The number of Czechs who do not wish to receive pay-TV services remains stable at just over 40%.
Furthermore, according to Atmedia, quoting research it undertook in the first half of this year, a third of them say that pay-TV is too expensive.
While 56% of Czech viewers aged 15-69 watch TV through one of the pay-TV operators, 44% of viewers remain loyal to digital terrestrial broadcasting and watch only free-to-air TV stations. Pavel Müller, Atmedia’s head of research & marketing, said: “From a long-term point of view, this is a relatively stable number, for example, in the first half of 2021, these viewers were 46%. Digital terrestrial broadcasting has a long-standing tradition and a stable position in the Czech Republic, which is unlikely to change in the coming years”.
A total of 62% of viewers who do not use pay-TV say that they are satisfied with DTT. “Czech viewers have the opportunity to watch dozens of television stations for free. A total of 36 of them are currently involved in the official electronic measurement of television viewership alone – from full-format to thematic”. Müller points out this is the reason why digital terrestrial broadcasting is so popular in the Czech Republic. After all, the wide range of free-to-air television stations has long been the most frequently cited reason why viewers do not pay for television reception. “However, on the other hand, the number of viewers citing this reason is decreasing year by year. Just two years ago, it was 67%, or five percentage points more than in the first half of this year.
It is also interesting to note that In the first half of 2021, there were significantly more viewers who did not want to pay for TV reception, or who considered pay -TV too expensive – 54% and 40% respectively.
Furthermore, In the next 12 months, 10% of viewers who currently only watch free-to-air TV channels plan to switch to one of the pay-TV operators. Another 24% don’t know yet, and the remaining two-thirds plan to stick with digital terrestrial broadcasting.
Last year, only 7% were considering switching to pay-TV.
