Lenka Hrivnáková, Author at The Association of Commercial Television

AI IS ALREADY CHANGING THE WORLD OF MEDIA; IN 2026, IT COULD BE ADVERTISING’S TURN

Tech giants such as Google have made such progress with artificial intelligence that it is already having a noticeable impact on the business of many online media outlets. This trend will intensify in 2026.

The world of digital media reached a turning point in 2025. For many users of the Google search engine, for example, it no longer makes sense to click on links in search results, because Google uses AI to summarise the content of relevant pages for them. Czech users also gained access to this feature in 2025. The same applies to the deployment of AI mode, which allows users to switch the standard Google search field to a conversation mode with an intelligent chatbot modelled on ChatGPT.

Both innovations have the potential to significantly transform the way internet users consume digital content. In its recent analysis, the Association for Internet Development (SPIR) pointed to a significant decline in traffic to Czech websites from internet search engines, which are among the main sources of readers. Among other things, these findings are heightening publishers’ concerns about further erosion of their business model, where trusted websites serve as one of the sources of information for artificial intelligence models, but content creators do not profit from this in any way.

More than just a bubble

But while the business of established media may have a problem with the rise of AI, an equally pressing question in 2026 will be the financial sustainability of the whole artificial intelligence craze. In this context, it is not necessarily a question of whether the events surrounding the shares of Nvidia, Alphabet, Meta or Oracle resemble an inflated bubble. As US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell pointed out, the current investment craze surrounding artificial intelligence cannot be compared to the infamous dot-com bubble at the turn of the millennium. According to Powell, the reason for this is the overall healthy business fundamentals of today’s largest technology companies.

Investors can also take comfort in the fact that the boom in AI is being driven primarily by highly profitable companies that dominate their market segments. This includes internet advertising.

A new era of personalised advertising?

However, Google does not currently plan to display advertising in its advanced artificial intelligence model called Gemini. At the same time, it is testing the deployment of advertising in AI mode, which could gradually replace the current form of Googling for more and more users.

In the case of other forms of AI, however, the deployment of hyper-personalised advertising may only be a matter of time. During Christmas, The Information published a report that OpenAI is already discussing the possible form of advertising in ChatGPT. These considerations are reportedly driven by the tech company’s desire not to rely solely on revenue from paid features and commercial contracts. After all, only five per cent of its 800 million regular users are paying customers.

In addition, the company has huge investment plans, with plans to spend a trillion dollars in the coming years to develop its business. OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman sees the company’s IPO as one possible solution to the capital intensity of its plans. Analysts speculate that this could happen at the end of 2026, but Altman does not specify these assumptions.

However, according to his words for the Big Technology podcast, he realises that OpenAI would come under even greater scrutiny if it went public. This would also mean greater pressure on profitability from shareholders, for whom the idea of placing advertisements in ChatGPT could represent an attractive prospect for improving the financial performance of a company that has been loss-making until now.

Don’t forget about cookies

While the ingenious combination of language models and advertising is still a question for the future, marketers and publishers should not lose sight of some seemingly forgotten phenomena, even in 2026. Their industry will continue to be significantly affected by the issue of third-party cookies, which Google committed to phasing out in Chrome almost five years ago. In the spring of 2025, however, it ultimately backed down from its plan, stating that it would leave users with the existing option to access cookies in their privacy settings.

As a result, however, the entire market finds itself in a “strange hybrid state,” as was stated at the recent Adform summit. Some players are deploying new technologies, while others are trying to hold on to the old ones, even though their value is rapidly declining, practically overnight. However, a similar characteristic of the digital market may also be seen in the coming years in connection with the possible boom in artificial intelligence.

Source: mediaguru.cz

PRIMA+ NEARLY DOUBLED ITS VIEWERSHIP LAST YEAR, DRIVEN BY REALITY SHOW ZRÁDCI

The prima+ video platform recorded 200 million video views last year. This is almost double the number compared to the previous year. The reality show Zrádci (The Traitors) attracted the most viewers.

The prima+ streaming platform almost doubled its number of views last year . According to an official statement by the operating company FTV Prima, it recorded over 200 million video views in 2025, compared to 113 million in 2024. The most watched programme last year across all tariffs was Zrádci. In second place in terms of number of users was the new series of Ano, šéfe! and in third place was Farma Vojty Kotka. The most successful films of last year across all tariffs on this platform were the Czech films Kouzlo derby, Holka od vedle and Zápisník alkoholičky.

The Prima Group achieved an overall daily share of 26.78% (15 ) and 24.98% (18–69) in linear TV broadcasting in 2025. The share in prime time last year was 26.05% (15+) and 24.65% (18–69). The best months of 2025 for the Prima Group were October and April. Throughout the year, the most popular programmes among viewers in CS 15 were new in-house productions such as Polabí, Mladá krev, Kamarádi and Farma Vojty Kotka.

CNN Prima News recorded the highest growth among Prima Group stations and on the television market as a whole last year. It achieved an all-day share of 2.60% (15 ), which represented an increase of 0.64 pb compared to 2024. The most successful month was October, the election month, with a share of 3.40%. Prima Krimi also grew. More here.

Source: mediaguru.cz

THU IN 2025, DESPITE THE DECLINE, DEFENDED ITS LEADERSHIP, GREW NOVA

The ranking of TV groups by share of viewership did not change last year. Despite the decrease in the share, Czech Television defended its top position in audience group 15. In prime-time and in younger audience groups, the Nova group won. CNN Prima News recorded the highest growth of all stations.

Czech Television remained the most watched TV group in the universal audience group over 15 last year. It recorded a share of 29.29%, but this was down by more than one percentage point year-on-year. In prime time 15 and in all other crucial audience groups 15-54 and 18-69, TV Nova defended its lead in both day and evening viewing. This is according to official ATO-Nielsen viewership data.

At the same time,the Nova group improved the most of all TV players in 2025. It increased its share in all key target groups across all day and prime-time. It posted the highest increases in its primary 15-54 group, both in primetime and throughout the day.

The Prima Group was able to improve its share in the wider over-15 audience group in the evening last year. In its main audience group 18-69, it defended its result from the previous year in the evening, but fell behind by 0.3 percentage points in the full day. Overall, it was the third strongest TV group.

Televize Seznam continued its growth in 2025. It did well in both daytime and prime time. It had already reached 2.16% in its crucial 18-69 group.

Atmedia also improved its performance in all-day broadcasting last year. The Óčko group also increased it slightly.

The TV Barrandov group confirmed its better result in the 15-54 audience group last year.

CNN Prima News’ Jumper of the Year

Of the individual stations, CNN Prima News had the highest year-over-year increase. Its share increased by 0.64 percentage points to 2.6% in audience group 15 . Interest in national news was reflected in the growth of news station ČT24, which increased its share by 0.49 percentage points to 4.62% in 2025. The third channel with the highest year-on-year growth was the main channel TV Nova. It improved by 0.4 percentage points to 18.03%. The top 5 highest growing channels are also Prima Krimi and Televize Seznam.

TOP 5 stations with the highest growth in 2025 (CS 15 )

CNN Prima News: 0.64 pp. to 2.60%
ČT24: 0.49 pp. to 4.62%
Nova: 0.44 pp. to 18.04 %
Prima Krimi: 0,40 pp. to 4,41 %
Televize Seznam: 0.39 pp. to 2.05 %

However, the top three domestic TV stations have not changed in 2025. The number one channel is the main channel TV Nova, ahead of the main channel ČT1 and the main channel TV Prima. The growth in share earned the new Prima Krimi channel, which last year leapfrogged ČT2, into the top five.

Source: mediaguru.cz

CNN PRIMA NEWS GREW THE MOST OF THEMATIC STATIONS LAST YEAR

Political events, both domestic and international, and social developments were reflected in the growth of news TV stations’ ratings last year.

News TV stations gained the most of all thematic TV stations last year. CNN Prima News posted the highest share growth in 2025, according to ATO-Nielsen data. Its share increased by 0.64 percentage points year-on-year to 2.60% in audience group 15 . The second fastest growing was ČT24 with a 0.49 percentage point increase in share to 4.62%. The third highest growth was recorded by the group’s main channel Nova (by 0.44 pp, to 18.04%).

The top five largest channels by market share in 2025 were joined by the leading trio of TV Nova, ČT1, TV Prima and then by Prima Krimi, behind ČT24. The latter increased its share last year by 0.40 percentage points to 4.41% (15 , full day).

More on the development of the viewership of TV groups and individual TV stations is presented here.

Source: mediaguru.cz

MEDIA 2025: THE EMERGENCE OF ONEPLAY, THE FIGHT FOR THE CZECH AND THE CZECH ONLY AND THE FEARS OF AI

Uncertainty about the impact of artificial intelligence, potential regulatory changes, changing user behaviour and a volatile and spillover advertising market are increasing pressures on the survival of media companies.

The year 2025 was another year of systemic change and conflicting trends for Czech media. On the one hand, after long debates, the funding of public service media was strengthened, while on the other hand, immediately after the autumn parliamentary elections, a political debate opened up about the complete abandonment of licence fees. The new shift in the VOD and TV market was set off by the emergence of the Oneplay platform in the first quarter, some ownership changes in media houses took place and part of the market faced existential problems. A major concern about the impact on business models and the viability of online media has been the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and its advanced functionality, particularly in internet search, resulting in a decline in website traffic. However, the impact of AI on content creation and user behaviour is also a question mark. This will undoubtedly be a topic that the media will be grappling with in the new year of 2026 and beyond.

A key legislative event was the adoption of a major media amendment, which increased TV and radio fees from May, while expanding the range of payers. The amendment was intended to stabilise the financing of Czech Television and Czech Radio at a time of rising costs and declining real value of fees. At the same time, it provoked a strong political and social response. The incoming coalition of ANO, SPD and the Motorists declared its intention to abolish the fee system and change the financing of public media during the year. However, it is not yet clear how. However, the intention has raised fears of weakening the independence of public service media, which representatives ofCzech Radio, Czech Television and President Petr Pavel have repeatedly warned against.

A major change has hit the TV and VOD market. In the spring, the Oneplay service was launched, combining pay-TV service O2 TV and online video service Voyo into a single platform and creating the strongest pay-TV offering on the market by combining IPTV and streaming. Oneplay quickly established itself, expanded its sports rights and gradually rose to the level of familiarity of the original Voyo. In addition, the Nova Group took 100% ownership of O2 TV at the end of the year, strengthening its position in paid sports content. In response to this move, rival Prima+ platform announced its intention to expand its premium programming and look for cooperation with other operators. However, the Prima group itself has undergone significant personnel changes during the year. The global VOD market is clearly moving towards consolidation, with too many services in the satellite market no longer economically sustainable. So far, the best chances in the competition for the Warner Bros. Discovery, which includes HBO Max (the service reverted to its HBO brand mid-year, which it had previously abandoned), is Netflix. More mergers or acquisitions can be expected to follow.

The club of Czech billionaires acquiring media was expanded in the second half of the year by Pavel Tykač, who acquired a half stake in media group Mafra alongside current owner Karel Pražák. Time will tell to what extent this is a longer-term ownership split, but a 50% stake does not give either side much room for manoeuvre. Overall, the transaction confirmed the continued consolidation of the media market and the increased interest of strong business groups in strategic media. At the same time, Mafra divested Ticketportal prior to this acquisition, clearing the portfolio of non-media activities.

At the same time, 2025 was a challenging year for smaller TV players. The A 11 group, which operates, among other things, the eponymous national television station, went into insolvency, OK TV suspended broadcasting and TV Barrandov is trying to complete its restructuring and emerge from bankruptcy, which complicates the planned capital injection by the new owner.

The year 2025 was a turning point for the radio market. The launch of new networks for the digital DAB standard opened up opportunities for expanding radio distribution, to which all major private station operators(Active Radio, Media Bohemia, Radio United Broadcasting, Londa) gradually responded. Public Czech Radio was already broadcasting in DAB before 2025.

Overview of selected media events in 2025

January

Seznam.cz acquired a one-third stake in the publishing house Reporter magazine. The transaction was connected with the transfer of Robert Čásenský, editor-in-chief and founder of the Reporter magazine, to the head of Seznam Zpravy.
The transfer of Londa, operator of Impuls, Český Impuls and RockZone 105.9 radio stations, to Mafra has been finally completed. Londa, previously owned by the owner of Mafra, has become its subsidiary.
A study by the ResSolution Group highlighted a significant decline in regular news consumption since the pandemic. Up to a quarter of users actively avoid news, according to the research.
After Matyáš Zrno took over as head of Aktuálně.cz, the editorial staff was significantly changed, some familiar faces left and the editorial team was strengthened by new writers.

February

IPTV and cable reception became the most widespread way of watching TV in the Czech Republic, overtaking terrestrial reception. This was revealed in data from ATO-Nielsen’s Continuous Research.
České Radiokomunikacehas launched a nationwide commercial digital radio broadcasting network , DAB , which Radio United Broadcasting Group was the first to enter.
BigBoard increased its direct and indirect stake in Praha TV to 80% and effectively became its sole owner.
Media Club expanded its portfolio by selling advertising on the FAST channels of the Sweet.tv streaming platform, strengthening its offering in the CTV advertising sector.
Seznam.cz began using its own artificial intelligence tool SeLLMa to aggregate articles and discussion topics.

March

A new service , Oneplay, launched on 10 March, bringing together O2 TV and Voyo under one brand.
The Chamber of Deputies approved in the third readinga major media amendment to the Czech Television, Czech Radio and TV and Radio Fees Acts. It also included the abolition of compulsory registration of vloggers with the RRTV.
The Publishers’ Licensing Rights Manager (SLPV) was granted permission by the Ministry of Culture to enter into licensing agreements with global platforms such as Google and Meta.
RRTV granted IFIS Acquisition II a licence to operate TV Barrandov.
Czech Television has announced that it will suspend the broadcast of several journalistic programmes on ČT24 from April due to cost savings.
Netmonitor research has expanded to include data from multinational platforms and has started to regularly publish the landscape of the internet market.
Platform prima+ announced a significant expansion of premium content and further investment in original content.

April

Google finally backed away from its planto block third-party cookies in Chrome, leaving users with a choice.
Jaromír Soukup returned to front of camera after leaving TV Barrandov with the online format Attention Soukup! run by JSF Holding.
The Londa Group has joined the Czech Radiocommunications’ full-screen DAB network.
Publico.cz, a new online news project founded by Veselin Vačkov, was launched.
The ATO decided to expand TV viewership measurement to include viewing outside the home and in second homes from 2026.
Prima launched a new Sunday journalistic programme, Context. It wanted to attract viewers of 168 Hours, which had ended on public television.
Active Radio expanded the Evropa 2, Frekvence 1 and Bonton brands into full DAB broadcasting.
SPIR confirmed Gemius as the supplier of Czech internet traffic measurement company NetMonitor for the next five years.

May

The CT Council dismissed Director General Jan Souček on the grounds of violation of the CT Act and announced a new selection procedure.
A major media amendment came into force, modifying the system of TV and radio fee payments for households and companies.
CNN Prima News signed a new five-year contract with CNN International.
Google unveiled new advertising AI tools and its intention to expand into other countries in the field of artificial intelligence.
Petr Šimůnek transferred his stake in Forbes Czech Republic to the majority owner and finally withdrew from Forbes.
The TN Live news service has expanded its broadcasts to 24 hours a day.

June

The Czech Television Council elected Hynek Chudárek as the new Director General after his opponent Milan Fridrich withdrew from the election. He became deputy DG responsible for programme, content and digital services.
The daily Právo was introduced to readers in a smaller format and in a new graphic design by Studio Najbrt. The change was also related to the transfer of printing to Mafra Print.
Mafra agreed with the international company AS Piletilevi PLG to sell Ticketportal in order to focus more on media activities.
Bigboard chairman Richard Fuxa announced his intention to exercise his pre-emption right to buy a majority stake in the company from JOJ Media House.
The new owner of Playboy magazine is HFC Play from the CCS Premium Trust group . It bought the company from the Prima group.

July

Warner Bros. Discovery returned its streaming service to the HBO Max name and ended its two-year use of the Max brand.
Centrum.cz launched an endless stream of news on its homepage, similar to Seznam.cz.
Media Bohemia entered DAB digital broadcasting and announced further expansion of its station portfolio.
Seznam.cz established cooperation with the Demagog.cz project, which has become part of the ethics assessment of advertising messages.
Londa expanded its digital offer by adding the station Gold Impuls to the Czech Radiokomunikacije’s nationwide DAB network.

August

The High Court annulled the decision on the reorganisation of Media Master due to doubts about its profitability for creditors.
Czech Media introduced a self-regulatory ten-point rule in the context of the entry into force of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA).
Both Nova and Prima announced the launch dates for their new autumn key series Bratři a sestry and Polabí.
The new free-to-air children’s TV channel TraLaLa entered the Czech market.
Oneplay gained access to Canal Sport sports channels thanks to a deal with Skylink.

September

Czech Television adjusted its management structure and created a newly integrated Program and Digital Services division, headed by Milan Fridrich.
PPF Group terminated its investment in German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 and offered its stake to media group MFE.
BigBoard Prague made changes in its management, with J&T Arch Investments becoming a new shareholder.
Czech Television published its Memorandum of Operations for 2026-2030, in which it committed to maintaining the number of channels and strengthening original programming. Czech Radio also published its memorandum.
The Vlny.cz project launched paid access to selected video podcasts.
The Prima Group made changes in its top management, with Marek Singer moving to the position of chairman and Lukáš Kubát becoming CEO.
Media Bohemia has expanded the range of its stations in digital broadcasting.

October

TV Nova became 100% owner of O2 TV and expanded its portfolio of sports channels to include Oneplay Sport (formerly O2 TV Sport).
The upcoming government coalition ofANO, SPD and Motorists announced its intention to abolish public media licence fees.
Google has launched AI Modesearch in the Czech Republic basedon generative artificial intelligence.
The A 11 Group fell into insolvency and at the same time the ownership structure of the company operating A 11 TV changed.
A study by the EBU and BBC highlighted the high error rate of AI assistants’ responses when dealing with news content.
TV Nova has issued crown bonds to finance further development.
OK TV suspended its broadcasting again. This time for up to three months.

November

Kaprain, owned by entrepreneur Karel Pražák, and Tymeprax, owned by Pavel Tykač, concluded an agreement to split ownership of the Mafra media group. Thanks to the agreement, Pavek Tykač acquired a half stake in Mafra.
Seznam.cz launched the social network Lidé.cz.
Nova Gold was renamed Nova Krimi, completing the change in programming focus.
At the Forum Media conference, President Petr Pavel warned that the changes to the funding of public media could threaten their independence.
TV Prima confirmed the preparation of a third series of the detective reality series Traitors as a key premium format.
Seznam.cz owner Ivo Lukačovič announced legal action against Andrej Babiš’s statements.
Antik Telecom’ s Music Box TV offer includes several thematic variants. They are to replace the ending MTV.
BigMedia launched a network of digital outdoor screens PlayOn.
The investigative video project PastVina was launched.

December

Expert conferences highlighted the fundamental transformation of SEO due to AI and the shift to search everywhere optimization.
The publishers’ licensing rights manager entered into its first licensing agreement with monitoring company Toxin.
SPIR analysis revealed a significant drop in traffic to Czech websites after the introduction of AI Overviews.
Netflix announced its intention to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (including HBO) and to link streaming services and catalogues. However, Paramount has stepped in and is trying to turn the situation around.
Czech Television has objected to the remarks made by presenter Václav Moravec. Tensions between the Czech Television management and the presenter increased after an interview in Deník N, in which the presenter criticised the Czech Television management.
The Prima group has stopped filming the series ZOO Nové začátky and announced a change of strategy towards shorter series.
The Paramount Network and most of MTV’ s music and lifestyle channels ended in the Czech market at the end of the year.

Source: mediaguru.cz

THE MOST WATCHED SHOW ON NOVA.CZ IS LOVE ISLAND

On the Nova.cz website, they accounted for more than a third of all reality show views last year. Of these, Love Island is the most watched, followed by Bachelor.

Video content on the Nova Group’ s online platforms reached hundreds of millions of views during 2025. A total of 72.46 million video views were recorded across tv.nova.cz, HbbTV and mobile apps. Of this volume, 25.26 million views were of reality shows, which accounted for approximately 35 percent of the total viewership of video content on this platform.

The most watched programmes on tv.nova.cz were mainly reality formats. Love Island reached 6.40 million views, Bachelor recorded 5.28 million plays, Survivor 5.25 million and Extreme Makeover 4.11 million views.

The news website TN.cz reported an even higher volume of video content. In total, 233.08 million video views were recorded, with an additional 362.76 thousand views via HbbTV. A separate category was sports videos, which reached 10.38 million views on TN.cz.

The Nova Group published the results online as part of its annual balance sheet. It also said that last year’s milestone for it was the launch of Oneplay, the largest streaming service in the Czech Republic, with which viewers spend an average of 5.7 hours a day.

Source: mediaguru.cz

NEW YEAR’S EVE ON TV NOVA, TV PRIMA AND ČT1 MARKED BY SPECIAL PROGRAMS

The largest domestic television stations have prepared special editions of their entertainment programs for the evening of the last day of 2025.

TV Nova will broadcast a special edition of Televizní noviny on New Year’s Eve. The program will offer entertaining content, including appearances by characters from the series Comeback, and will highlight selected moments from the station’s programming.

The broadcast will also include “bloopers” from TV Nova programs and series, as well as examples of slip-ups and failed shots from Televizní noviny. The program will also offer a solemn remembrance of personalities who died during the year.

TV Nova will broadcast New Year’s Eve TN on December 31 at 7:30 p.m. It will be followed by the New Year’s Eve specials Na lovu (8:35 p.m.) and Možné je všechno (9:55 p.m.). After midnight, there will be a concert by Michal David at the O2 Arena to celebrate his 65th birthday.

TV Prima will also feature New Year’s Eve specials of its established programs. Starting at 8:25 p.m., it will first offer a special edition of the program Inkognito and then, at 10:25 p.m., a special edition of Partička.

The main channel of Česká televize also has New Year’s Eve editions of its programs on the schedule. At 7:40 p.m., it will broadcast New Year’s Eve Zázraky přírody, at 8:45 p.m. Všechnopárty, and at 9:40 p.m. a compilation from StarDance Tour… když hvězdy tančí on New Year’s Eve.

New Year’s Eve evening broadcast

ČT1

18:40 Výborná show
19:40 Zázraky přírody
20:45 Všechnopárty
21:40 StarDance Tour… když hvězdy tančí na Silvestra
00:01 New Year’s greetings
00:04 U muziky na Silvestra
00:55 Silvestrovské Banánové rybičky

TV Nova

19:30 New Year’s Televizní noviny
20:35 Na lovu: Silvestrovský speciál IV
21:55 Možné je všechno! Silvestr
00:00 New Year’s toast
00:02 Michal David i O2 Arena
01:50 The best of Tvoje tvář má známý hlas

TV Prima

18:55 Hlavní zprávy
19:40 Krimi zprávy
19:55 Showtime
20:25 Inkognito – Silvestr 2025
22:25 Prima Partička Silvestr
00:00 New Year’s toast 2026
01:45 Svatá čtveřice

Source: mediaguru.cz

FACT WARNS ILLEGAL STREAMERS FOLLOWING JOINT INVESTIGATION WITH POLICE

The Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) has contacted more than 1,000 people across the UK, warning them to stop using illegal TV streaming services or risk prosecution.

FACT said the emails and texts follow investigations carried out with police forces nationwide and form part of its wider effort to raise awareness of the risks linked to unauthorised streaming.

The organisation warned end users they are not anonymous, and said viewers who access illegal streaming services may be liable for criminal offences, including under Section 11 of the Fraud Act 2006.

The campaign follows the recent case of Jonathan Edge, from Liverpool, who was jailed for his role in running an illegal streaming service. Edge was sentenced to 3 years and 4 months in a prosecution supported by FACT and Merseyside Police. FACT said Edge’s own use of the unauthorised service was treated as a separate offence, resulting in a concurrent sentence of 2 years and 3 months, underlining that criminal action can extend beyond suppliers to end users.

FACT said that during investigations into Edge and into operators of another illegal streaming service, police seized customer details from people who had bought access to so-called “loaded” Firesticks, Android or Kodi devices. Those customers have now been contacted directly, warning them of the dangers of continuing to use illegal services.

FACT chairman Kieron Sharp said the campaign was designed to make clear that end users are breaking the law and face “real” risks, including criminal liability, scams, viruses and harmful content, urging people to use legitimate providers.

T/DCI Alethea Fowler of the Tarian Regional Organised Crime Unit said end users face risks including loss of personal data and potential fire hazards, while also funding serious organised crime. She said the unit would continue working with partners including FACT to identify distributors and bring them to justice.

FACT thanked its law enforcement partners, including Merseyside Police, Tarian and the North East Regional Organised Crime Unit, for supporting efforts to tackle wider criminal networks linked to illegal streaming.

Source: broadbandtvnews.com

PARIS COURT ORDERS WIDER LIGUE 1 PIRACY BLOCKS

The Paris Judicial Court has issued 2 rulings in favour of the LFP (French Professional Football League) and LFP Media, extending efforts to block illegal streaming of Ligue 1 and Ligue 2.

The decisions, issued December 18, cover the blocking of websites and IPTV services unlawfully carrying the matches, and also target tools used to bypass ISP restrictions, including VPNs and alternative DNS services.

French regulator Arcom says 66% of internet users who use illegal solutions rely on VPNs or alternative DNS to circumvent blocking measures implemented by internet service providers.

In a first, DNS4EU will be required to implement blocking measures under the court’s orders.

The LFP and LFP Media said the rulings would allow them to broaden their anti-piracy strategy to include a wider set of technical intermediaries involved in the distribution chain, and build on measures already secured against ISPs, certain alternative DNS services and search engines.

They added the approach is designed to protect rights while supporting the legal market for watching Ligue 1 McDonald’s and Ligue 2 BKT, as part of a wider strategy carried out alongside clubs, broadcasters and distributors.

Source: broadbandtvnews.com

PF 2026

The Association of Commercial Television + ScreenVoice wish you a peaceful and relaxing holiday season in the company of the stories and tales you love the most.

Merry Christmas.

TV JANUARY: PREMIERES ON CZECH TV, THE END OF THE SERIES ZOO, THE RETURN OF THE SERIES VYPRÁVĚJ AND CHALUPÁŘI

January will bring only a few premiere shows to TV screens. On the contrary, some more archival titles will return.

January is traditionally a weak season for commercial TV stations, which is why there are few premiere titles on their evening broadcasts. These, on the other hand, will be added to the main programme of Czech TV from the beginning of January. However, ČT1 will also have a lower number of premieres in prime-time next year than in previous years due to previously introduced savings.

The main TV news of the new year will be the show Peče celá země, which starts on Saturday 3 January, and new episodes of the crime drama Místo zločinu Zlín. The opening episode will be offered by ČT on Monday 5 January 2026. The new episodes will be followed by the series Kamarádi (Prima) at the beginning of the year. However, this is basically the end of the list of premieres of dramatic works in the first time window from 20:00.

Mondays on TV Nova and TV Prima will be marked by reruns of the detective series Specialisté (Nova) and Polda (Prima), Wednesdays and Fridays will be marked by Vyprávěj (ČT1) and Sundays by Kriminálka Anděl (Nova). Tuesdays and Thursdays will again remind of Chalupáři (Nova) before Bratři a sestry appears for its last season, and Prima is also waiting for the return of Polabí, which is fitting Czech films into the series’ usual time slot.

Next up is the foreign series Inspektorka Candice Renoirová (ČT1), again on Tuesdays and Thursdays. From the foreign productions, the Slovak crime series Neuer will also be presented, which will occupy the Sunday evening airtime. In January, ČT will also include a rerun of the series Pustina as well as the series Četnické humoresky.

Nova continues with the reality show genre on Wednesdays in the form of Výměna manželek and the dating show Bachelor Česko.

A change from last year will be made to the order of the shows in prime-time, when after the end of the daily series ZOO, Prostřeno (Prima) returns to the time from 18:00, preceded by reruns of Ano, šéfe!.

Announced news from commercial television stations Nova and Prima can be expected in the coming months of the new year.

Source: mediaguru.cz

AKTV SELECTION OF THE MOST FAVOURITE SHOWS FROM THE CHRISTMAS PROGRAMME OF COMMERCIAL TV

This year, you can also look forward to fairy tales, popular films and specials of popular shows on commercial TV channels. Enjoy a fairy-tale-like Christmas, in the warmth of your home, surrounded by your loved ones, and start quietly 3️⃣ – 2️⃣ – 1️⃣ RIGHT NOW!