You can watch big-name Hollywood blockbusters, the latest TV series and interesting documentaries in just a few clicks. How much? Is Netflix, Disney+ or Max better? And why subscribe to VOYO? We’ve prepared a list of the 10 most popular platforms in the Czech Republic with their subscription prices and tips on what they offer.
Streaming services are technically called VOD services after video-on-demand. They experienced their biggest boom during the coronavirus, when people couldn’t go to the cinema and generally stayed at home a lot, but their popularity is still growing. Especially with their own production of series and films. You can download the app to your TV, computer and phone.
It does have one drawback though – if you want to watch more of the flagship shows that are the talk of the town, you have to subscribe to multiple services, sometimes three. For example, you can watch Czech Iveta on Nova’s VOYO, the historical-erotic series Bridgerton on Netflix, and Pixar’s animated series on Disney+. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Below you’ll find a list of the 10 most popular services in the country.
Czech Television stations recorded the highest share of the TV market in the universal audience group over 15 years of age in the first half of the year.
The cumulative share of Czech TV stations exceeded 30% in the over-15 audience group in the first half of 2024 and was the highest among all domestic TV groups. It accounted for 30.49% of all-day broadcasting, which was 0.4 percentage points higher than in the first half of 2023.
In the universal 15+ group, Prima achieved the second highest share in the first half of the year. Its aggregate share decreased slightly year-on-year, which is true of rival group Nova.
Nova remains number one in its primary audience group 15-54 and also has the highest share in the 18-69 audience group.
Growth continues for the Atmedia representation, which broke through the 6% mark in the first half (15+, all day). Television Seznam also reported a slightly better result than in the first half of the previous year.
Czech Television also remained narrowly first in prime time 15+. In the younger viewer categories 15-54 and 18-69 in the evening time, Nova was the strongest group.
Private TV stations have achieved groundbreaking preliminary rulings. Major operators have had to cut off access to several file-sharing repositories.
Customers of several operators, including Vodafone, T-Mobile, and O2, are experiencing problems loading the Datoid, eDisk, and SledujteTo internet storage sites. Under standard conditions, these sites are unavailable for most clients, but this is not due to technical problems. The reasons are legal actions by private TV stations following long-standing copyright infringements by repository operators.
Members of the Association of Commercial Television (AKTV) – TV Nova and TV Prima – have applied to the Regional Court in Brno to issue a preliminary ruling ordering six operators to block access to specific domains.
“We only take the most severe measure, a motion to block the entire domain, when we have exhausted the milder options for protecting our members’ copyrights. This was the case for both eDisk and Datoid,”
Klára Brachtlová, President of AKTV, explains in an interview for DigiZone.
It was Datoid that drew attention to the recent preliminary ruling. “It is absolutely unbelievable that it actually happened in a democratic society that a judge decided to make the service unavailable to several millions of users without the service provider being able to defend itself in any way and to express its position (it was done with immediate effect while the Court of Appeal will probably not rule for several months!),” the service provider wrote in an official statement.
“We understand the commercial broadcasters’ interest in protecting their copyrighted works, and we have always and promptly satisfied their requests to remove the reported content – but we have also always fought to ensure that the rights of our users are not harmed (e.g. when user content was repeatedly reported as infringing even though it didn’t infringe anything, just had the same name as the current series),” says Datoid.
However, AKTV has a very different opinion on Datoid’s alleged willingness. Klára Brachtlová reminds us that since January last year, an amendment to the Copyright Act has been in force, which introduced the obligation to “notice and stay down”.
“This means that when a copyright holder calls and reports that they have a copyright in a film, TV show or music album, the repository operator has an obligation to prevent the distribution of the copyrighted content through its service. This means not only deleting all reported copies but also putting in place technical measures to ensure that the work can no longer be publicly shared or uploaded at all,” she adds.
According to Brachtlová, commercial broadcasters are first trying to reach an out-of-court settlement. They call on the operators of the storage sites to take measures under the law. The association even offers to cooperate with them on technical solutions, such as automatic filters. “However, a number of repositories continue to claim that their obligations under the current legislation are limited to removing a specific reported file, and that closes the whole matter for them. However, this has not been the case since at least last year’s amendment, and it was not entirely the case before,” continues the Association’s President.
If the repository is not willing to come to an agreement, the next step is to take the operators to court where the commercial stations seek protection for specific series or shows.
“In other words, we require repository operators to ensure that our members’ works are not available on their service. In the first phase, which was the case with eDisk and Datoid, we sought judicial protection for specific works, not blocking the entire service,”
adds Klára Brachtlová.
Although the court ruled in favour of the commercial TV companies, the operators ignored the decision, and enforcement proceedings followed. At this stage, the repositories are gradually imposed fines that can total millions of Czech crowns. However, some operators do not pay these fines because they are officially destitute. Instead, they look for ways to avoid the preliminary ruling, for example by changing the operator to another entity, sometimes outside the EU, or by changing the domain.
“In the case of Datoid, the operator did not collect mail from the data box, did not comply with the preliminary ruling and the enforcement procedure has had no results because the bailiff has not been able to identify any assets. Beyond our duties, we even urged Datoid to voluntarily comply with the court’s order before the enforcement procedure was initiated – all in vain,” says AKTV’s President, explaining what preceded the blocking of the domains.
The eDisk repository tried an evasive manoeuvre with a formal move to Seychelles. “I don’t know who their advisor is, but it is a mistake to think that this will grant them impunity. In this situation, we had no choice but to seek the blocking of the domain,” adds Klára Brachtlová.
The preliminary rulings list the Czech and Slovak domains of the three repositories where copyright infringement is taking place and commercial TV stations have exhausted other instruments. “We are suing the operators to deny their customers access to the addresses where the court finds there is a legal reason to do so,” Brachtlová explains. At the same time, this resolves the situation where the storage is not on a Czech domain.
However, blocking access to a domain is not a one-size-fits-all solution. The repositories are not parties to the proceedings because the operators are the defendants, so they cannot challenge the preliminary rulings. However, Datoid moved to another URL immediately, and eDisk and WatchTo have also launched alternative addresses.
In addition, the preliminary rulings apply to only six selected internet service providers out of almost two thousand. And the repository is actively and very specifically advising users how to technically bypass the measures to get back on the site. AKTV is aware of the technical limits but is convinced that most ordinary users will be discouraged by these steps.
“Even on the new Datoid domain, we have tracked down more than 100 works of our members that are there illegally just by a random, quick search. We are also determined to crack down hard and uncompromisingly on these tactics with all available means,” says AKTV’s President in response to the latest developments. Among other things, commercial broadcasters are irritated by the business model of repositories that incentivise users to upload files with various rewards and/or collect money for faster downloads. In addition, foreign copyright works are ‘wrapped’ in advertising.
“The repositories are now referring to this as being like cancelling an entire bus route because of two stowaways, but they got themselves into this situation by their own attitude. Because if we go by that analogy, they drive and operate the bus without regard to traffic laws, and despite numerous calls, they don’t respect traffic lights or stop signs. And such a driver will eventually have his or her licence revoked after exhausting less strict measures such as fines and penalty points. It is exactly the same with the operators of the repositories,” says Klára Brachtlová, referring to Datoid’s reaction.
Finding and reporting links costs time and money. “Just to give you an idea, every day broadcasters send hundreds of links to about ten so-called repositories where copyright infringement is most common on the Czech internet. I dare say that all repositories are aware that much of illegally shared content is found on their services,” adds the President of AKTV.
The Association would therefore welcome a more automated mechanism. For example, in Greece, France, Italy, and Lithuania there are blocking authorities that can intervene faster than the courts against illegal content. In Western Europe, for example, this is how they deal with illegally streamed sports matches. Czech politicians, however, are not too keen on this approach.
The chair of the Czech Pirate Party’s parliamentary club was upset by the current shutdown of domains. “I understand that the courts block unauthorised films and fine companies for that, but to shut down normal user data is too much! And I will adequately propose the abolition of the absurd fees of a few percent of the price of mobile phones, computers, and memory because they are fees for nothing. Downloads of copyrighted works have been greatly reduced and many more people pay for Netflix, Spotify, and YouTube, so I don’t know why they should pay 100 million a year for nothing,” said Jakub Michálek.
Commercial broadcasters remind that illegal access to protected works is a criminal offence and a number of uploaders have already been convicted and ordered to pay millions in damages.
“Our experience shows that where there is a will, there is a way. The excuses of many repositories that the demands of our members are not realistic and that it is technically impossible to ensure filtering of our members’ content are not true. Our cooperation with FastShare.cz and Fastshare.cloud clearly shows that the protection of our copyrights can be ensured in cooperation with the repository operator. We firmly believe that other repositories will join FastShare soon,”
adds Klára Brachtlová, referring to a promising example.
As Europe gears up for major sporting events like UEFA EURO 2024, the Tour de France, and the Olympic Games in Paris, the European Union faces concerning trends in illegal sports streaming and counterfeit sporting goods. According to EUIPO data, millions of EU citizens access or stream sports content from illegal online sources while fake sports equipment cost manufacturers €850 million per year. This poses a substantial threat to the financing of sports, as revenues from legitimate broadcasts are critical for the support of sports organisations and athletes.
Young people more likely to stream sports illegally
According to the EUIPO’s IP perception study, 12% of EU citizens access or stream sports content from illegal online sources. This number rises to 27% among young people aged 15-24 with 47% of Bulgarian youth admitting to such activities. This is followed by Spain and Greece at 42%, Slovenia at 39%, and Ireland at 34%.
According to the EUIPO’s study on online copyright infringement, streaming is the most common method to access illicit TV content – 58% of piracy in the EU occurs via streaming and 32% through download.
Impact of counterfeit sports goods
According to the EUIPO’s Intellectual Property and Youth Scoreboard, 10% of EU youth age 15-24 admit to purchasing fake sporting equipment intentionally. Conversely, 7% of young European consumers have bought counterfeit items by accident.
The impact of these counterfeit sales in the EU is substantial, causing an estimated total loss of €851 million annually – equivalent to 11% of the total sales in the sector – according to EUIPO calculations. France, Austria, and the Netherlands experience the highest monetary losses, amounting to hundreds of millions of euros each. In terms of proportional impact, Romania, Lithuania, and Hungary suffer the most, with counterfeit sports equipment accounting for up to 20% of total lost sales in each country.
Furthermore, the EUIPO’s studies suggest that fake goods also pose significant health risks due to non-compliance with safety standards and environmental protection standards as indicated by the EUIPO and OECD study on dangerous goods.
Fighting live-event piracy and IP infringement
Across the EU, countries and affected parties are combatting live event piracyand counterfeiting relying on regulations and technology to block illicit online services. The European Commission has adopted two recommendations on the topic: one on combating online piracy of sports and other live events, which established a network of dedicated national administrative authorities, and another to combat counterfeiting through increased enforcement and awareness to which the EUIPO contributes through dissemination, implementation and monitoring efforts.
In addition, awareness raising plays an important role in tackling piracy by helping consumers find legitimate digital content. An example of this is the EUIPO’s Agorateka, a tool that helps viewers identify legal offers for online content, including sporting events.
Targeting counterfeit goods in Europe
Law enforcement across Europe has intensified efforts against counterfeit goods. Operation Fake Star , targeting counterfeit sporting and luxury goods, resulted in the seizure of 8 million counterfeit items valued at €120 million and the arrest of 264 individuals. The operation, coordinated by Europol and led by Spanish and Greek police along with the active participation of agencies and authorities from 18 countries, uncovered not only counterfeiting but also organised crime activities such as smuggling and money laundering.
Cooperation is key in fight against piracy
As global sporting events attract millions of viewers, the EUIPO emphasises the importance of intellectual property rights in maintaining the integrity and financial viability of sports. These efforts are crucial in protecting the sports industry and ensuring that revenues continue to support athletes and sports organisations. As the EU continues to tackle these challenges, the cooperation of consumers, authorities, and the sports community will be vital in promoting fair play both on and off the field.
A man who fled to Cyprus before being extradited to the UK has been jailed for his part in an illegal TV operation.
Michael Hornung (40) was sentenced to four years and six months?in prison for advertising and selling specially configured television set-top boxes. The devices allowed access to subscription services from Sky, BT and Virgin Media without payment to the provider.
Hornung had previously been sentenced in his absence in June 2022 after fleeing the UK for Northern Cyprus.
On June 2, 2024, Hornung was arrested in Cyprus by Cypriot authorities following a collaborative effort between FACT and the National Crime Agency (NCA). The NCA facilitated arrangements for his extradition and, after an in-country extradition hearing, Hornung consented to return to the UK.
FACT began investigating Michael Hornung in April 2014 after intelligence revealed he supplied set-top boxes that enabled unauthorised access to subscription television content. With assistance from Greater Manchester Police, FACT identified Hornung as the operator behind NoHatsNoTrainers, trading on the online platform CS World.
Hornung’s operation ran from 2014 to 2017, resulting in a potential loss of £2 million to broadcasters and rights holders and generating approximately £350,000 in fraudulent income.
Hornung received a further 12-week jail sentence for violating the Bail Act.
New Industry Charter outlines the collective ambition and joint commitments of multiplatform TV & audio businesses worldwide.
egta, the international trade body for multiplatform TV and audio businesses, proudly announces the launch of its Industry Charter, marking a significant milestone in its 50-year history. Unanimously adopted by over 180 companies across more than 40 markets, this landmark document outlines a visionary roadmap for the continued success of multiplatform TV & audio in today’s rapidly evolving media industry.
A Collective Vision for Multiplatform TV & Audio
The egta industry charter represents a unified vision and joint commitment on behalf of multiplatform TV and audio businesses around the world. In an era of rapid media transformation and fragmentation, egta members are dedicated to leading the industry forward with confidence and purpose.
The charter focuses on five priorities that are key to multiplatform TV & audio companies thriving in tomorrow’s media and advertising landscape:
Official Launch: An Open Invitation for Collaboration
The egta Industry Charter was unanimously adopted at this year’s Annual General Meeting and announced last week during egta’s 50th Anniversary CEO’s and Top Execs’ Summit in London.
egta invites all industry partners who share its values and ambitions to join this transformative journey. By aligning around these key priorities, egta aims to foster collaboration that drives long-term growth and sustainability for multiplatform TV and audio businesses.
“The celebration of egta’s 50th anniversary called for symbolic and meaningful initiatives. Redefining egta as the international trade body of multiplatform TV & audio businesses was an essential first step. Defining and agreeing on five key priority areas where to concentrate our efforts, align on definitions, standards and ambitions and inviting industry-wide collaboration around clearly identified objectives seemed like the obvious essential thing to do. As an industry organisation, we are proud of this achievement and hope that we can all, as partners, contribute to the future success of our sector.”
Katty Roberfroid, Director General at egta
Industry Leaders Endorse the Charter
The vision and goals outlined in this charter were developed through a series of working groups with valuable contributions from industry leaders and senior media executives who shared their valuable expertise. The charter has the support of all egta member companies, as well as the Global TV Group and the World Radio Alliance.
Experts and thought leaders from various markets have expressed their support and enthusiasm for the egta industry charter. They have shared their thoughts on the charter and its five key priorities – see quotes below.
“We are living in times of abundance and, at times, confusion. Our media now takes many forms, available any time and on any device. Some digital platforms wish to establish themselves as media outlets, without assuming any editorial responsibility and without contributing to the creation and production of reliable and verified sources of information. This civic duty is what lies in our DNA and we remain committed to it.
This is why we believe it essential to reiterate what sets us apart, the values that drive us and the benefits that these values bring to our clients’ business. This charter is also our roadmap – at a time of media convergence, our industry has work to do to optimise the vast audio/video playing field, to make it actionable for our clients, and to do so with the right KPIs and with complete transparency.”
Laurent Bliaut, egta President and Deputy Director General, TF1 Publicité, France
“TV and radio have long been the proven media in our industry, and we intend to continue this legacy. As we evolve into multi-platform entities that encompass linear broadcast, streaming, mass reach, and data-driven targeting this brings both opportunities and complexities. Despite new competitors and increased scrutiny on ad spend, TV and radio continue to offer unparalleled advantages for advertisers of all shapes and sizes. By collaborating across markets, we can address these challenges head-on – egta’s charter is therefore an essential initiative for aligning our standards, values, and ambitions. I wholeheartedly support this charter and by all partners embracing it, we can and will set out a path to innovation, growth, and a sustainable future for multiplatform TV and audio.”
Jamie West, Independent Consultant & Former Deputy Managing Director, Sky Media UK
“The egta charter is a strong collective act. It highlights a shared vision of the strengths and commitments of our audiovisual media. It reflects our common challenges and also symbolises our actions in terms of innovation, as well as our desire to co-construct the best offer for brands and advertisers.”
Cécile Chambaudrie, President, NRJ Global
Creating Quality Experiences
“At Paramount we maximise the strength of our premium content, unique global scale and expertise to provide top quality experiences for our audiences and advertisers. Our brand-safe platforms are held to high creative and commercial standards, meeting viewers’ increasingly high expectations as well as brands’ business objectives through original and bespoke solutions.”
Lee Sears, President, International Markets Advertising Sales, Paramount, US
“The evolution of TV to a multiplatform, linear and streaming world is fascinating and provides audiences with greater content, stronger entertainment, better information, and provides advertisers with enhanced opportunities and incredible, safe contexts for their brands. In this fast-evolving world, we as an industry are thrilled to deliver this charter to show to our clients, tech partners and regulators our commitments to stronger collaboration, innovation, and leadership.”
Fabrice Mollier, President, CANAL+ Brand Solutions, France
Improving Measurement
“TV businesses around the world invest huge sums in curating an optimal environment for advertising. This investment creates a high value exchange for audiences, ensures the resulting high view-through rates of TV ads, produces the costly signals that drive credibility for brands, and secures the audience scale required for mass, effective reach. Audience measurement is the means to express the value of this investment to advertisers and, as TV evolves, so too must its measurement. egta’s industry charter is an important document. It outlines the shared ambition of TV businesses around the world to ensure that measurement not only keeps pace with change but also, crucially, that it continues to reflect and express the value created by investing in a high quality, curated environment for advertisers.”
Matt Hill, Director of Research & Planning, Thinkbox, UK
“Improving Measurement is an essential pillar of this Industry Charter. Why? Because accurate and comparable measurement will remain key in earning a place in an advertiser’s media mix. Radio and TV have a proven track record, and we will continue to champion transparency and independent audits to provide a precise and trusted view of each platform’s impact, thus driving better campaign results.”
Jan Isenbart, Chief Research Officer, ARD Media, Germany
Optimising Buying Processes
“Our focus as a radio marketer is to continually optimise the buying process. Through targeted improvements, we aim to increase efficiency, reduce costs and continuously improve quality. We rely on innovative technology and data-driven solutions to provide our customers with a seamless and superior buying experience. In order to achieve this across the industry – and even beyond national borders – we need to share information and standards so that we, and our service providers, can continue to evolve. Radio/Audio should remain an easy-to-book mass medium and continue to successfully assert itself in the competition between media genres.”
Andreas Lang, CEO, Studio Gong, Germany
Participating and Promoting in ESG
“European TV and radio marketers have long been a essential pillar of our democratic social and societal values by recognising and fulfilling their media responsibility. This sense of obligation needs to be strengthened and expanded, not only because of the increasing regulatory requirements, but also because of various disruptive social signals. The five priorities of the new egta Industry Charter now address the key challenges of contemporary sustainability requirements around ESG education, transparency, impact and collaboration and provide an excellent basis for further steps.”
Steffen Johann Hubert, Lead Sustainability, Seven.One Media, Germany
Proving impact & Effectiveness
“We empower media brands with tailored solutions, innovation, and collaboration, ensuring effectiveness for our members. We focus on delivering data-driven insights that drive commercial goals, especially by continuously highlighting measurement tools’ importance and fostering future looking industry collaboration. Last but not least, through focus on ESG, we promote a greener, more inclusive industry, prioritizing sustainability, responsibility and diversity.”
Stella Litou, CEO of Pro Plus and RTL Croatia
About egta
egta is the international trade body of multiplatform TV and audio businesses, representing more than 180 members in over 40 markets. egta members are multiplatform TV and audio businesses that sit at the intersection of traditional TV and radio and digital video and audio platforms. Multiplatform TV and audio bring together linear and on-demand services, across all screens and platforms.
egta’s mission is to enable members to flourish and grow as they connect their audiences and services with brands, contributing to a healthy and sustainable media industry. egta is a knowledge-sharing and innovation hub for its members and the broader industry. Through its unique network of experts, egta fosters collaboration and engages with policymakers, driving the industry forward through benchmarking, alignment on standards, and cooperation.
50 Years of egta
This year, egta celebrates its 50th anniversary – half a century of resilience, cooperation, and progress, and an opportunity to reflect and adapt for the years ahead. Established in 1974 as the European Group of Television Advertisers, egta has undergone profound growth and transformation. Today, the egta membership has grown to include over 180 multiplatform TV and audio companies across Europe and beyond, with 12 new members joining the network in the last year.
To mark 50 years of evolution and growth, egta recently unveiled a refreshed visual identity to reflect the dynamic media landscape of its diverse membership. The rebranding journey involved a new logo, tagline, definition, mission statement and visual identity, plus the launch of a brand-new website with a fresh new look and feel.
Representatives of the private media sector do not like the new form of the draft media amendment. They see the wording of the accompanying Memorandum, which is supposed to describe more precisely the tasks of public service media, as essential.
The commercial media also have reservations about the modified draft of the major media amendment, which has so far appeared to be a step towards a compromise solution. According to Echo24.cz, private media have even sent a letter to Prime Minister Petr Fiala expressing their “categorical disagreement” with the amendment. In it, they allegedly said that the draft media amendment contradicts EU rules and the principle of treating the funds of concessionaires as a good steward. According to the server, the letter was signed by representatives of the private radio market, such as Jiří Hrabák (Rádio Impuls), Martin Hroch (Radio United Broadcasting) and Marek Singer (FTV Prima).
The modified draft of the big media amendment was presented in mid-May, but the representatives of the commercial sector have not yet categorically commented on it. Even at the Digimedia conference held on Thursday 13 June, there was no harsh criticism. Their statements at the conference indicated that they disagreed with some points of the amendment and that they envisioned modifications to the amendment, but they did not mention the sharp disagreement addressed to the Prime Minister.
Representatives of the private media on Digimedia spoke of how they now consider the key issue to be how the role of the public service in television and radio broadcasting will be specified in the accompanying Memorandum. The creation of the Memorandum is just part of the preparations for a major media amendment that is expected to bring more revenue to Česká televize and Český rozhlas from TV and radio licence fees. Commercial players have said that they consider the text of the Memorandum to be key to maintaining the principles of the dual broadcasting system for the coming years.
“We have been saying from the beginning that we are in favour of the dual system. So we want to create a field of action for public service media and we want to discuss ways of financing public service media. However, advertising revenue is existential for us, which is why we want to be present at the creation of the memorandum,” Klára Brachtlová, president of the Association of Commercial Television (AKTV), told the conference. She did not want to specify which programmes or formats ČT should or should not broadcast. “Public service television should produce formats with social overlap, in the public interest and for minorities. However, I consider it a problem when the cost of sports rights makes up 30% of the budget for the production of programmes. At the same time, the cost of these rights is 30% higher than the cost of news and journalism and 50% higher than the cost of drama production. This is a problem,” she described.
Jan Souček, director general of Czech Television, responded by saying that Czech Television is obliged to broadcast events of considerable social importanceunder the 2001 Act on the Operation of TV and Radio Broadcasting. The accompanying decree of the Ministry of Culture includes, for example, the Olympic Games or the World Cup in football and the World Cup in hockey, or, among others, all matches of the Czech team at these championships.
According to the general director of Radio Impuls, Jiří Hrabák, a media landscape is currently taking shape that offers new opportunities for the creation and dissemination of media content. “The private sector has the right to know on which field it will play. It is necessary to secure the rules of operation for the private sector as well. It should be clear how broadcasting will operate,” he said. He reiterated that defining the role of the public service media is essential for discussions on funding. “We do not want to discuss how much to increase the fee. That is a political decision and the responsibility of parliament. We want it to be clearly stated what the public gets in return. But here the procedure has been the opposite. I don’t know whether a CZK 10 increase is too much or too little. I do not know what the public’s idea of a public service is. Perhaps the fee should be increased by CZK 50 or by nothing. Has there been a big expansion of the public service? Is there a need? Should it be bigger or smaller?” Hrabák asked. In his opinion, the state should ensure the development of the dual system for the next 10 years. In his view, a smaller role for commercial media in the dual system could also threaten media pluralism if a strong public service media turned into a media dominated by the ruling political force.
The media amendment proposed by the Ministry of Culture foresees an increase in the radio fee by CZK 10 to CZK 55 per month and the television fee by CZK 15 to CZK 150 per month. The amendment is expected to be considered by the government in June. According to the plan presented so far, its text should head to the Chamber of Deputies before the parliamentary recess. The proposal foresees that it should enter into force at the beginning of 2025.
Joint call to ensure that creative & cultural industries’ content is more widely accounted for when designing policies and programmes within a dedicated Directorate in DG CNECT:
We are writing to you on behalf of a coalition bringing together Europe’s leading media, publishing, cultural and creative organisations and associations.
Digital policy affects the competitiveness of our sectors. With important discussions on the table including media viability, combating misinformation, artificial intelligence, protection of intellectual property and the behavior of online platforms towards our sectors it is vital that our entities’ perspective is properly considered.
During the 2019-2024 Commission, DG CNECT has been at the centre of policy-development to help make Europe fit for the digital age. The Media Policy Directorate (in charge of effective and coherent implementation of the EU media acquis, including the EMFA, AVMSD and copyright instruments), has played an important role in this context. Being part of DG CNECT has helped ensure a cohesive approach with synergies between different workstreams (for example: AI, platforms policy, future networks), all of which profoundly impact our sector.
It is essential that this joined up approach is maintained /continued in the new European Commission. Having a broad representation of all our sectors in DG CNECT allows these sectors to have an interlocutor in the key DG in charge of these crucial files. A dedicated and well-resourced Media/Cultural Industries directorate in DG CNECT, at the core of the European Commission’s policy-making activities is key to delivering the right outcomes for European creativity, diversity and competitiveness.
We also call upon DG CNECT to ensure that all creative content is taken into account when designing policies and programmes. We welcome structural continuity with increased representation as we prepare for the next mandate. This will be essential if we are to succeed with a coherent and effective regulatory framework that guarantees the sustainability of the sector.
We hope this Call will be heard and that the European Commission will take account of this as it deliberates its strategic choices.
This message is supported by the following trade associations and companies.
Abbro – Association of Bulgarian Broadcasters
ACT – Association of Commercial Television and Video on Demand Services in Europe
AER – Association of European Radios
AKTV – Czech Association of Commercial Televisions
Atresmedia
bTV
BTV
beIN SPORTS France
Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA
CANAL+ Group
CME – Central European Media Enterprises
Danske Medier
egta – international trade body of multiplatform TV and audio businesses
EMMA – European Magazine Media Association &
ENPA – European Newspaper Publishers’ Association
EPC – European Publishers Council
FEP – Federation of European Publishers
Liuks!
LNK
Lnk.lt
Markiza
MFE – MediaForEurope N.V.
News Media Association
NME – News Media Europe
NDP Nieuwsmedia
PopTV
ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE
ProTV
RELX
RTL Group
STM – International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers
The year 2023 was the first full year in which anti-video measures were no longer in place. People didn’t feel as much need to spend as much time with media as they did in covidu, on the other hand, advertisers’ uncertainty was unblocked. We summarise how the different media and media types stood in our infographic.
The media types with the highest monthly engagement in the Czech Republic remain internet and TV. Their monthly reach exceeds more than 8 million of the population. However, other media, i.e. radio and print media, are still above 7 million people in monthly reach. This is evident from the data of the audience surveys of these media for 2023 or the second half of 2023.
However, compared to 2022, the reach of each media type, with the exception of the internet, declined slightly last year. However, for all media, including the internet, time spent with media decreased last year. This can be attributed to a return to “normal” after the covid pandemic subsided. This is also evident in the decline in the viewership of news media such as CT24, news websites and public service radio stations, which, on the other hand, had strengthened during the covid period.
On the other hand, the retreat of the covide was reflected in the revival of the advertising market, whose monitored advertising investment in each month of 2023 exceeded the previous year.
More detailed information on the position of media types in 2023, as well as the most watched media, can be found in the infographic below, or downloadable in the attached pdf document.
Optimistic reports of ever-increasing numbers of new subscribers in the country are likely to be greatly distorted, believes Erika Luszicsa of Axocom.
Television piracy does not avoid richer, or let’s say more developed, countries. Swedish company Mediavision has come up with a surprising survey. It brings rather unflattering data that a quarter of the respondents in the Nordic countries commit TV piracy. In the survey, 25% of respondents aged 15 to 74 admitted to having downloaded or illegally streamed a movie, TV series or live sports broadcast at least once in the last month. In concrete numbers, this means that five million users committed piracy in one month.
The survey also reports that the number of households using illegal TV services has increased by 16 percent year-on-year. This is a total of 1.3 million households that “pay” for access to hundreds of TV services and streaming platforms.
“Piracy is a problem in the Nordic countries. Financial pressure on households combined with across-the-board price increases for legal alternatives are behind its growth,” commented Natalia Borelius from Mediavision on the results.
What does this report mean for the Czech Republic? It is safe to say that the often published optimistic reports of ever increasing numbers of new subscribers in the country are likely to be highly cartoonish. On the other hand, those who have illegal access to these services are likely to be far greater in number. However, our survey last year revealed that 60% of users of streaming services share their passwords with work colleagues and friends.
This year’s Digimedia conference will focus on public service media funding, terrestrial broadcasting and pay TV, and digital networks for commercial radio.
Not only for TV or radio receivers, but also for internet connections, there should be a new TV and radio fee. At least if Parliament approves the government’s amendment to the law on licence fees, which, in addition to increasing the fees and indexing them to inflation, also introduces a new definition of a licence holder. The draft amendment will be one of the topics of the 19th annual Digimedia 2024 professional conference, which will take place on Thursday 13 June at the Congress Hall of Česká televize in Prague’s Kavčí Hory district.
The debate will be attended by the directors general of Czech Television Jan Souček and Czech Radio René Zavoral, the European Broadcasting Union’s (EBU) director of regulatory and legal affairs Richard Burnley, the president of the Association of Commercial Television Klára Brachtlová, the director general of FTV Prima Marek Singer and the director general of Óčko Štěpán Wolde.
There will also be a discussion about the development of terrestrial television broadcasting and how it competes with pay TV. The panel will include Marek Ebert (ČTÚ), Jiří Grund (APMS), Miloš Mastník (České Radiokomunikace), Petr Míl (FTV Prima), Nikola ChrenčíkováPařízková (Digital Broadcasting), Michaela Suráková (Atmedia), Josef Uher (TV Nova) and Petr Vítek (MIT).
The topic will also be artificial intelligence, which will be discussed by Marek Doležel (Česká televize), Petr Mrzena (Česká televize), Martin Mužík (Newton Media), Petr Očko (MIT), Lucie Oravčíková (TV Nova), Martina Poliaková (Český rohlas), Marcel Procházka (České Radiokomunikace), Josef Šlerka (UISK FF UK) Jakub Unger (Seznam.cz) and Tomáš Večeřa (FTV Prima).
The discussion will also cover digital networks for commercial radio. The speakers will be Jacqueline Bierhorst (WorldDAB), Jiří Duchač (Czech Telecommunications Office), Pavel Hájek (Fiera touch), Jiří Hrabák (APSV), Václav Ježek (RTIcz), Jan John (Play.CZ), Jakub Juhas (Broadcast Services), Marcel Procházka (České Radiokomunikace), Miroslav Pýcha (Joe Media) and Karel Zýka (Český rozhlas).
More information about the Digimedia 2024 conference, program and registration can be found here.
The Czech hockey team’s ride to the finals helped CT Sport to significantly increase its share of viewership, which also earned the Czech TV stations’ overall share in May. This was felt especially by the strongest commercial TV stations.
Thanks to the hockey World Cup and the golden success of Czech hockey players, the share of Czech TV stations increased significantly year-on-year in May. As a result, CT stations became the most watched in all major audience groups in both daytime and prime time.
The aggregate share of CT stations in the universal 15+ audience group reached 34.57% in May, up four percentage points from last May. In prime time, it reached 36.78%, up 7.4 percentage points. As most of the Czech national team matches were played in the evening, the increase in prime-time is even more noticeable. It is most pronounced in the younger audience group 15-54, which is targeted by the Nova group. This is the group that felt the hockey championship the most. CT has improved its prime-time performance in 15-54 by almost 11 percentage points year-on-year.
In addition to the Czech TV stations, Atmedia’s representation improved year-on-year in May, continuing to increase its share.
Share of TV groups, full day, May 2024
Source: ATO-Nielsen, TV Live+TS0-3 as of 4 June 2024
Share of TV groups, prime-time, May 2024
Source: ATO-Nielsen, TV Live+TS0-3 as of 4 June 2024, prime-time = 19:00-23:00
CT Sport’s Jumper of the Month
The sports channel CT Sport recorded a share of 11.59% in May, improving by 5.5 percentage points year-on-year (valid for 15+). This was clearly the highest increase of all domestic channels. The thematic stations Prima Krimi, Prima Love, Nova Action and Nova Lady continued to increase their share slightly in May.
May’s show was the hockey final
The most watched programme in May was the hockey final between Switzerland and the Czech Republic, which was watched by an average of 3.3 million viewers (15+) on TV alone. The other top programmes also attracted attention – the USA-Czech Republic quarter-final was number two (2.2 million) and the Sweden-Czech Republic semi-final was number three (1.98 million).
