Commercial TV Prima announces launch of CNN Prima News channel
Prima TV, the second most popular commercial TV station in the country, has announced it is teaming up with CNN International Commercial (CNNIC) to launch a 24-hour news platform. The CNN Prima News channel should combine international news coverage by the CNN with national reporting covered by Prima.
CNN Prima News, which is to be launched in the next 12 months, will broadcast in Czech, providing international news coverage and topical programs by CNN dubbed or subtitled and national and regional news coverage provided by the Prima Group. The news channel should broadcast from high-tech modern studios currently under construction at TV Prima’s headquarters in Prague.
The new channel, the ninth in Prima Group’s portfolio, should broadcast terrestrially, by cable and satellite.
CNN Prima News will become the latest CNN-branded local channel alongside CNN Indonesia, CNNMoney Switzerland or CNN Greece. The partnership agreement includes licensing of CNN content, use of the CNN brand and consultancy services and transfer of expertise. An experienced CNN journalist will be appointed to the CNN Prima News editorial board.
Roland Nikolaou, senior director at CNNIC, said that CNN’s international expertise, reach and content combined with Prima’s deep knowledge of the Czech environment and local issues, would create an attractive mix of national and international news.
Prima TV was established in 1993. It is currently the third most-watched tv station in the country, following Czech public television and commercial TV NOVA. In 2017 it had a profit of 591 million crowns. The partnership with CNN comes two years after Prima lost its Swedish shareholder Modern Times Group.
