Chris Dziadul, May 23, 2024
Max debuts across CEE
Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming service Max has officially made its debut in Central and Eastern Europe. Effective May 21, it is available in Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia. Alongside this, it has also launched in Iberia and the Nordics. Max offers an enhanced user experience, more entertainment genres and double the amount of content previously available on HBO Max. Max will launch in Poland on June 11 and by July will be available in 25 countries in Europe and 65 countries and territories worldwide.
United Media and Telekom Srbija claim legal victories
The Zurich Commercial Court earlier this month rejected Telekom Srbija’s claim against companies within United Media as unfounded and ordered that the telco pay the costs of the proceedings. According to N1, in 2020 Telekom Srbija announced legal action concerning negotiations on the distribution of Sport Klub, N1 and other TV channels, which are all part of United Media. The lawsuits amounted to €2.7 million in Switzerland and up to €80 million in Serbia. However, Telekom Srbija’s CEO Vladimir Lucic says that it is considering extending the lawsuit against United Group, the owner of United Media, in Switzerland for abusing its dominant position over the last six years. It also says that United Group has lost “the most important dispute” against Telekom Srbija before the Commercial Court of Appeal in Belgrade. This was related to a contract between Yettel and Telekom Srbija on the lease of fibre-optic infrastructure.
Battle for Polish DTT multiplex place hots up
Polskie Wolne Media, which is backed Michal Winnicki’s MWE Networks, has entered the competition for a channel position on Polish multiplex MUX 8. There are three other bidders, one of which is TV Republika, with the deadline having passed on May 20. MUX 8 has near-national coverage and currently carries the channels Metro, Nowa TV, ViDoc TV, WP and Zoom TV. Two additional positions are available on the multiplex and they are not being contested by Polsat and TVN Warner Bros. Discovery, Poland’s two leading commercial broadcasters.
High illegal Czech SVOD usage
Up to 25% of users of SVOD services in the Czech Republic do not pay for them and instead share the accounts of friends or relatives. According to Atmedia, services such as Netflix, HBO Max and Disney+ are watched several times a month by 2.8 million Czechs aged 15-69, with users typically opting for 2.3 services at a time. This is equivalent to approximately 6.5 million accounts for paid VOD services. In two thirds of accesses, users pay the service provider directly, while a further 12% pay through pay-TV operators and the remainder do not pay. Atmedia notes that all services struggle with users watching content for free through shared accounts, but each to a different extent. While one of the five largest providers had 14% of such users in the second half of last year, in another it was a quarter.
Full agenda for NEM Dubrovnik revealed
The agenda for NEM Dubrovnik 2024 “presents synergy of content, telcos and technology”. The event, taking place on June 10-13, will feature 70+ expert speakers and keynotes; 145+ buyers; 44+ exhibitors (a record number); exclusive screenings and showcases; a focus on the latest technology; and network opportunities. For further details, please see: https://neweumarket.com/dubrovnik/agenda-2024/
Vodafone opts for prima+
Vodafone has become the first operator in the Czech Republic to offer its subscribers the streaming service prima+. According to the broadcaster FTV Prima, Vodafone TV customers who receive the latter’s Premium package can now watch prima+, which normally costs CZK149 (€6.01) a month, for no addition charge. The Prima+ Premium package is ad-free and includes new and older content from Prima, along with over 2,000 Czech and foreign titles, an archive of broadcast TV Prima programmes, playback in full HD and pre-premiers of selected content. Vodafone TV offers over 100 TV channels plus prima+ and starts at CZK220 a month.
Rebrand for Romanian channel
Romania’s Clever Group, which operates a portfolio of channels including Prima TV, has rebranded one of those channels – Prima Food & Travel – Prima World. On air for 24 hours daily, it is already being distributed by Digi Romania (formerly known as RCS&RDS), the country’s leading pay-TV operator. Clever Group’s channels span a wide range of genres including sports, news, movies, comedy and documentaries. It also operates nine websites, along with a complex of interconnected social media platforms.
Russian pay-TV operators look to terrestrial distribution
The Russian market for delivering pay-TV signals terrestrial grew by almost 40% to R960 million (€9.77 million) in 2023. At the same time, according to the findings of a study by Synterra Media published by Telecom Daily, the satellite distribution market grew by a more modest 2.8% but was twice as large at R1,888 million. The terrestrial market has been growing steadily over the last few years and in 2018 was worth R308 million, or only a third of last year’s total.
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© Chris Dziadul, 2024
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