Final Word from Thursday, October 9, 2003
One by one, PPF is dispensing with its rivals with regard to TV Nova. First was Vladimír Železný, who was sacked in May as CEO of the station. Next was Culture Minister Pavel Dostál, who has softened his stance toward the station. Then came Czech Televison, which will apparently fail in its effort to get an increase in its allotted advertising time. Then there was CME, which agreed yesterday to end all its disputes with TV Nova for a $53.2m payoff. Next, according to MFD, could be MEF, PPF's parnter in TV Nova. There's almost nothing, it seems, that money can't buy. The lone obstacle to PPF's dominion of the TV market seems to be the original founders of Nova, a small group of intellectuals who are fighting for control of the station. They're the wild card in the long battle for Nova, because they don't always make decisions based on money.