is the launch of Oneplay — a next-generation service that combines a VOD platform, exclusive content, pay TV, and traditional linear channels. We are thus talking about a shift toward a hub that connects various options and ways of viewing, different types of content, and their distribution.

Can we therefore consider Oneplay as the next phase of the digital transformation that was initiated five years ago?

Yes, and this is the next step.

Is it time-limited? Do you have a set horizon within which this phase should be completed?

It is not fixed. Based on data, we always evaluate very carefully how the service is performing. If we see its product potential, we don’t intervene. Once the service’s significance has been exhausted, we move on to the next phase.

If we are talking about Oneplay in the Czech Republic, I believe the next logical step will be the introduction of advertising elements in the form of an advertising layer, and probably also other types of content, such as gaming. In this way, the goal is to concentrate as much entertainment and information as possible in one place.

If we are talking about Oneplay in the Czech Republic, I believe the next logical step will be the introduction of advertising elements in the form of an advertising layer, and probably also other types of content, such as gaming.

Klára Brachtlová

The launch of Oneplay has only been officially announced for the Czech market so far. What will happen in other CME countries? What are the plans?

It is important to consider that each country we operate in is in a slightly different situation. I would compare it to taking care of six children, each of whom is at a different stage of development and has slightly different characteristics. The markets also differ in size and the level of VOD service penetration.

We can see that, for example, Slovakia is very close to the Czech Republic. That’s why, five years ago, we wanted the strategies for both markets to be combined. Last year, we slightly adjusted it when we launched the Voyo Maximum service in Slovakia, which offers the best sports content in Slovakia. Data showed us that such an offering should have potential in Slovakia, which has been confirmed. Moreover, we believe there is still room for growth. Therefore, we are currently prioritising it over the development of Oneplay.

In Romania, on the other hand, there is a very strong consumption of linear channels. We are focusing a lot on the development of Voyo there and investing in Voyo Originals. We are considering replicating the Oneplay strategy in the Romanian market. But it is still in the stage of consideration. We are watching it.

On the other hand, in Bulgaria, we don’t see such potential in digital services yet. We are not investing much in Voyo there. Instead, we are focusing on monetisation and improving the position of our television within the linear TV channels.

We also operate in Slovenia, where interest in VOD services has been growing rapidly. It is also the country where CME records the highest share of time-shifted viewing. We are focusing on how to profile the VOD service to make it more premium and to better monetise it.

In Croatia, we launched Voyo in the autumn of 2023, and within a year and a half, we have seen nice growth there.

This implies that CME does not apply a uniform strategy across all markets. Therefore, the launch of Oneplay will likely not concern all countries, and you will rather proceed in a targeted manner.

It doesn’t seem that a centrally set strategy and its exact transfer to individual countries would be effective for CME. Our task at the headquarters is to monitor trends and evaluate as accurately as possible what works and how, and then make decisions based on that. It’s not the case that we blindly push one path as the only possible one.

How are the individual markets of the CME group performing economically? Does it still hold true that the strongest revenue generators are the Czech Republic and Romania?

That hasn’t changed. The Czech Republic and Romania remain the pillars of the group. Compared to before, Slovakia has grown, and the other countries are stable. Overall, we are seeing, particularly in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, a shift in the revenue structure from significant dependence on advertising revenues towards other revenue sources, such as SVOD or proceeds from the distribution of our channels. Five years ago, advertising accounted for about 80% of total revenue; today, it’s a maximum of two-thirds.

Overall, we are seeing, particularly in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, a shift in the revenue structure from significant dependence on advertising revenues towards other revenue sources, such as SVOD or proceeds from the distribution of our channels.

Klára Brachtlová

Do differences in viewer behaviour across CME countries deepen over the years?

As I’ve already hinted, each country has its specifics. In Slovenia, time-shifted viewing is strong, while in Romania, linear channels still hold a strong position. The same is true for Bulgaria. Due to the significant effort put into developing Voyo in recent years, we are seeing a significant shift in viewer behaviour towards non-linear services in the Czech Republic. The situation is similar in Slovakia.

CME has invested a lot in sports content on the Czech market, and as a result, it launched additional sports channels under the Nova Sport brand. Do you follow a similar approach with sports content in other countries?

We also apply a targeted strategy with sports content. We don’t launch sports channels in other markets exactly the same way as in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. One reason for this is that the prices of sports rights have been rising over time, and other large platforms are also demanding them. As relatively small regional broadcasters, we don’t have an advantageous position in this regard. We also consider how to monetise the rights, and we must take into account the size and the entire ecosystem in each country. For example, public broadcasters in the Adriatic region have significant economic power, and competing with them in sports rights tenders doesn’t make much sense. However, it is clear that sports content works in Romania alongside the Czech Republic and Slovakia; in other countries, there is not yet such potential.

This brings us to content preferences. In the Czech Republic, we see that local series, particularly crime dramas, detective shows, true crime, or stories based on real events, work well. Can viewer preferences be generalised for other countries as well?

Viewer preferences are different in each country, but the pattern is ultimately always the same: high-quality local content works. In our case, similar to Germany, fiction such as crime dramas or true-crime series works well, even in more complex productions. Slovakia tends to favour emotional stories, romance, and romantic reality shows. Croatia and Slovenia are also strong in local production; for example, Croatian projects on Voyo resonate strongly in neighbouring countries. This is one of the reasons we launched Voyo in Serbia last year, even though we don’t have a television station there. We are cooperating with Yettel, the operator which is also part of the PPF Group. These synergies between companies within the group give us a huge advantage in the market, and we plan to continue leveraging them.

Bulgaria is very oriented towards entertainment, especially reality entertainment, and we see similar trends in Romania, where more complicated crime dramas and more complex fiction projects also perform well.

The synergies between companies within the group give us a huge advantage in the market, and we plan to continue leveraging them.

Klára Brachtlová

What were the revenue and profit results of the CME Group last year compared to the previous year?

I cannot comment on the results as they are not yet available, but overall, the CME Group had a very good year. In the linear television segment, we confirmed our position as the commercial leader in four countries. We are second in Bulgaria and Croatia, where we managed to narrow the gap with Nova TV last year [editor’s note: Nova TV is part of RTL in Croatia]. In the non-linear services segment, we announced reaching one million Voyo subscribers across the region at the beginning of last year, which confirms significant growth in VOD over the past years.

And when it comes to the total reach of CME’s television channels, do they still maintain a level of 48-49 million viewers?

Yes, that’s correct, but it’s not the reach in terms of actual viewers; it’s the total population in the countries where we operate our television channels, that is the overall market potential. The portfolio of linear channels is not changing significantly either.

In the Central and Eastern European region, do viewers move from linear broadcasting to non-linear, as they do in Western Europe?

In our region, this trend is slower. However, in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, thanks to Voyo, we are noticing more viewers shifting towards non-linear services. In other countries, it’s not as dramatic, but it is gradually starting to happen. Compared to our colleagues in Western Europe, we have a bit more time to prepare. But even here, these trends are already visible.

You also sit on the supervisory board of the German group ProSiebenSat.1, and therefore, I’m interested in how the situation looks on the German market and whether the developments there can provide insights into how the Czech market might evolve.

The German market, due to its size and the significant presence of multinational players, such as Amazon, which has a strong foothold there, has a different level of VOD service penetration. Moreover, it is already saturated with SVOD offerings and is shifting toward AVOD and HVOD services, meaning video services supported by advertising. This is also the case for ProSiebenSat.1 and its streaming platform Joyn, which is focusing more on AVOD, i.e., advertising revenues. The German economy has not been in the best shape in recent years either, which affects the level of private consumption and advertising investment. A five-year retrospective shows that the German market has been declining by an average of 3%, while CME markets have been growing by single-digit percentages or, in the worst case, have remained at comparable levels. German TV broadcasters are therefore generally in a more difficult position, also due to greater competition.

In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, we are noticing more viewers shifting towards non-linear services. In other countries, it’s not as dramatic, but it is gradually starting to happen.

Klára Brachtlová

In the past two years, you also held the position of President of the Association of Commercial Television (AKTV). A lot has happened in the field of media legislation during this period, whether it’s the new Audiovisual Act or the major media amendment. How do you evaluate this period?

It was a very challenging period and one of the busiest in the eight-year history of AKTV. Three major things were worked on. The first was the transformation of the State Fund for Cinematography into the Audiovisual Fund. It is now in effect, and the fund operates based on new principles. I mostly evaluate the new law positively, although we are not 100% satisfied. In our opinion, it levelled the playing field by making all VOD service providers on the market, including foreign ones, subject to fees. I greatly appreciate the approach of the Ministry of Culture, which involved us in discussions about the form of the amendment and, throughout the entire process, reflected the current situation and was very flexible.

The major media amendment, which you, along with other commercial media, initially opposed during its creation, has now passed the Senate and has been signed by the president. The final version has undergone some changes compared to the initial proposals. Are you satisfied with it?

The so-called major media amendment has successfully passed the legislative process and is coming into effect. Some related topics remain open, such as the proposal to amend the constitutional law, which would allow public service television to be subject to the control of the Supreme Audit Office (NKÚ).

I am a strong advocate of the dual media system as a safeguard of democracy, but it is necessary to set fair conditions for the sustainable financing and operation of public service media alongside private ones. In this regard, the amendment is a good step forward, for example, by tightening the limits on revenue from advertising messages. However, I would still consider it appropriate to legally or otherwise define the concept of public service media in a binding way.

Another major topic that we have been intensively addressing within AKTV concerns the implementation of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA). We are part of the entire implementation process, with the law expected to be incorporated into Czech legislation in August of this year. European legislation remains a key topic for this year, during which I expect further regulatory preparations at the European level.

Klára Brachtlová

Since 2024, she has served as Interim Deputy CEO and Chief External Affairs Officer at CME (Central European Media Enterprises), where she is responsible for activities in Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, and Croatia. She also manages CME’s external relations in the Czech Republic and with European Union institutions. Prior to joining CME’s leadership, she held key roles at Nova TV, where she served as Chief Financial Officer, Executive Director, and from 2019 to 2022 as Co-CEO. She is also a member of the supervisory board of the German media company ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE, to which she was appointed in 2023.

Source: mediaguru.cz

ASSOCIATION OF COMMERCIAL TELEVISION CELEBRATES 8 YEARS, MAREK SINGER REPLACES KLÁRA BRACHTLOVÁ AS PRESIDENT

This spring, the Association of Commercial Television is celebrating eight years since its founding. It continues to be actively involved in the fight against Internet piracy, where it has achieved significant success in recent years, and is also fulfilling its other goals, such as raising awareness of television as a powerful and effective advertising medium and actively participating in legislative processes affecting the business of commercial broadcasters.

This spring, the Association of Commercial Television, which brings together the Nova, Prima, and Óčko television groups, celebrated its eighth year of operation. The association’s anniversary is traditionally also associated with a change in the presidency, with the current president, Klára Brachtlová, Interim Deputy CEO & Chief External Affairs of the CME media group, being replaced after two years by Marek Singer, CEO of the Prima group.

“My two years as president of AKTV have been marked by a number of important issues. I consider the transformation of the Film Fund into the Audiovisual Fund and the amendment to the law on public service media financing to be key achievements. We have also celebrated significant successes in the fight against internet piracy, which remains one of our main priorities,”

said Klára Brachtlová.

Last year, AKTV concluded agreements with other internet storage providers – eDisk, Sledujte.to, Webshare.cz, Přehraj.to, and Datoid.cz, which thus joined Hellshare, Hellspy, and Fastshare, with which agreements had already been concluded. To raise awareness of the illegality of sharing copyrighted content, AKTV operates a specialised section dedicated to copyright on its website. Here, interested parties can find information on legal and illegal consumption of content, a glossary of terms and the latest news in the field of copyright.

“AKTV has big plans for the coming period and will soon announce one of our major projects for this year. In terms of upcoming legislation, our priority will be the adaptation of the European Act on Freedom of the Media, but also the Digital Economy Act, where we would like to see an amendment strengthening the position of copyright holders in cases of illegal sharing of their protected content,”

adds Marek Singer, president of AKTV.

Last year, AKTV also developed activities aimed at promoting television as an effective advertising medium. It regularly publishes news, research studies, and trends from the world of television advertising, both in the Czech Republic and abroad, on its website ScreenVoice.cz. Readers can find information about advertising effectiveness and creative campaigns, or read a number of original articles on various interesting topics. A series of articles about advertising battles between major brands has been created especially for this year’s anniversary. Thanks to exclusive cooperation with the media agency GroupM and its research project mPanel, a series of articles is being created for ScreenVoice.cz that reveal the hidden connections associated with television viewing.

To mark World Television Day on November 21, AKTV prepared a full-day program for its business partners, culminating in an entertaining culinary show called Pekelná telka (Hell TV), hosted by chef Radek Kašpárek and ably assisted by presenter Ondřej Sokol.

About the Association of Commercial Television Stations (www.AKTV.cz)

The Association of Commercial Television represents the most important commercial broadcasters in the Czech Republic. Its aim is to defend, support, and promote their common interests.

AKTV is actively involved in the preparation of national and European legislation relating to commercial television broadcasting, personal data protection, journalism, and commercial communications. It is a partner for state authorities, EU institutions, and other stakeholders. One of AKTV’s main activities is protecting the copyright of its members and combating internet piracy.

In addition, AKTV is also active in promoting television as an advertising medium. It operates the information website ScreenVoice.cz for communication with advertisers and media agencies.

About ScreenVoice (www.ScreenVoice.cz)

On ScreenVoice.cz, readers will find inspiration, trends, research, and news about what’s happening in the world of television in the Czech Republic and abroad. Each month is dedicated to a single topic, for which original content is prepared. Readers can enjoy magazine-style articles on topics such as the first ever television advertisement, Christmas and Valentine’s Day advertising specials, and reflections on advertising during COVID and the war in Ukraine. The theme of the month is complemented by a calendar of industry events, a glossary of terms from the world of total video, and the popular Myths and Facts about TV section, which provides a range of data refuting the most common myths about television. A separate category is the AKTV event archive, where interested parties can find all recordings of speeches and presentations from the last seven years.

BARNETT IS THE NEW CEO OF CME, REPLACING STOESSEL

Sam Barnett will replace Didier Stoessel, who remains PPF’s chief investment officer, as head of CME’s media group.

With effect from 1 May 2025, Central European Media Enterprises (CME), which includes TV Nova, has appointed Sam Barnett, a media executive with international experience in television and streaming, as CEO.

In his new role, Sam Barnett will replace Didier Stoessel, who will remain as Chief Investment Officer of PPF, which includes overseeing the group’s media investments. Didier Stoessel has held combined positions at PPF and CME since 2022.

“We are confident that his global management experience and expertise make him the best possible person to successfully steer CME Group into the years ahead,” said Didier Stoessel, Chief Investment Officer of PPF and current CEO of CME, responsible for the Czech and Romanian markets.

Since its takeover by PPF Group four years ago, CME has undergone a transformation from a linearly focused broadcaster to a digital media group. The streaming service Voyo has become the centre of its activities, growing from 30,000 subscribers to 950,000.

CME operates TV stations in six markets in Central and Eastern Europe, namely Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Romania and Moldova, Slovakia and Slovenia. CME broadcasts on 46 TV channels, reaches 49 million viewers and operates the growing streaming service Voyo and the new platform Oneplay.

Source: mediaguru.cz

CZECH TELEVISION IN MARCH FIRST, GROWING NOVA. TV SEZNAM IS AHEAD OF BARRANDOV GROUP

The positions of the strongest TV groups remained unchanged in March compared to the previous months of this year.

Czech Television stations also achieved the highest TV market share in the universal audience group over 15 years old in March. Their cumulative share in all-day broadcasting was 29.22%, 0.3 percentage points higher than in March last year. This is according to official measurement data from ATO-Nielsen.

The situation is further balanced in this audience group within the all-day broadcast. This is followed by the Nova and Prima groups (27.55% and 27.36% respectively).

In the primary time 15+ as well as in all other monitored audience groups 15-54 and 18-69, the Nova group confirmed the highest shares in both daytime and evening broadcasts. Its year-on-year growth in March is also the highest in the TV market.

Growth also continues for Television Seznam, which in March managed to overtake the Barrandov group stations even in the wider 15+ target group (the first time this has happened so far only in December 2024, a strong period for Television Seznam). In the 18-69 group, which is key for Seznam, Television Seznam already had a higher share in some months of this year and the previous year. At the same time, Television Seznam’s increased share is also helped by the representation of Atmedia.

TV Group Share (%), March 2025

TV Nova is the channel of the month

Of the individual stations, TV Nova was the main channel with the highest year-on-year share increase this March (+0.8pp, valid for CS 15+). Also doing well were the news channel CT24 (+0.7 ppts. to 4.63%), Prima Krimi (+0.5 ppts. to 4.71%) and CNN Prima News (+0.4 ppts. to 2.44%).

The most watched programmes in March were Television News (Nova), Specialisté (Nova) and Případy 1. oddělení (CT1).

Source: mediaguru.cz

TOWARDS A TANGIBLE AND EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EUROPEAN MEDIA FREEDOM ACT (EMFA) AUDIENCE MEASUREMENT OBLIGATIONS

The joint media industry position paper outlines practical recommendations for implementing the European Media Freedom Act’s principles on audience measurement. Together, ACT, EBU and egta strongly encourage the Commission to develop detailed guidelines clarifying how these provisions should be applied consistently across Europe.

Full position available here.

LESS CONTENT IS BEING CREATED BECAUSE OF PIRACY, SAYS ADVOCATE. HOW CAN CREATORS DEFEND THEIR WORKS?

The Ulož.to portal was once a huge repository of any kind of content. It offered the latest movies and TV series for download, but also music, literature and video games. But in December 2023, Ulož.to ceased its original activity and transformed into a cloud storage site where files cannot be searched. This ended a great era of internet piracy in the Czech Republic. However, neither the end of the popular portal nor the advent of streaming services completely eradicated the illegal distribution of content. Creators must continue to protect their copyrights. How? That’s what attorney Klára Hrabáková answered in an interview with CNN Prima NEWS.

Not so long ago, internet piracy was rampant. Downloading a video game, music, movie or TV series using torrents or portals like Ulož.to was the order of the day. But in recent years, piracy seems to have disappeared.

The end of Upload.to, which turned off public searches between stored files, contributed to its decline. It later morphed into a classic cloud storage for private data sharing. Another important role was played by the emergence of streaming platforms such as Spotify, Netflix, Max, Disney+ and others.

Thousands of movies and series or songs by musical artists are available through them. For just a few hundred crowns, users can set up a subscription and happily consume entertainment. Yet even today, copyright is still something to keep in mind.

According to Hrabáková, pirate platforms make money from the distribution of content, but their money is irretrievably drained away and not invested in further film or television production. “It is important to remember that piracy does not serve to distribute culture to the masses, but instead less culture is created,” Hrabáková says.

“Copyright also protects the jobs of all the people involved in the creation of series. Whether they are actors, writers, technicians or people who subsequently produce the series. It’s a whole range of professions and copyright protects their livelihoods as well,”

explains why it is necessary to protect content creators.

How can creators defend themselves against pirates? That’s not the only question attorney Klara Hrabakova answers in an interview with CNN Prima NEWS. In the following minutes, she explains why authors should enforce their rights to protect their content, how piracy affects creators, and whether classic television will survive in the coming years or whether it will fall into oblivion due to streaming platforms.

Watch the full interview with Klára Hrabáková, attorney at law and member of the board of ALAI Czech Republic, here.

Source: cnn.iprima.cz

PETR HATLAPATKA: CTV ADVERTISING IS GROWING IN REACH AND PRICE

Petr Hatlapatka from Media Club talks about the key trends in video advertising and explains how Media Club responds to client demand for quality video advertising.

Quality of content, more accurate targeting and a safe advertising environment are key factors that play an increasing role in the decision to buy video advertising. One of the main recent trends is the growing interest in advertising on smart TV (CTV), where viewers skip ads less and pay more attention to them.

Media Club is responding to these changes not only by expanding its premium video inventory but also by introducing its own DMP platform that enables advanced targeting of registered users. In addition, Media Club is also dedicated to the development of HbbTV, bringing new opportunities for regional targeting and interactive formats.

In this interview, Petr Hatlapatka, Sales Director of Media Club’s online division, talks about how video ad buying strategies are changing and the impact of the growing popularity of CTV.

Premium video advertising is increasingly in demand today, not only because of the quality of the content but also because of brand safety. How do you reflect the new trends in video consumption, and how does your Premium Pack adapt to the changing needs of advertisers?

The Premium Pack has already been part of our offering, but we have made some significant changes. For the last two to three years, we have worked hard to expand our inventory, including representing other video services. We have started working with Canal+, and more recently, Sweet.tv has joined our portfolio. Our goal is to expand the reach of video advertising, and we also want to underpin the changes in video consumption, where linear viewership is shifting towards non-linear viewership, especially among younger audiences. At the same time, we aim to ensure that advertising is shown in an appropriate and safe context and on large screens with high-quality imagery. This is why we avoid user-generated content, for example. The Premium Pack reflects all of this.

Different formats have different benefits. How do your packs differ, and what determines which format clients choose?

When it comes to video advertising, we also offer the Add Up pack, which includes video placements across all the sites we represent within Media Club and Impression Media – including Prima’s content sites and video services. This pack has the highest reach. The Premium Pack is only focused on video advertising for long-form video, which is the format that clients find most attractive.

Add Up is more affordable, while the Premium Pack focuses on higher-quality content with higher viewer attention. Research and viewer behaviour show that people skip ads less on smart TVs and have higher completion rates. At the same time, they are guaranteed 100% viewability and brand safety. The most exclusive pack is the CTV pack, which is aimed exclusively at smart TVs. This pack contains long-form content on smart TVs. It is the most sought-after by clients because it delivers quality and, therefore, is also the most expensive. CPT is twice as high for CTV as for traditional content, yet it is in demand and has been one of the fastest-growing over the past year.

In general, however, we are seeing total video reach – it doesn’t matter whether the viewer is watching linear or catch-up TV on Prima+ two days later. What matters is that they consume our video content.

CPT is twice as high for CTV as for traditional content, yet it is in demand and has been one of the fastest-growing over the past year.

Petr Hatlapatka

You have already mentioned that the viewing of TV content or video content is moving from linear broadcast to non-linear platforms. Do you see an opportunity for advertisers in this trend? What are the main advantages of advertising on smart TV versus other channels?

We see that premium advertising is now increasingly sought after by clients, especially due to the targeting options. For example, our new partner, Sweet.tv, shows 70% of impressions on smart TVs. This type of advertising is not skipped; viewers are spending more time on it, and this matches the needs of clients. Advertisers also take into account that smart TVs are shared devices and more viewers are sitting in front of the screens, so one impression reaches more viewers.

How much of your total video portfolio is made up of CTV advertising?

A rough estimate is about a third of the Premium Pack. The Premium Pack alone makes up about 70-75% of the impressions in the overall portfolio, with the rest coming from formats across all sites.

CTV’s advertising rates are the highest in the video advertising price list. How do they change over time?

CTV shows the largest year-on-year price increase, with the average net CPT price in programmatic sales exceeding EUR 10 in our region. In Western Europe, it is above EUR 15, and our prices are starting to approach these levels.

You describe that you are trying to expand your inventory both through your own services and by integrating external services. What impact is this having on Media Club’s overall video inventory?

Last year, we generated 24% more impressions as a result of this compared to the previous year, which is a significant increase. The biggest growth we saw was in smart TV apps, where inventory grew by 83%. In addition, content magazines, such as CNN Prima NEWS, also increased by 60%, and IPTV operators grew significantly as well, with an increase of up to 85%. These leapfrog changes are the result of the gradual addition of more operators.

We anticipate that the number of IPTV operators where we will be able to include video advertising will expand again this year. We are currently working with five operators. We see that 60% to 70% of IPTV impressions are happening on smart TVs.

And how did that reflect in video ad sales overall last year? How much did the market grow?

We sell about 1.2 billion impressions a year, and we are growing 10-20% in impressions sold.

Last year, we created 24% more impressions compared to the previous year, which is a significant increase. Our biggest growth was in smart TV apps, where inventory grew by 83%.

Petr Hatlapatka

Online GRP, called eGRP, has been part of Media Club’s TV advertising and video advertising sales for a long time. Will the broader video inventory increase its overall share of campaigns sold?

In the first few months of this year, eGRP makes up about 20-25% of total online inventory, which is a significant increase from previous years. The winter season contributes to higher consumption as people spend more time at home. Year-round, we expect to stabilise at 10-15%.

However, it is interesting to look at the affinity of eGRP and traditional GRP. It shows that the younger target group of 15-35 years old shows an improvement in affinity of up to 134%. The younger the target group, the better the affinity for eGRP. But this is also true for the broader 15-50 age group, where there is still a 56% affinity improvement for online. This trend proves that eGRP is particularly effective for younger audiences. As inventory grows, this quality will continue to improve.

Last autumn, you announced that you would launch your own DMP in the first quarter of this year. It is designed to enable clients to take advantage of targeting registered users of so-called 1st and 3rd party data in both direct and programmatic buying. Until now, these targeting options have been limited to the advertising system. Have you launched DMP yet?

Yes, we have already implemented our DMP and consider it a significant step forward compared to previous external solutions. It is linked to CPEX, and we have comprehensive data from the entire market. Data-wise, we have moved on significantly and can target not only classic banner formats but also video advertising with even greater accuracy and efficiency. We can also better analyse audience behaviour and tailor advertising messages to specific target groups. The data is then processed in the advanced Adpicker tool, which uses machine learning to create sophisticated user segmentation.

How exactly does audience targeting and segmentation work?

Although we are limited in some areas by our move away from third-party cookies, we do have access to TV broadcast data. Based on socio-demographic data from ATO-Nielsen measurements, we are able to shift targeted content from TV to online platforms. For example, when women watch specific shows on TV, we can use this data to predict the online user. This is also aided by our ability to target eGRP campaigns precisely to the desired target group. While campaign booking is targeted at the 18-69 group, clients also specify their primary target group when booking. This data then feeds into the DMP, and the system calculates how many GRPs to deliver and therefore tailor to the preferred target group.

Based on socio-demographic data from ATO-Nielsen measurements, we are able to shift targeted content from TV to online platforms.

Petr Hatlapatka

CTV is one of the most talked-about trends of our time, which we have already mentioned. HbbTV, which has represented CTV advertising so far, seems to be in its shadow.

It’s more accurate to say that HbbTV is already included in the CTV landscape. And it is not the case that development has stopped in HbbTV. On the contrary. Display advertising in HbbTV can be targeted to selected segments, and defined target groups can be reached on Prima channels using the red button. Historically, we have only used targeting on channels, times, selected shows or perhaps the client’s TV spots. The data we have on TV channels, particularly data on what individual devices watch, at what times and so on, combined with our knowledge of the sociodemographics of our TV channels, allows us to model audiences that replicate the sales target groups known from TV buying.

We also see that over the last year, clients have started to make more use of non-standard formats in HbbTV, such as multi-button, which can be used for polls and contests, and switch-in strip.

Over the last year, the traffic structure of the Prima Nákupy app has also changed dramatically, with 80% of the traffic now being organic. Viewers have learned to use the flyers and discount coupons on TV, and I consider last year a milestone in this respect. We knew the turnaround would happen. That’s why we have prepared for this in the past and have continuously worked on the product and the Prima Nákupy brand. Now we will intensify these efforts.

What are you preparing?

For AdSimple.cz, the automated HbbTV buying platform, we will launch an updated version in March, which will be enriched with campaign targeting functionality for all 76 districts. Until now, it was only possible to target regions. The targeting of districts resulted from market feedback, especially from local agencies and smaller clients. With district targeting, we will go deeper into the regions.

Source: mediaguru.cz

ACE SHUTS DOWN PIRATE VIDEO HOSTING PLATFORM GAMOVIDEO

The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) has successfully shut down video hosting site Gamovideo in Spain.

Gamovideo operated as a video host, allowing users to upload, store, and share illegal content. Primarily serving as a video hosting platform for pirate streaming websites, Gamovideo facilitated illegal distribution and streaming. The platform paid uploaders based on downloads and views, further incentivizing the unauthorized distribution of popular content.

Platforms such as Gamovideo act as the backbone of the piracy ecosystem, providing storage and streaming for illegal copies while forming key partnerships with pirate linking sites and incentivizing uploaders. Hosting services like Gamovideo directly pay these uploaders based on downloads and views, fueling the supply of unauthorized content.

The platform ran 125 back-end subdomains supporting its operation and attracted more than 3 million monthly users worldwide in 2024. Multiple streaming linking sites relied on the service.

Following an investigation, ACE recently approached the Barcelona-based operator, resulting in a shutdown of the service, including the transfer of pirate domains to ACE and other substantial commitments.

“Thanks ACE’s unmatched technical capabilities and expansive global network, a notorious player in the Spanish-language video hosting ecosystem can no longer harm the creative economy,”

said Larissa Knapp, Executive Vice President and Chief Content Protection Officer for the Motion Picture Association (MPA). “We look forward to continuing our joint fight to protect intellectual property and bring criminal operators to justice.”

All Gamovideo domains have been transferred to ACE and are now redirected to ACE’s Watch Legally site.

Source: broadbandtvnews.com

SUPPLIER OF ILLEGAL STREAMS SENTENCED TO PRISON IN LEBANON

The operator of a platform responsible for supplying illegal streams to pirate services around the world, has been convicted and sentenced to 11 months in prison and ordered to pay more than US$90,000 in penalties and damages.

The ruling in a Lebanese court followed a joint criminal complaint by the Premier League, Sky and the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE).

The defendant was found guilty of five criminal charges including various intellectual property and cybercrime-related offences.

Kevin Plumb, Premier League General Counsel, said: “The case further demonstrates the Premier League’s commitment to protecting its intellectual property around the world. This is not only important to us and our broadcast partners, but it is essential for the future health of English football and the protection of our fans.”

Matt Hibbert, Group Director of Anti-Piracy at Sky said the partnership with the Premier League, the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment and international law enforcement was vital in fighting piracy.

“The Lebanese judicial authorities in Lebanon, in collaboration with the Lebanese Cyber Crime Bureau successfully pursued the prosecution of this individual, who has been involved in the egregious theft of content for many years. We will continue to take steps to shut down organised criminal networks who are intent on stealing our content and whose activities expose consumers to real risks of malware, identity theft and data loss.”

The ruling also ordered that the websites seized be shut down, the defendant’s devices be cleared of all data, and the deletion of all accounts used for client and customer communication.

Source: broadbandtvnews.com

ILLEGAL CONTENT FROM PREHRAJ.TO AND DATOID WILL DISAPPEAR THANKS TO AN AGREEMENT WITH AKTV

The Association of Commercial Television (AKTV) has entered into a new settlement agreement with the services Přehraj.to and Datoid. The operators of these services have agreed to work with ACPV members to prevent the illegal sharing of protected works.

The Association of Commercial Television (AKTV) has reached an agreement with the operators of Přehraj.to and Datoid to protect the copyrights of its members, TV Nova and FTV Prima. The operators have agreed to take technical measures against illegal sharing of copyrighted works. The agreement also includes payment of legal costs.

AKTV is working with the operators on effective content filtering. The operators will maintain an up-to-date list of protected works and improve filtering mechanisms. This cooperation is part of AKTV’s strategy to minimise illegal sharing of programmes.

Klára Brachtlová, President of AKTV, welcomed the agreement as another success in the fight against piracy. AKTV has long focused on legal protection of copyright and awareness-raising activities. It operates an information website on copyright, where interested parties can find explanations of terms and answers to frequently asked questions.

AKTV also publishes articles on new studies on copyright infringement in the European Union. The agreement with Přehraj.to and Datoid is another step towards minimising illegal content sharing. AKTV strives to inform the public about the negative impact of piracy on the cultural and creative industries. The service providers will actively cooperate to update the lists of protected works.

Source: mediaguru.cz

RATINGS IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC ARE DOMINATED BY BIG RETURNS. PRIMA CELEBRATES WITH SERIES HRDINA, NOVA WITH SPECIALISTÉ

In the last few days and weeks, the most successful series were those that viewers already know well. On the other hand, the weekend viewership of the Český lev fell slightly.

At the end of February, the second season of the popular crime series Hrdina arrived on the streaming platform prima+. The now common practice meant the premiere on TV screens a few days later, but this tactic works relatively well for Prima.

Although the viewership of the first episode of the second series (just under 600 thousand viewers) dropped slightly compared to the average for the first series (700 thousand viewers), the series still attracted considerable interest among TV Prima’s male and female viewers and continues to hold its own with the rest of the TV audience.

The second series even rose slightly in the ratings compared to the first one. While the first series of the unpretentious crime series has only 48 percent on CSFD, the second one is currently shining at 54 percent after two episodes. The series has also changed directors. Instead of Jan Haluza (Co ste hasiči, Deníček moderního fotra), Jaroslav Fuit (Jedna rodina, Jedině Tereza) is behind the camera this time. Let’s see if the next episodes will increase in terms of ratings and quality, or if the interest will gradually fade away.

Source: TV Nova

TV Nova has seen even better results with its series Specialisté and Případy mimořádné Marty. Marta with Tatiana Dykova manages to stay just above the 900,000 viewers mark, which is obviously a good result for the creators and TV. Against the series Případy mimořádné Marty stands the rerun of Filip Renč’s crime drama Hlava medúzy, which aroused a lot of interest when it premiered a few years ago and which has apparently not diminished even after all these years. There were 877,000 viewers. So far, Nova is leading.

Specialisté, another of the big spring comebacks, is doing even better. The eleventh season of TV Nova’s popular Czech crime series is not enjoying a very positive rating (it has 36 percent on CSFD), but the viewership is still enormous. The new case of the popular group of investigators attracted 1.06 million viewers to the screens last week, making it one of the most watched shows of the whole week.

Oh, and let’s throw in an interesting fact about the Český lev. As expected, the majority of the awards were shared by Vlny and Metoda Markovič: Hojer, but even such popular Czech works did not help to push the ratings to a new record. On the contrary, compared to last year (almost 700,000 viewers), this year’s broadcast enjoyed only 647,000 viewers.

While this is still within the norm for the last few years, the question is whether this Czech counterweight to the Oscars should generate slightly higher numbers. Perhaps it can only be a consolation that this year’s show is rated 62 percent on CSFD, while last year viewers and viewers gave the Lions a mere 51 percent.

Source: mam.cz

TV NOVA ALREADY KNOWS WHAT WILL REPLACE THE SERIES ‘JEDNA RODINA’ IN THE AUTUMN

TV Nova will continue in the autumn television season with one title scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday prime time.

TV Nova has released several new titles for the second part of the spring season. Among them are some series previously shown on the Voyo platform, such as Král Šumavy, Gumy, and Mozaika, as well as premiere episodes of established Nova programmes. These include the series Specialisté, Případy mimořádné Marty, the quiz show Superlov, and the reality show Survivor. A new addition is the docu-reality Extrémní proměny (Extreme Weight Loss), which follows the transformation of people with obesity. Additionally, a detective series Vraždy v kraji, starring Ondřej Sokol, will also be part of Nova’s spring lineup.

This year’s spring season is also the last in which Nova broadcasts the series Jedna rodina. In the autumn, it will be replaced by a new series, also intended for Tuesday and Thursday evenings, said Silvia Majeská, the Programming Director of TV Nova and TV Markíza, in an interview for MediaGuru.cz.

Following the public unveiling of Oneplay, which took place at the end of February, we also asked about what will change with its launch in the production of Voyo’s original titles, newly called Oneplay Originals, and their possible inclusion in TV Nova’s linear programming.

Questions for Silvia Majeská

The Jedna rodina series will air for the last time this spring season and will conclude this June. Do you know what will replace it starting this autumn?

Yes, we do. We are preparing a new series for the autumn. It will also air twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It is a completely new project, and we will present it in detail at the summer press conference. It is a project we are looking forward to, created by very experienced creators, and it also brings a very unique theme. The project is already in the intensive production process, and we will launch it in the autumn.

What are its chances with the viewers? Do you expect it to win the Tuesday and Thursday time slots?

We will see, we approach it with humility. In the end, the viewers will decide. It will also depend on the specific offering at that moment. However, we are bringing something different, it is not a completely traditional approach to the Tuesday and Thursday programming. So, we are full of anticipation, but at the same time, we know that there is some risk involved. However, we have a very experienced team, which should be a guarantee that everything will turn out well.

We also noted that new episodes of Kriminálka Anděl will be filmed.

Yes, Kriminálka has had a very successful season. It is primarily being written now, but it will definitely continue in the autumn broadcast.

We are talking shortly after the official introduction of the new service Oneplay, which replaces the existing Voyo. Will the strategy for bringing Voyo’s (or Oneplay’s) original titles to linear TV broadcasts change? This spring, we saw that Nova offered some Voyo Originals like Král Šumavy, Gumy, and is now also airing the series Mozaika, which was previously released on Voyo.

We are continuing with the setup we had. We offered Král Šumavy to viewers as a preview for the February anniversary of TV Nova and also as an incentive to watch the second season of Král Šumavy, which we will release on the new Oneplay service starting on 14 March. We are airing the series Gumy in the second prime-time window, and as for Mozaika, we launched it on Voyo several months in advance. We adopted a similar strategy with the series Případy mimořádné Marty. Mozaika wasn’t created under the Voyo Originals brand, but at that time, we wanted to offer Voyo viewers a quality series for the summer. Now, it has come to TV screens as planned.

With the arrival of Oneplay, the strategy doesn’t change, meaning that Voyo Originals, or now Oneplay Originals, will primarily be available only on Oneplay. Am I right?

Yes, the series we brought from Voyo Originals to television had a long gap between their release on Voyo and on TV. In the future, we will proceed in the same way, selecting when and which originals to include in television broadcasts based on the titles and opportunities. If we believe that viewers will want to enjoy a particular title and there is a suitable opportunity, we will offer them the chance to watch it on TV. However, the exclusivity period for originals on the platform will definitely not be shortened.

Will the Oneplay offering be localised for Slovak viewers, or will Voyo continue there?

In other countries within the entire CME group, we will aim to leverage the technological platform developed for Oneplay, offering viewers a range of options and features. I am convinced that it is just a matter of time before it is implemented in other countries. Each country is different. We will evaluate it based on what makes business sense. Right now, the priority is to successfully complete the migration in the Czech Republic. After that, we can talk about other countries, but it probably won’t happen this year.

Source: mediaguru.cz