New channel launches are one of the few certainties in what is an otherwise unpredictable and rapidly changing TV landscape in Central and Eastern Europe.
This week alone we have learned that Digi Sport, which is becoming a key player in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, plans to launch no fewer than three more channels, bringing the total to five.
It has also been reported that in Poland Muzo.tv, a new music channel operated by Telewizja Polsat, part of Cyfrowy Polsat, will make its debut on September 26.
We can also expect to see several more launches before the end of the year, including Adventure, a new documentary channel in Poland; and possibly one or two channels from TV Barrandov in the Czech Republic.
Alongside this we continue to see international broadcasters continue to secure wider distribution for their services in Central and Eastern Europe. The streaming service HBO GO, for instance, will become available on the platforms operated by UPC DTH in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia from September 1.
However, all this comes against the backdrop of two important, though unrelated trends. The first is that the way of consuming content is changing rapidly throughout the region, with viewers now expecting to be able to access their favorite channels on mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones, as well as PCs and of course TVs.
The second is that in times of conflict TV channels can find themselves in the firing line. We need look no further than the ban on the distribution of some 14 Russian services via cable in Ukraine. The Baltic Republics, though not directly involved in the hostilities, have meanwhile felt sufficiently threatened to impose their own restrictions on the distribution of some Russian channels.
In Russia itself, the ban on advertising on cable-delivered channels that comes into effect at the beginning of next year can be perceived as a way of putting pressure on international broadcasters.
Content is certainly still king, but his throne looks increasingly shaky.
