TV Nova celebrates 10 years of "giving the people what they want"
Just under a decade ago, the Czech television station TV Nova became the first commercial TV station in the former Eastern Bloc. It has since become the most successful commercial television station in Central Europe, although it also been embroiled in a quite a few controversies along the way. This year, the station is planning a number of events to mark its tenth anniversary. Earlier this week, it held a glitzy press reception in Prague to kick-start its celebrations. Radio Prague was there.
The reception TV Nova held this week to launch a series of events to celebrate ten years of broadcasting was typical of the station. On a bitterly cold, snow-strewn morning, guests arriving at the event were greeted by a mock-tropical interior replete with scantily clad hostesses proffering cocktails. This heady mixture of exotic escapism and high production values laced with sexual undertones reflects the type of programming that Nova has used to seduce a large percentage of Czech viewers. Ironically, for such a commercially oriented station, it was initially given a licence by the Czech government with the intention that it would be a relatively "high-brow" broadcasting venture, following a model recommended by the British Independent Television Commission. Petr Dvorak, the station's CEO, was unrepentant about the fact that TV Nova had deviated from its original mission:
"I think that the move from this type of TV to a commercial TV station was a very smart move on the part of the previous owners. And this is also the reason why the current owners took over the station and why they are trying to have it as part of their portfolio, because this is a very successful TV station. And it is successful precisely because of the type of station it is."
Much of the station's success is down to its entertaining and sometimes racy content, which has proven to be a big hit with Czech viewers. Nevertheless, the station's programming has drawn criticism from some quarters, with detractors saying that Nova has had a detrimental effect on the quality of Czech broadcasting. This criticism is primarily directed at what has been termed "Nova Sleaze", which refers to the soft-porn programmes and populist talk shows that the station regularly broadcasts. I asked Mr Dvorak if he thought Nova's output was lowering media standards in the country:
"I don't think so, because the TV [station] just broadcasts the programmes that people like. We always simply try to find programmes that are successful because of the audience. This is the only reason why we keep some programmes and cancel others. You shouldn't ask the TV if it is wrong for the audience, you should ask the audience. If the audience likes this kind of broadcasting we will do it, because we are commercial TV."
Although Nova's programming policy has proven controversial, there can be no doubt that the station has been a huge success. Between 1997 and 2003, an incredible 46 out of the 50 most popular TV programmes in the Czech Republic were broadcast by Nova. Much of the credit for this success rests with former CEO, Senator Vladimir Zelezny. Senator Zelezny is himself no stranger to controversy. His reign at Nova was characterised by a series of scandals surrounding murky dealings concerning the ownership of the station. This culminated in the Czech government being ordered to pay out over 350 million dollars for failing to protect the investment that a Bermuda-based company had ploughed into Nova. The entire affair also resulted in Mr Zelezny's dismissal, as the investor finally took control of operations. His successor, Petr Dvorak, believes that the senator's controversial dealings have had no negative impact on the station, especially now that he is no longer at the helm. Mr Dvorak also said he was confident that TV Nova would continue to be successful and would hold an equally dominant position on the Czech TV market in ten years time.
