Documentary genre has been a staple of television programming since the early years of television. It does present the viewers with factual insights into significant figures, places, or events, allowing them to delve into and explore important topics. It is most certainly no wonder that the documentary TV channels are quite highly favoured among the Czech television viewers. Documentaries do constitute 4% of the total time spent in front of the TV screen by Czechs aged 15–69.
Documentary TV channels have always had a primary focus on history, politics, nature, and society, but they now also cover a wider range of modern topics such as sports, travel, health, economics, and social media. “Documentaries in all their shapes and forms do help other people grasp and better understand the world, whether that is trying to understand historical topics or contemporary issues such as climate change, social affairs, or events that are taking place in other parts of the world,” explains Tatiana Bizovová, Channel Account Manager at Atmedia. She further highlights, “Documentary channels do usually cater to a specific theme, targeting specific groups of people with some specific interests. For instance, while Nat Geo Wild appeals to nature and wilderness enthusiasts, history buffs do tune in to channels like CS History or Viasat History.”
Czech TV viewers do have a choice of approximately twenty documentary channels, most of them available through Pay-TV operators’ offer. These include channels like Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, History Channel, National Geographic, and Viasat Nature.
Six Documentary Channels Do Compete in a Fierce Ad Investment Battle
While there are around twenty documentary channels on the Czech market, only some of them do take part in the official electronic audience measurement and do sell their advertising space in the official television currency – GRP. “The past decade has witnessed the documentary TV market gradually filling up – following the trend seen in other segments of the television industry. A significant milestone occurred in 2013 with the market entry of free-to-air channels Prima ZOOM and CS Mystery, formerly know as KinoSvět. Prior to that, the market was primarily dominated by Pay-TV channels such as National Geographic and Spektrum. In 2018, CS History – formerly WAR Svět válek – joined the Pay-TV documentary channels’ party, and in 2020, Discovery Channel entered the official electronic audience measurement,” explains Tatiana Bizovová.
Right now, there are six measured documentary channels broadcasting on the Czech market. Prima ZOOM falls under the umbrella of the Prima TV Group, while CS History and CS Mystery do belong to the Slovak JOJ Group. The remaining documentary channels are localised versions of multinational media companies – Discovery Channel is part of the Warner Bros. Discovery, National Geographic is being part of the Walt Disney Company, and Spektrum falls under the AMC Networks portfolio. Apart from Prima ZOOM, Atmedia handles the advertising space sale for all these documentary TV channels.
Documentary Channels Commonly Known as So-Called Niche Channels
“An increasing number of documentary channels proves that the viewers do show a genuine interest in these channels as well as in documentary shows in general,” says Pavel Müller, Atmedia’s Head of Research & Marketing. Documentaries do constitute 4% of the total time spent in front of the TV screen by Czech viewers aged 15–69. Similarly to sports broadcasts, men do tend to seek out documentary programmes more than women.While men aged 15–69 dedicate 5% of their time in front of their TV screens to documentary shows, for women, it’s only 3%.[1] “With a regard to the individual documentary channels’ viewership, it varies, for example, depending on whether a particular channel is broadcasted through terrestrial multiplex or only through Pay-TV operators,” points out Pavel Müller. For instance, the free-to-air Prima ZOOM attracts an average of 2.7 million viewers per month, and CS Mystery does only reach over 600,000 viewers aged 15–69. The actual reach of Pay-TV documentary channels does range in the hundreds of thousands of viewers – for example, National Geographic attracts an average of over 400,000 viewers aged 15–69 per month.[2]
According to Pavel Müller, Pay-TV documentary channels fall into the category of the so-called niche channels, which target a specific audience. “Just like the sports channels, documentary channels provide the advertisers with a chance to reach predominantly male viewers in their productive age, while exploring some interesting topics such as technology, science, or nature.” Among the most documentary channels, men aged 25–54 do account for roughly one-third of all viewers aged 15–69, though some channels have an even higher proportion. For example, Discovery Channel attracts 70% of men in the 25–54 age group. Additionally, another one-third of documentary television viewers consists of men aged 55–69.[3]
World War II or Even a Documentary Reality Show
While the programming schedules of different documentary TV channels may vary, television viewership data indicates that certain topics do enjoy a widespread popularity among the audience across the various documentary channels. “Documentary channels’ viewers do often gravitate towards shows about World War II. Whether these programs delve into specific battles, historical figures, or other related subjects, they consistently rank among the most-watched ones,” says Pavel Müller. For example, only last year, the National Geographic series Nazi Megastructures did attract nearly 300,000 viewers aged 15–69. CS History also boasts highly popular series dedicated to the topic of World War II. Shows like How the Nazis Lost the War or 1945 The Year: That Changed the World were viewed by almost 100,000 viewers aged 15–69 in the past year alone.
In addition to World War II programming, there is a strong demand for various documentary reality shows. For example, the series Life Below Zero, broadcasted on Spektrum TV channel, where people strive to survive in remote parts of Alaska or Canada, captured the attention of over 200,000 viewers aged 15–69 in the past year. Comparably, Discovery Channel’s shows like Storage Hunters and Salvage Hunters achieved quite similar results. Viewers of documentary channels are also intrigued by various disaster-related programmes. One of the National Geographic’s most-watched shows is Air Crash Investigation, which attracted over 400,000 viewers aged 15–69 throughout the entire last year.[4]
[1] ATO – Nielsen, Live + TS0–3, 2022, ATS, TG 15–69, M 15–69, F 15–69
[2] ATO – Nielsen, Live + TS0–3, 2022, Reach 000, TG 15–69
[3] ATO – Nielsen, Live + TS0–3, 2022, Profile, to TG 15–69
[4] ATO – Nielsen, Live + TS0–3, 2022, Reach 000, TG 15–69, All Episodes
