By: Adnan Arnautlija
Three days ago, we published the breaking news about the acquisition of POP TV (Slovenia) and Nova TV (Croatia) by the United Group for €230 million. Considering the ownership stake in Telekom Slovenije, Telemach and TV N1, United Group is becoming one of the biggest and most serious players in the regional media market with this acquisition. We wanted to make an interview with Dragan Šolak, Board President at United Group, but we were informed that at this time he does not want to make any statements on this acquisition. That’s why we asked the directors of several major media agencies and research companies to give us a comment on how this acquisition can affect the regional advertising market. Unfortunately, it’s the holiday season, we were unable to reach everyone whom we wanted to include. We got three answers, just enough to form the initial picture of what this could bring to the advertising industry.
Janja Božič Marolt, President of the Market and Media Research Institute Mediana:
“This is not news for me. Pro Plus is in exceptional condition, they have nurtured their viewership and created internet users. Ever since its inception in 1955, they have used all the business knowledge and programming skills to grow their platforms and expand their program, increasing the number of viewers and revenue. Over the past two years, due to the increase in the competitiveness of Planet TV, they started investing in programming and their own production, which increased their advertising revenues above the Slovenian average. Similar, only less important, is the role of Nova TV in Croatia.
In Mediana, in 2012, in cooperation with American experts, we emphasized the importance of connecting business with cable operators, which Pro Plus, ie. Telemach, succeeded this year. I do not want to comment on the financials and lease prices of ProPlus.
If this acquisition really goes through, we can expect one leadership for both media outlets and even higher cost efficiency. Same as they used to stretch the evening prime time through much of the day, now they could reach even more appealing content for marketing with even fewer employees. Other media have found it difficult to keep track with them even before, and now it will be even harder for them. After the recent death of the owner of Planet TV, and Telekom’s use of its advantages, it remains to be seen how competition will act in Slovenia, and how RTL in Croatia will respond to this situation, and how they will let neighbors enter the telecommunication network.
It will now be easier for all international advertisers as they will have a single interlocutor. Only a strong competition, with concentrated ownership, will be able to prevent them from keeping their prices at the current level due to their infallibility. Since they have already proven that they can jointly create content with advertisers and agencies, such partnerships will be able to bring more stories that will be more effective than advertising in ad blocks or pop up ads on the Internet. If they also start offering payable content without ads, and develop their social networks, only sky will be their limit.”
Božidar Abramovic, CEO Omnicom Media Group, Croatia:
The main fact is that the leading TV stations on the markets of Slovenia and Croatia are being bought by someone who invests and understands telecom, and at the same time has understanding for content and its production. The potential is great. On the communication side, the biggest changes could be in the domain of optimization of targeting, better reach of the commercial messages, regardless of the distribution channel. This also opens the possibility of placing content in the cloud, which would allow the display of specific commercial messages for individual viewers. By properly approaching the data of different platforms and cross referencing them, it is possible to better profile the viewer, which leads to increased relevance of the displayed messages, and therefore more efficiency and satisfaction of the viewer. The combination of profiling and individualized ad placement opens the possibility of leasing in the manner as it is done on the Internet – through automated software solutions – programmatic.
Possibilities and potentials are great. Time will tell where the interests and investments of the new managers will be directed.
As Omnicom, I believe that a big obstacle to development, as I said before, is the lack of skills, or rather people who possess the knowledge and skills in these fields.
Barbara Modic, CEO of Pristop Media:
At this moment, it is very difficult to comment on what new things will be brought to the media space by the new owner. Pro Plus and Nova TV have so far been two successful media companies and the only thing I can do is to wish them that they continue to raise TV standards.
