Prague - The gradual introduction of digital TV broadcasting may reduce the dominant position in the Czech TV market currently held by commercial station Nova.
Nova's main competitor, Prima, has signed a contract with broadcast provider České radiokomunikace that will expand the channel's coverage to 99.6 percent of Czech households by 2011. With today's analogue technology Prima reaches less than three-quarters of the population.
Equal access to viewers
The agreement is putting Prima on par with Nova and a new channel, Barrandov, in terms of coverage. The signals of these three stations will be bundled together in the second multiplex. The first multiplex is reserved for public broadcaster Czech Television.
The expansion of Prima's coverage will likely increase its viewership ratings, and with them also the potential adveretising revenues.
"If Prima today, in the analogue era, had the same coverage as Nova, which reaches over 98 percent of the Czech population, it could increase its share of viewership to 20 percent or more with the same type of content," says Jan Potůček, chief editor of the Digizone website.
"That is why the agreement with České radiokomunikace on the inclusion of Prima in the second multiplex is a real nightmare for Nova," Potůček concludes.
Nova: Content wins the game
But Nova says it is not affraid of Prima's increasing foothold.
"Nova has been the long-term number one of the Czech TV market not because of its coverage, but mainly because of the quality of its content," said Nova spokeswoman Michaela Fričová, refusing to comment on Prima's agreement with České radiokomunikace.
Prima now has good reception in larger cities, but 27.7 percent of the population, including people living in south and southwest Bohemia or around Brno and Ústí nad Labem are not able to catch Prima at all.
The switch to digital broadcasting will slightly increase Nova's coverage too. The top channel now reaches 98 percent of the population, but there are some blind spots especially in the Zlín, Sušice and Znojmo areas.
The digital technology will also increase image quality for all broadcasters.
