TV Nova (Czech Republic)

TV Nova is a commercial television station in the Czech Republic. It began broadcasting in February 1994 as the first privately held nationwide Czech TV station. Its first CEO was Vladimír Železný. It quickly achieved the largest market share in the country and remained in this position until the early 2010s. History TV Nova began broadcasting on February 4, 1994, as the first privately held, nationwide commercial television station in the Czech Republic. It quickly became the market leader, redefining Czech broadcasting with new formats, dynamic journalism, entertainment programming, and innovative marketing. It attracted a massive audience with locally produced shows and became one of the most profitable TV stations in Europe, generating profit within nine months of going on air. During the 1990s, Nova offered a mix of original local productions and popular imported foreign programming, a significant departure from the previous state-run television format. TV Nova invested heavily in locally produced content that resonated with Czech audiences. They even produced a number of comedy shows, featuring actors like Jiří Lábus and Oldřich Kaiser, alongside the creation of its own quiz show. A major point in Nova's history was the dispute between the license holder, CET 21, and its financial supplier, Central European Media Enterprises (CME). The channel also attracted some notoriety for its late-night nude weather reports ("Počasíčko"), in which a female (and later male) presenter would appear naked to present the weather. The presenter would then put on clothes appropriate to the weather being forecast. The fallout from this conflict led to an international arbitration case (CME/Lauder v. Czech Republic) that resulted in the Czech state being ordered to pay CME $353 million in compensation for failing to protect their investment. Following this, CME eventually gained full ownership of Nova. In the late 2000s, Nova expanded its services and adopted new technologies, starting with broadcasting in 16:9 in 2007, followed by the launch of a widescreen channel in 2008, and later developing a multi-channel strategy, by launching several niche channels. In response to the rise of global streaming giants, Nova launched its own streaming service, Voyo, in 2011, which has since become a key focus for investment, offering exclusive original content. The company also expanded its HbbTV (hybrid broadcast broadband TV) services. In 2020, the PPF investment group, owned by Petr Kellner at the time, acquired CME, the parent company of TV Nova, thus bringing the station under domestic ownership. TV Nova has also committed to sustainable production practices, publishing the first Green Filmmaking Manual in the Czech Republic in 2021. Today, the Nova group remains a leading media entity in the Czech Republic, consistently achieving a high market share with its wide range of channels and strong digital presence. Nova HD Starting October 2008, TV Nova is broadcast in HD via satellite, cable, and DVB-T. Currently the signal is broadcast in 1080i with a bitrate of 18 Mbit/s. Sister channels Programming Current Ulice Kriminálka Anděl Mondays 20:00–21:00 Soukromé pasti ("Private Traps") Ordinace v růžové zahradě 2 ("Doctor's office in rose garden 2") Pojišťovna štěstí ("Insurance company of luck") Comeback Nováci Every day from September 1995 to April 1996; sometimes reprised Draculův švagr Horror series, which ran short time in 1996 Robinsonův ostrov Reality series, Czech version of Survivor Former Chcete být milionářem? (2000–2005, 2016–2017) Game show, Czech version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? DO-RE-MI (1998–2004) Periodical Tipy ptáka Loskutáka (Tips of the bird Gracula) is the teleshopping section of Rady ptáka Loskutáka. The Czech Republic has a law regulation that would suggest different names. Logos CME Content Academy In 2022, TV Nova and Markíza launched the CME Content Academy, in cooperation with the Brno Television Institute. The scholarship program is funded by Central European Media Enterprises, to which both TV Nova and Markíza belong. The academy's two-year course is a professional training course designed to provide participants with a grounding across various film-making disciplines. The training is based around the production schedules of TV Nova, PRO TV, POP TV, bTV, RTL and Markíza and takes place in Brno, Prague, Zagreb, Ljubljana, Bucharest, Sofia and Bratislava. See also List of original shows by TV Nova References External links (in Czech) Official Site (in Czech) TN.cz