While streaming is certainly part of the company’s strategy, linear TV is still firmly holding its own in Central and Northern Europe, according to Levente Málnay, MD and exec VP, AMC Networks International Central & Northern Europe.
Central and Northern Europe (CNE) is one of four regions AMC Networks operates in internationally. According to Levente Málnay, MD and executive VP of AMC Networks International Central & Northern Europe (AMCNI CNE), it distributes a total of 36 linear channels and serves approximately 45 million households across the region, with its footprint covering more than 17 countries. The channels are mostly tailor-made for specific markets, employ a total of 16 languages and span four genres: films and series, kids, sports and infotainment.
Levente Málnay
“The strongest countries for us are the ones where we have a bigger part of the portfolio present,” says Málnay. This is particularly true in the case of Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania, which are each served by between eight and 10 channels, while other territories have fewer. Germany, for instance, has only one – Kinowelt TV – and there are several with only two or three, typically flagship AMC plus kids networks JimJam and MiniMax.
“A year ago everyone was talking about streaming and hardly anyone mentioned linear,” observes Málnay. “And, of course, our mother company has the AMC+ service plus a number of targeted SVoD services including Shudder and Sundance Now or HiDive.”
But now, notes Málnay, “in Central and Eastern Europe the conversation is about linear and streaming together. So, the largest disruption that some had expected – the explosion of large-scale cord-cutting and cord-shaving – seems to have not happened.”
Málnay also makes the point that streaming services in the region remain supplementary to linear TV. This is because the latter is still “very good value for money, and so our strategy of putting linear TV first seems to have worked out well.”
The evidence for this can be seen in AMCNI CNE’s market position, with its viewing share constantly increasing in its core markets. Indeed, it is the market leader in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania among independent international media companies. In Hungary last year it ranked number three, and in Romania number five among all TV portfolios, with it also holding a “prestigious position” in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Taste of Margó Bódi returned on TV Paprika in Hungary in 2023
However, adds Málnay, despite this it is still going to launch a streaming service. Previously it had decided to “step on the brake because we clearly didn’t want to get into a price war.”
He adds: “We believe in streaming and a good streaming service is real value for the consumer. And what we see is that very high-quality, very well-positioned, valuable streaming services are momentarily competing in price in Central and East Europe, especially in markets where linear TV is still very cheap. And we believe therefore that we need a slightly different strategy, so we adjust and then we are going to step on the market.”
What this will mean in practice is working with TV operators, which are AMCNI CNE’s current distributors, rather than going against them, in what will effectively be a ‘B2B2C’ model. The new streaming service will also be more tailor-made for local audiences rather than a “unified product shaped by tastes of geographically agnostic audiences.”
Málnay adds that AMCNI CNE is in talks with many distributors and “extremely close” to an agreement with one. He also says the company is aiming to launch the service in Q3 this year.
Abrakadabra, a joint Czech/Slovak show on the history of magic
Reflecting on the past year, Málnay says that 2023 was very stable for AMCNI CNE. Its market position improved everywhere across the region, with the viewing share in Hungary and Romania reaching 6% and 4% respectively. “This is the result of a very consistent investment in content, both local productions and third-party acquisitions.”
Significantly, even during the pandemic, the company did not cut back on the original content it produced. It is also, says Málnay, “prolonging very valuable sports rights whenever it makes financial sense.”
The exec points to the launch of what will be AMCNI CNE’s third film channel in Romania this April as further evidence of growth. Known as Film Mania Romania, it will use a brand that has been available in Hungary for many years and join Film Café and AMC Romania in what will be a “very important milestone for us,” according to Málnay.
This follows on from another significant launch in 2023, when AMC’s Spektrum Home, previously available as only a paid channel, was launched as a free-to-air (FTA) terrestrial service in the Czech Republic. “In a market like the Czech Republic, where we have a big portfolio and the advertising market is very strong, we thought it was time for a more diversified strategy,” says Málnay.
“This is why we entered the FTA space. And, so far, we are happy with what we’ve seen. The channel is growing and is still far from where it will be in the upcoming years.”
Hrodogolovia, a tailor-made documentary series in the Slovak language
Expanding on the theme of original productions, Málnay adds that this is something AMC is “very proud of, mainly for our infotainment channels.” Last year, for instance, it produced Hrodogolovia, its first tailor-made documentary series in the Slovak language. Taking as its theme the castles of Slovakia, it continued a successful theme that had been developed earlier for the Hungarian market.
Other examples of original productions include Abrakadabra, a joint Czech/Slovak show on the history of magic, and a number of cookery programmes, perhaps the most successful of which is Taste of Margó Bódi. Starring the Roma chef Margó Bódi, the latter returned for a new series on TV Paprika in Hungary in 2023 following an absence of several years.
Yet despite its success in the region, AMCNI CNE has also had to face up to a number of challenges. “Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia,” says Málnay, “held a very sad position in the last 18 months, one after the other, of being the European leader of inflation.” This was a challenge for the company, and it had no choice but to follow its key distributors in raising prices “simply because production prices went up, content prices went up.”
But Málnay maintains the offering is still good value to the consumer. “If you look at linear consumption – three, four, five hours a day – the value for the money you receive is mindboggling. And our viewership share is increasing; consumption is increasing, so that’s a challenge and opportunity for us.”
Another opportunity, Málnay believes, is that in markets where there are an increasing number of duopolies, there is a need for “long term, committed next level players” such as AMCNI CNE “to grow, keep investing and to be successful.” This strategy, he adds, has worked for AMCI CNE and he thinks it will bear fruit not only from the market share standpoint but also with investment.
Looking to the future, Málnay says that AMCNI CNE will continue investing in original productions, prolonging key sports rights and launching linear channels “whenever it makes sense.” It will also enter the streaming market, pursuing an alternative path to that of big major studios that have launched their SVoD services in the region.
