NOVA VIEWERS WANTED MORE ORDINACE. BOŽÍ PLÁN RESPONDS TO A NEW TREND

The return of Ordinace v růžové zahradě (The Rose Garden Clinic) to TV Nova, albeit with older episodes, is a direct response to viewer demand, says Programming Director Silvia Majeská. Nova’s revised approach to Tuesday and Thursday evenings, which will feature the new series Boží plán (God’s Plan), likewise reflects changing audience preferences.

TV Nova’s autumn schedule launches in the week beginning 31 August and will introduce several new titles within its established programming line-up.

One of the most prominent changes is the return of SuperStar, which will air on the same day in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia — on Wednesday evenings.

Another change concerns Nova’s Tuesday and Thursday evening slots, which will now feature a self-contained scripted series rather than a traditional long-running production. This autumn, Nova will fill these slots with Boží plán (God’s Plan), followed, once the series concludes, by another new title, Muži v letu (Men in Flight).

Nova will also continue strengthening the connection between its linear TV offering and Oneplay. As a result, series such as Studna (The Well), Kauza Kramný (The Kramný Case), Případ Stodolovi (The Stodola Case) and Případ Janákovi (The Janák Case) will make their way to linear television, alongside older, non-premiere episodes of Ordinace v růžové zahradě 2 (The Rose Garden Clinic 2), which until now have been available exclusively to Oneplay subscribers.

Silvia Majeská, Programming Director of TV Nova and TV Markíza, explains to MediaGuru.cz why Nova opted for this particular scheduling strategy, how the broadcaster evaluates the performance of new scripted series, and how it approaches the transition of original Oneplay content to linear television.

One thing that stood out to me in the autumn schedule is the decision to place SuperStar on Wednesdays. Traditionally, the reality show has aired at weekends. Why did you choose Wednesday evening?

SuperStar is a Czech-Slovak production and will be broadcast by both Nova and Markíza. We needed to find a slot that worked for both channels because we want SuperStar to air on the same day and at the same time in both markets.

We therefore looked for a solution that would suit both broadcasters, and Wednesday ultimately proved to be the best option.

The show also includes live broadcasts, so we need to be perfectly synchronised. SuperStar has a strong social media presence as well, and we want all communication and information to go out simultaneously in both countries.

Did you consider any days other than Wednesday?

Yes, but every other day we considered presented some kind of obstacle that made it unsuitable in one of the two markets. We went through all the available options, and Wednesday ultimately emerged as the optimal solution.

Another reason is that audiences in both countries are already accustomed to watching reality and entertainment formats on Wednesdays.

For some time now, Nova has used its Wednesday prime-time slot for reality shows and factual entertainment formats such as Extrémní proměny (Extreme Transformations), MasterChef, Hell’s Kitchen, Výměna manželek (Wife Swap) and Utajený šéf (Undercover Boss).

Wednesday therefore aligns naturally with audience expectations.

If we were to schedule SuperStar on a Monday, for example, when Nova has a particularly strong line-up of crime dramas and scripted series, the show would feel significantly out of place within the broader programming context.

At the same time, I assume you also have to take into account that younger audiences in particular are more likely to watch reality shows on Oneplay.

That’s right. We use a similar model with MasterChef, which also does not premiere on Nova on the same day as it becomes available on Oneplay.

We aired MasterChef on Wednesdays on Nova, while episodes were available earlier on Oneplay. Our viewers are already familiar with this model, so I don’t think it will come as a surprise to them.

Another major addition is the Tuesday and Thursday series Boží plán (God’s Plan). It has 24 episodes and is then expected to be replaced by Muži v letu (Men in Flight), which has eight episodes, effectively covering the entire autumn season. This represents something of a departure from the long-running series that traditionally occupied these weekday slots. But what happens if Boží plán performs exceptionally well? Would it not be a missed opportunity that it wasn’t conceived as a long-running series?

We would of course be delighted if it performed very well, because an enormous amount of energy goes into preparing every new production of this kind. It is a process that takes many months and sometimes even several years.

At the moment, Boží plán has 24 episodes. If it proves successful, I believe there could certainly be an opportunity to continue the series.

So in that case, you could bring the series back with new episodes. Why did you decide to limit this initial run to 24 episodes rather than opt for an open-ended format, which has traditionally been more common in these slots?

There is a reason behind that decision.

We value the time viewers are willing to spend with us, and we try to understand their preferences as closely as possible. That is why we want to offer stories that deliver suspense, humour, romance or compelling family entertainment.

We are looking for dynamic, fast-paced series that do not require audiences to make what feels like an “endless viewing commitment”, while still providing the satisfaction of a strong and rewarding finale.

I assume one of the major draws will be the acclaimed series Studna (The Well), which until now has only been available on Oneplay but is moving to Nova’s Sunday schedule this autumn. Last autumn, you used a similar strategy with Metoda Markovič: Straka (The Markovič Method: Straka), which achieved a 25–30% audience share within your key target group. Are you expecting similarly strong viewing figures for Studna?

The scheduling of Metoda Markovič: Hojer (The Markovič Method: Hojer) last year worked extremely well. The same was true of Iveta and Extraktoři (The Extractors).

We are naturally pleased when viewers have the opportunity to see original productions on television that combine high production quality, strong local subject matter and the best creative talent in the market.

Studna was a highly successful original production, both in terms of audience interest and its reception among industry professionals and critics.

We therefore believe it will also be a very attractive title for linear TV audiences this year.

Another new feature of the autumn schedule is the return of Ordinace v růžové zahradě 2 (The Rose Garden Clinic 2) in Nova’s second prime-time slot on Tuesdays. After roughly five years, Ordinace is therefore returning to TV Nova’s evening schedule. Why did you decide to bring episodes that have been available exclusively on Oneplay since 2022 back to linear television?

Viewers explicitly asked us to bring Ordinace back to television, and this year we decided to respond to that demand.

Our research, viewer enquiries and direct feedback from audiences at our annual regional roadshow Den s Novou Naživo (A Day with Nova Live), which travels across the Czech Republic, all show that there is significant interest in these episodes.

We are aware that not every viewer subscribes to Oneplay. At the same time, we know that Ordinace consistently attracts strong viewing figures on Oneplay and has a very loyal audience base.

Broadcasting these older episodes on television gives us an opportunity to reach linear TV viewers who previously did not have access to these seasons.

How large do you think that audience could be? Do you expect most linear TV viewers to be watching these episodes of Ordinace for the first time because they haven’t seen them on Oneplay, or do you expect a significant overlap with viewers who already know them from the streaming platform?

It is very difficult to determine precisely because fans often return to programmes they have already seen. That is part of the role of linear television as well.

For example, we regularly repeat Policie Modrava (Modrava Police) because viewers actively want to watch it again.

I therefore expect a combination of audiences: viewers who have already seen these episodes of Ordinace on Oneplay and want to revisit them, as well as new viewers who will have the opportunity to see them for the first time through the linear broadcast.

There are quite a large number of episodes of Ordinace v růžové zahradě that have never aired on linear television. The autumn schedule currently has them airing once a week on Tuesday evenings. Are you considering increasing that to twice a week, as was common before the series effectively “moved” to what was then Voyo and is now Oneplay?

We certainly could, and we cannot rule out doing so in the future.

For now, we will see how Ordinace performs in linear broadcasting this autumn and make further decisions based on the results.

Source: mediaguru.cz