The crime genre has long been absent from the Nova media group 's channel portfolio. It is not that it does not broadcast detective series and a number of other programmes dealing with crime on any of its channels, but there was no outright programme that could be characterised as such. And if you know a little bit about CME's activities, in neighbouring Slovakia this is the category represented by Markiza Krimi. In this sense, the planned November reformatting of Nova Gold to Nova Krimi, which has been broadcasting crime series (among other things) for a long time anyway, is not surprising.
After all, it is also a certain defensive step against the rival Prima, which, through the mouth of CEO Mark Singer, spoke at the autumn press conference and to MediaGuru.cz about the considered transformation of the station's portfolio. Prima Krimi could thus replace the long-delayed launch of Prima Case. And considering that both Prima and Nova include these channels in their free-to-air broadcasts, the competitors came up with the transformation before Prima itself did. After all, the series Colombo, which will now air on Nova Krimi, was until recently one of the flagship shows of Prima Krimi.
Strong representation of the crime genre in pay TV
On the Czech market, crime lovers have mainly the pay stations Crime+ Investigation and ID (Investigation Discovery) at their disposal. Both of them have long been profiled on true stories inspired by crime cases, reconstructions of investigations and a look behind the scenes of the work of criminologists. While Crime+ Investigation has long been available from operators only in SD resolution, Vodafone customers will also find some of the titles from its range in HD quality in the video library. ID, on the other hand, brings viewers an internationally proven brand with a wide range of series about crime, mysteries and court cases.
The Viasat True Crime channel, which entered the Czech market last year as a dedicated documentary channel, has also newly joined the same group. With this, Viasat World complements the existing portfolio of Viasat Explore, Viasat History, Viasat Nature and Epic Drama. Its programming focuses exclusively on true crime cases, both historical and relatively recent, giving it a distinctive profile. Its broadcast schedule offers a mix of investigative documentaries, witness testimony and interviews with crime experts. In doing so, Viasat True Crime broadens the genre competition with a new take on the true crime format.
Opravdové zločiny: from the podcast to the O2 arena
As an extraordinary event of the Czech podcast scene, the O2 arena brought the Opravdové zločiny brand to the indoor scale on 24 November 2024 with the author duo Lucie Bechyňková and Bára Krčmová. The concept built on strong true crime stories, dark humour and working with large-scale visuals to bring the intimate atmosphere of the podcast to the giant space. The creators then recalled the atmosphere of the event on their channels and offered a look back in the form of special episodes and footage. The whole event ranked among the milestones of the season and confirmed the strong position of true crime on the Czech scene.
The event is described as an example that a spoken format with a distinct community can fill the largest Czech hall and change the perception of podcast as live entertainment. Reviews and reports have highlighted the nearly packed arena, the strong interaction with the audience and the functional combination of factual and light-hearted. The creators followed up by announcing a return to touring in 2025 after the "unforgettable O2 arena", confirming their strategy of alternating between big shows and regional stops. In the context of the Czech podcast scene, it was a breakthrough that strengthened the brand of Opravdové zločiny and the ambitions of other creators to target big halls.
"Folk Gourmet" Kajínek
Jiří Kajínek, considered by many to be the most famous Czech prisoner, has established himself on YouTube in recent years. His main channel, Jiří Kajínek Official, which was created in June 2017 and is followed by over 72,000 subscribers, has long since become more than just a platform for sharing personal reflections and interviews, but has gradually become part of the Czech internet scene. The most watched videos have reached hundreds of thousands of views. Despite the fact that for many people the amnesty of Kajínek is still a thorn in the side of many people, the controversial figure of Czech social life has mined the public interest in his favour and the future chance to profit from his brand commercially.
This summer, Kajínek added a new project to the main channel called Kajínkův gastro svět, but it no longer enjoys such interest. The effort to become a "people's version" of Zdeněk Pohlreich has so far brought only less than seven thousand subscribers and only in two cases an order of magnitude of tens of thousands of views. As Jiří Kajínek himself states, on his new channel he travels across the Czech Republic, testing restaurants, fast food joints and unexpected "gastro treasures" and assessing everything in an informal, often light-hearted way. According to the channel's annotation, it's not just about food, but also about experiences.
Source: mediaguru.cz