Exclusive Interview: TV Nova’s Jan Andrusko

June 6, 2012 World Screen Top Stories
ADVERTISEMENT

PREMIUM: CEO Jan Andrusko talks to World Screen about the strategies that have made TV Nova such a successful broadcaster.

When TV Nova launched in the Czech Republic in 1994 it was nothing short of revolutionary. Just a few years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of Communism in the region, TV Nova brought television programming the likes of which Czech viewers had never seen before: blockbuster movies and hit TV series from the West and newscasts that were independent of political-party influence. TV Nova quickly became the market leader, a position it still holds today, despite the fact that the Czech TV market has become much more crowded and competitive.

TV Nova was acquired by Central European Media Enterprises (CME) in 2005. CME was founded in 1994, by Ronald Lauder, and today operates 31 commercial and subscription channels in Central and Eastern Europe. TV Nova has always been the flagship station, and currently, with its mix of locally produced fiction and nonfiction productions, entertainment shows, acquisitions and must-watch newscasts, it is able to attract blue-chip advertisers such as Procter & Gamble, T-Mobile, Nestlé, Henkel and Garnier. TV Nova also operates a successful online video-on-demand service, Voyo, which offers catch-up TV, access to sports and music events, live streaming and advanced previews of TV broadcasts.

WS: How did TV Nova change the TV landscape in the Czech Republic? It brought huge change, didn’t it?
ANDRUSKO: It was really huge. First of all, you have to take into account that TV Nova was the very first commercial TV [channel] in the Czech Republic. Since the very beginning it was a national and full format channel, so you can imagine the change TV Nova brought to the TV landscape. Right from the very beginning, and this would be the big story to discuss, it brought a very different style, for instance, in TV news, regarding not only the content but also how the news was designed. There were two anchors presenting the news, that was a big change that had never happened here before, and we had stand up reporters—it was simply a different format [for a newscast], something that people hadn’t seen before.
 
Over the years, TV Nova has been bringing new genres and programs to its viewers. It started, for instance, the daily series genre. We have long-running series in access prime time but also in prime time. We have introduced the big reality shows to the Czech market: Big Brother, Pop Idol, The Voice, Wife Swap, etcetera. We have also brought locally produced sitcoms, which were also very new in the Czech Republic. From the beginning of the ’90s in Central and Eastern Europe, people were interested in seeing the big international movies and series, and that is what TV Nova brought. People saw Titanic, Indiana Jones, M*A*S*H, 24, Prison Break, House, CSI, etcetera, on TV Nova. To cut a long story short, it was a big, big change.
 
WS: In a way it was like opening up the windows and letting the sunshine in—finally there was a much broader view of the world.
ANDRUSKO: Definitely, and I think people were waiting for this, and as far as I can remember (I wasn’t with TV Nova at the time)…it was hardly imaginable for people what that change would bring. It was also very difficult to imagine for the people who were running TV Nova; they thought it would be very successful and [it] has been ever since.
 
WS: What are the programming strategies that are helping TV Nova maintain its leadership position?
ANDRUSKO: We have a programming strategy these days that is focusing on local production—this is what the viewers in the Czech Republic are expecting from us. We produce series, local shows, sitcoms and movies. At this point, we have two free-to-air channels, Nova and Nova Cinema, and also two pay channels, Nova Sport and we [operate] the regional [version] of MTV. Our strategy is to maintain the audience share in prime time on all our channels above 40 percent in the 15-to-54 target group, and we are pursuing the strategy we call, in general, One Content, Multiple Distribution. So as the leader of the market we are trying to be everywhere; we are trying to reach our viewers wherever they are.
 
WS: Does TV Nova’s news still have a very strong connection with its viewers?
ANDRUSKO: Definitely, our news­­casts are the strongest news programs in the Czech Republic. We have four newscasts, but the main one that starts at 7:30 p.m. had an audience share last year that exceeded 55 percent in the 15-to-54 target group, and it was close to 60 percent among individuals 15-plus. So you can see it is popular among people and it is very strong. We are trying to keep our base in the market, despite the competition, which is growing, and we are trying to bring the most exclusive, freshest stories to our viewers, in a format that is entertaining and interesting.
 
WS: What is the outlook for the Czech economy this year, and in particular, what is its impact on the advertising market?
ANDRUSKO: As you know, we are a publicly traded company, so it’s difficult for us to provide any forecasts like that outside the scope of what we publicly release to our investors. I can say that in 2011 the Czech GDP increased by 1.7 percent, and as far as what the government is officially [forecasting] these days, they are expecting some kind of flat zero growth for the year 2012. There is a lot of uncertainty in Europe, especially in the Eurozone, so we will see what happens. For sure, TV Nova is big, and in 2011 its advertising market share was 68 percent. We can say that advertising is definitely closely linked to the macroeconomics, and this is what drives people to spend here and also drives clients to spend, so being as big as we are we have to look at the macro figures—it’s very clear.
 
WS: However, your leadership position and strong schedule must be of help right now.
ANDRUSKO: Oh, definitely, but as you can also see in all the main segments in different industries, it is difficult for the big players to maintain their positions, but we have our strategy and we believe we can continue to be a success.
 
WS: Are you working with certain advertisers, taking into account that these are tough times for everyone?
ANDRUSKO: Given its strong market position, TV Nova has been the most effective provider of media reach in the Czech Republic for the past 18 years. Given that position, we are trying to help our clients reach their sales goals. We are trying to design the best packages and best products for them—that’s a daily job.
 
WS: Viewers are increasingly watching movies and TV shows on their computers or iPads or other portable devices. How is TV Nova satisfying that demand?
ANDRUSKO: TV Nova is also pursuing its programming strategies in the online world and in VOD offerings. As I mentioned, we have the strategy we call One Content, Multiple Distribution. We are trying to view the trend you describe from a positive angle and we are trying to catch our viewers wherever they are. We have introduced our Voyo service, which is our VOD product—subscription VOD [without advertising]—that includes international and locally produced movies and series. We’re trying to push this content to whatever platforms we can. We have it available on Panasonic Smart TVs for instance. It will soon be on iPads and on Samsung Smart TVs. This is the project we are pushing each day.
 
WS: At this point, is the majority of the viewing still going to TV Nova’s linear channels?
ANDRUSKO: For sure, the major­ity is still with the linear channels.
 
WS: Are you still acquiring from the U.S. and from other countries?
ANDRUSKO: Yes we are, but we see the tastes of our viewers; they are looking for local content, so we are trying to provide an interesting program mix for them. We have acquisitions, definitely.
 
WS: TV Nova is involved in a number of charitable projects.
ANDRUSKO: TV Nova established its Nova Foundation in the year 2000, and via the Foundation we are engaging in dozens of charitable projects both on an ad-hoc and a regular basis. If I can name one, which is perhaps the biggest of our projects, it is the charitable project called We Want to Live with You. It is a big concert in which the most popular stars, including our TV Nova stars, play and sing for handicapped people, who we invite from all over the country. This year we had the 17th edition of this concert and we played for 7,000 kids and adults. But we also are engaging in regular CSR [corporate social responsibility] campaigns. Every year we pick one important project. We support it through a strong media campaign in which we also engage our TV screen. In 2011, we ran a charitable project in support of the national registry for bone marrow donors. In six weeks of our campaign, in which our stars and I myself were involved, we have attracted almost 6,000 new registered donors, which is normally the number the registry attracts in three years.
 
WS: This must provide you with a great feeling of satisfaction.
ANDRUSKO: Definitely, and you can see how a strong media player like TV Nova can push these things by the incredible viewership power that we have.
 
WS: As you look ahead 12 to 24 months, what opportunities and challenges do you see?
ANDRUSKO: The opportunities are the challenges for us. These two categories overlap in many instances. We will for sure proceed with the implementation of our One Content, Multiple Distribution strategy, which is tri-multi, as I call it: a multichannel, multimedia and multidistribution strategy. We would like to launch additional channels, whether as free accessible channels or pay channels. We want to launch at least two in the free zone and a handful of others in pay as long as market conditions allow. And we also want to focus on our online activities, mainly on Voyo, extending the archive and extending the ways we distribute it to our clients.
 
WS: Did you always want to be involved in the media business or did you happen into it by chance?
ANDRUSKO: I worked as a lawyer for CME starting in 1999. I went through all the good and bad with the company. I was the lawyer for CME in the region when we acquired TV Nova, back in 2004. I’ve worked with TV Nova ever since on every major project, including its restructuring, various production projects, digitization, etcetera. A year and a half ago I was given the opportunity by the CME management to be the CEO, which is a slightly different position than I had before, but it’s very similar. I’ve been with this company and this station for a long time.
 
WS: As your responsibilities have increased, what do you enjoy most?
ANDRUSKO: Media is a very fast, challenging, changing area. It’s very exciting and especially when my team and I are running the market leader in the Czech Republic and one of the most successful TV stations in Europe.