TV collaboration, not competition

Parliament will likely pass a proposal from the Senate soon for banning the practice at Czech Television of shifting advertising time between ČT 1 and ČT 2 to take advantage of different viewership levels. Advertisers are outraged, because this will lead to a net drop in ČT's effectiveness and strengthen TV Nova's position. ČT itself, though, is strangely quiet on the issue. The debate over advertising on the public stations is often depicted as a battle between ČT and the Nova/Prima "monopoly," but appeasement or collaboration might be better words to describe the new relationship. ČT is primarily interested in increasing its overall revenue, regardless of the source, and the hike in the monthly user's fee (and the automatic adjustment for inflation) will more than offset the loss in ad revenue. The latest proposal allows both Nova and Czech TV to get what they want. advertisements