APPLE SPENDS THE MOST, BUT OTHERS ARE GRABBING THE LIMELIGHT. WHAT DETERMINES A VIEWER’S VALUE?

31. 5. 2026 The highest investment in content does not automatically translate into the greatest audience attention. At the same time, streaming platforms are beginning to shift their perspective on their most valuable customers. Viewers who watch adverts and spend more time engaging with content are becoming increasingly valuable.

ADVERTISING SPEND IN THE TOBACCO SECTOR HAS RISEN SIGNIFICANTLY AND UNDERGONE A TRANSFORMATION

29. 5. 2026 AdIntel’s advertising expenditure monitoring tracks changes among the largest advertisers in the tobacco products category over the last ten years.

NOVA FOLLOWS IN PRIMA’S FOOTSTEPS. SKIPPING ADS WILL NO LONGER BE POSSIBLE ON ITS CHANNELS EITHER

28. 5. 2026 From autumn onwards, it will no longer be possible to skip ad breaks on Nova Group channels. TV Nova is including this requirement in its new terms and conditions with operators who offer catch-up services on their pay-TV platforms. This has been confirmed to Lupě by the broadcaster and also by some of the operators who have already received the contractual documentation. “The change is due to take effect on 16 November 2026. Negotiations with operators are ongoing,” wrote Zuzana Křížková, TV Nova’s corporate communications manager, to the editorial team.

PRIMA LAUNCHES STREAMING DIVISION, HEADED BY WYKRYTOWICZ

28. 5. 2026 The Prima Group sees streaming and digital content distribution as a key pillar for its future growth. It is therefore establishing a streaming division.

STREAMING VIEWERS WAIT LONGER FOR RETURNING ORIGINALS, SAYS AMPERE

27. 5. 2026 Viewing of Stranger Things rose 300% in the second half of 2025 ahead of its fifth and final season.

CZECH CONTENT ACCOUNTS FOR A THIRD OF THE TELEVISION PROGRAMME LINE-UP, BUT ACCOUNTS FOR THE MAJORITY OF VIEWING FIGURES

26. 5. 2026 In 2025, Czech and Czechoslovak content accounted for a significantly higher share of television viewing figures than its representation in the programming schedule would suggest. According to data from the Association of Television Organisations, as highlighted by Atmedia, local programmes accounted for 31 per cent of the broadcasts on the stations surveyed, but accounted for 57 per cent of the time spent watching television.

THE FACE OF THE ADVERT IS RADKO GUDAS FROM THE KAUFLAND ADVERTS, AND THE MASCOT IS THE PURINA CAT

26. 5. 2026 The Czech love of ice hockey has, for the first time, had a significant impact on advertising ratings, which have been dominated by actors for the past nine years. The highest-rated personality in advertising was ice hockey player Radko Gudas, whilst last year’s best mascot was Gourmet from the Purina advert.

NOVA ESTABLISHES AN ETHICS PANEL FOR PROGRAMMES BASED ON REAL EVENTS

25. 5. 2026 Nova is establishing an Ethics Panel, an advisory body to the Chief Executive, focused on the ethical aspects of audiovisual productions inspired by real events.

THE POPULARITY OF LIVE STREAMING CHANNELS IS GROWING, WITH MORE PLAYERS JOINING THE FRINGE

21. 5. 2026 Streaming services on the Czech market are expanding their range of live channels, which are becoming a complement to their libraries of films and TV series. SkyShowtime and Sweet.tv are adding dozens of genre-specific ‘live’ channels that offer a continuous stream of content without the need to actively select individual titles.

OTO KLEMPÍŘ VS. MARTIN BAXA: THE DIGIMEDIA 2026 CONFERENCE WILL FEATURE A ‘MINISTERIAL’ DEBATE ON PUBLIC SERVICE MEDIA

19. 5. 2026 The 21st edition of the DIGIMEDIA 2026 conference, taking place on Wednesday 3 June 2026 in the Congress Hall of Czech Television in Prague’s Kavčí Hory district, will feature a debate between the current and former Ministers of Culture: Oto Klempíř of Motoristé sobě and Martin Baxa of the ODS. Both politicians will take part in the opening discussion session focusing on the funding of public service media, specifically Czech Television and Czech Radio. It is precisely these media organisations that are affected by the draft Public Service Media Act, which was submitted by the Ministry of Culture in April and for which the inter-ministerial consultation process concluded last week. Continuation of the heated debate from TV Nova Oto Klempíř and Martin Baxa had already clashed during Saturday’s discussion on TV Nova’s ‘Za pět minut dvanáct’, with the new bill being the main topic on which both politicians did not mince their words. The debate at the DIGIMEDIA 2026 conference will offer more scope for discussion and confrontation with other guests: Marit af Björkesten, Director-General of the Finnish public service broadcaster YLE, Milan Fridrich, Deputy Director-General of Czech Television; Martina Májíček Poliaková, Director of Strategic Development at Czech Radio; Marek Singer, President of the Association of Commercial Television Stations; Jiří Hrabák, Chairman of the Association of Private Broadcasters; and David Smoljak (STAN), Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Media.

HBBTV OPENS CALL FOR SPONSORS FOR HBBTV SYMPOSIUM AND AWARDS 2026

18. 5. 2026 The HbbTV Association, the global initiative developing open standards for advanced interactive TV services delivered via broadcast and broadband networks, invites industry players to become sponsors of the 14th HbbTV Symposium and Awards, taking place on 18-19 November 2026 in Barcelona, Spain.

CME LAUNCHES A PLATFORM FOR SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE CONTENT

18. 5. 2026 During the Cannes Film Festival, the CMEmedia group unveiled a new centre dedicated to the creation of socially responsible content.

PRIVATE MEDIA OUTLETS HAVE SUBMITTED THEIR COMMENTS ON THE DRAFT BILL REGARDING CZECH TELEVISION AND CZECH RADIO

15. 5. 2026 Private media outlets are criticising the draft Public Service Media Act. They object to online advertising and the lack of regulatory safeguards.

TV PRIMA IS SET TO AIR A CZECH VERSION OF THE DATING REALITY SHOW ARE YOU THE ONE?, WHICH IS BEING FILMED IN THAILAND

15. 5. 2026 The FTV Prima Group is set to expand its range of reality shows with the international dating format Are You The One?. The Czech version of the programme is being produced for Prima TV and the prima+ platform, and is currently being filmed in Thailand.

PRIMA TV TO TAKE ‘POLDA’ AND ‘POLABÍ’ OFF THE AIR DURING THE ICE HOCKEY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

15. 5. 2026 Prima TV is adjusting its evening schedule to accommodate the ice hockey world championship. Films will be replaced by the series Polda and Polabí.

THE NETFLIX EFFECT: HOW FILMS AND TV SERIES ARE CHANGING BUSINESS, TOURISM AND POP CULTURE

13. 5. 2026 Ten years ago, Netflix expanded its services from 60 to over 190 countries worldwide in a single day. Even then, the company declared its ambition to bring “wonderful stories from around the world to the whole world”. According to the company’s management, however, its global presence has always been based primarily on strong links with local communities and markets.

CANNES LIONS: A RECORD NUMBER OF INDEPENDENT AGENCIES JOINED THE JURY

12. 5. 2026 Cannes Lions has announced the jury for this year’s festival. The jury will select world-class creative work, which will then be judged, awarded and celebrated during the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, taking place from 22 to 26 June 2026.

NAKED ATTRACTION ATTRACTED 1.3 MILLION VIEWERS; ÓČKO IS PREPARING A NEW SERIES

12. 5. 2026 According to Óčko, the first Czech-Slovak version of the dating show Naked Attraction attracted more than 1.3 million viewers and exceeded 105 million views on social media.