Over the course of the previous year, the Atmedia sales house that represents nearly 30 thematic television channels in our market, did celebrate a notable success. Adhering to its long-term goal of fostering the market for thematic TV channels, the company achieved its portfolio expansion. Moreover, there was a discernible surge in audience share, coupled with an increased enthusiasm for thematic television channels.
Last year’s audience share of thematic television channels, which Atmedia represents on the Czech market, did achieve a noteworthy 5,9% in the 18–69 target group. Impressively, this figure surpassed the 6% milestone for five months. Collectively, Atmedia’s thematic channels reached out to an average of 5,4 million TV viewers aged 4+, constituting 58% of the entire TV audience. Viewers who tuned in to any of the thematic television channels did spend an average of 1 hour and 13 minutes in front of its screen per day.[1] ‘Last year, our audience share witnessed a nearly one-percentage-point increase, approaching the 6% mark. One of the reasons was the expansion of our portfolio of thematic television channels at the beginning of the year,’ explains Michaela Suráková, Managing Director at Atmedia. She also emphasises that in March last year, the company took on the representation of two new TV channels – the Free-to-Air channel Spektrum Home, and the Pay-TV channel CANAL+ Action.
‘Another contributing factor to the rise in audience share was the increasing interest in certain thematic TV channels from the viewers themselves,’ claims Michaela Suráková. Last year, TV channels like CS History, Eurosport 1, FilmBox Stars, and Rebel, did achieve a year-on-year success. ‘For instance, Eurosport 1 increased its audience share by almost 30%,’ adds Michaela Suráková, providing a specific example. She observes that viewers actively sought sporting events, including cycling races and Grand Slam tournaments, with Roland Garros drawing in almost 580,000 viewers aged 4 and above.[2]
‘Czech films did garner a significant success among viewers of movie and series Pay-TV channels,’ continues Michaela Suráková. She underscores the fact that local productions are often the Czech audiences’ primary preference. Notably, FilmBox TV channel’s movie, ‘Prvok, Šampón, Tečka a Karel’ emerged as one of the most-viewed ones, while CS Film’s fairy tales broadcast during the Christmas holidays, such as ‘Pyšná princezna’, garnered significant viewer interest. ‘When it comes to documentary channels, the consistently popular programs traditionally revolve around documentaries on World War II, as well as those exploring space and various mysteries,’ she further adds.
Atmedia Kicks Off the New Year With 24 Measured Thematic TV Channels
Last year, Atmedia demonstrated a notable success in TV ad sales, delivering a comparable amount of GRPs to media agencies and advertisers as it did in 2022. ‘The commercial space on our thematic television channels was nearly fully booked throughout the entire year. Following the trend of other TV market players, we did opt to increase the television advertising price by 15–20%. Simultaneously, we decided to shift the target audience from 15–69 to 18–69, allowing us to provide our clients with a notable uptick in GRPs by several percents,’ announces Michaela Suráková, while reflecting on Atmedia’s sales policy from October last year.
Atmedia currently serves as the commercial representative for 24 measured thematic television channels, encompassing both Czech and localised channels affiliated with global media companies. Among the Czech channels are Rebel, Relax, and channels from the ČSFS group (CS Film, CS History, CS Mystery), along with Televize Seznam. Atmedia collaborates with international television groups such as Warner Bros. Discovery (Discovery Channel, Eurosport 1, TLC), AMC Networks (AMC, Film+, Minimax, Spektrum, Spektrum Home, Sport 2, TV Paprika), CANAL+ (CANAL+ Action, FilmBox, FilmBox Stars), Walt Disney Company (Disney Channel, National Geographic), and Antenna Group (AXN). Additionally, Atmedia holds a significant position within the portfolio of the Slovak television group JOJ (JOJ Family, JOJ Cinema).
Top-Rated TV Channels’ Evaluation and Mapping Out of Subscription-Based VoD Services
In addition to their core functions of TV ad sales and advancing thematic television channels, Atmedia is also actively involved in other initiatives and projects. This year, Atmedia is set to unveil the three top-rated TV channels that garnered the highest ratings from their viewers, taking into account factors such as programme quality, variety and selection of programme offer, or even visual broadcast quality. Previous results revealed ČT Déčko, Prima ZOOM, and National Geographic claiming the top three positions. ‘In addition to evaluating the quality of television channels, we also regularly conduct research on Pay-TV and subscription-based VOD market, as part of our standard Atmedia Index survey study,’ explains Michaela Suráková. She further notes that the streaming service market has been very dynamic in recent years. ‘We do offer our clients freely available studies to help them navigate the local paid VOD service market, covering market dynamics, customer segments, or various subscription models,’ concludes Michaela Suráková.
[1] ATO – Nielsen, Live + TS0–3, 2023, Share, TG 18–69, Reach 000, Reach, ATSR/day, TG 4+, Atmedia + AMC Networks + Seznam.cz TV, calculation: 2. 1. 2024
[2] ATO – Nielsen, Live + TS0–3, 2023, Reach 000, TG 4+, Eurosport 1, Roland Garros, live broadcasts
