CME: Ownership changes in Markiza to be approved

The change in the ownership structure in Markiza Slovakia (owner of broadcasting licence), which is controlled by CME, needs to be approved by the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic and the Council for Broadcasting and Retransmission, as CME would acquire an 80% stake. The decision is expected in the upcoming week. A problem might arise due to the legal condition that an adequate stake must be held by Slovak citizens. We expect transaction approval from the Council, as we have already seen a precedent in the form of Radio Express and its US investor. This change would probably lead to changes in personnel and programme structure as TV Markiza has been loosing its ratings lately.

Changes in the reality show at its main rival, TV JOJ (the joining of the Czech and Slovak shows, VyVoleni, on 21 November) led to a decline in TV Markiza’s share during prime-time, to 22.2% from around 25% a week ago, in comparison with TV JOJ’s 30.2%, from around 23%. Changes in the reality show also helped TV Prima, in the Czech Republic, which reported record ratings of 1.98m on 21 November, in comparison to 1.3m a week ago.

The Czech Council for Radio and TV Broadcasting (RRTV) fined TV Prima CZK 13.5m, and TV Nova (owned by CME) CZK 13m, over indecent scenes from their reality shows, which represents USD 0.01 per share. The fines are the highest that RRTV has imposed for a single programme, but we expect their being challenged in court.