2015 is likely to be an eventful year for the TV industry in Central and Eastern Europe.
In Russia, it will begin with pay-TV operators and international content providers locked in talks about how best to handle the dramatic fall in the local currency and new advertising ban on non-terrestrial channels. It seems almost inevitable that the content providers will raise their fees, with the increases being passed on to subscribers and/or operators deciding to withdraw some channels from their line-ups.
It will be interesting to see what solution Modern Times Group comes up with to the challenges it now faces in Russia. Will it be happy to reduce its stake in CTC Media, as required by upcoming legislation, or sell up? Having already closed the DTH platform Raduga TV, will it chose to focus solely on its thematic channel business, which it has already confirmed will be expanded in Russia in 2015?
Also in Russia, it will be interesting to see how MTS’s new DTH platform shapes up in a market dominated by Tricolor TV and, to a lesser degree, Orion Express. HD services are growing rapidly in the country, thanks in no small part to the DTH sector, and progress in Ultra HD can also be expected in 2015.
Elsewhere in CEE, we will no doubt be waiting with anticipation to see if Vodafone does indeed buy Liberty Global and what effect this will have on the cable industries of no fewer than six key regional markets.
It’s been reassuring to see UPC introduce Horizon gradually in those markets in 2014 and by the end of the upcoming year all are likely to have the full service available.
Hungary felt like something of a conflict zone in 2014, with RTL Klub locking its horns with the government over a controversial new TV ad tax. Things are likely to come to a head in 2015, and it can only be hoped that a positive resolution is found.
Meanwhile, in Poland we will see TVN, one of the country’s two leading commercial broadcasters, change ownership. It looks increasingly likely that the buyer will be one of the ‘heavyweights’, such as Time Warner.
The latter is, of course, already a major player in the region through its majority interest in Central European Media Enterprises (CME). Its stations have had a torrid time in the last few years but are finally starting to turn the corner financially. Their recovery is likely to continue in 2015.
While there will probably be no specific markets to look out for in 2015, there will almost inevitably be a lot of activity in Poland and Russia. The same will probably be true in parts of the Balkans (Serbia, Romania), less so the Baltic Republics.
All in all, we have a lot to look forward to in the New Year.
