The price of TV advertising on the Nova Group’s free-to-air channels will increase by 22% in 2025 compared to 2024, said Nova Group’s Sales Director, Honza Ulrych, in an interview with MediaGuru.cz. The increase takes into account both the growth in basic CPP and the increase in seasonal months as well as in prime time. This is the highest increase in advertising space in at least a decade. It confirms expectations of high growth in TV advertising prices, which started to increase significantly a year ago (Nova +18%).
“Next year, the price of TV advertising will increase by an average of 22%. We want to meet all our commitments and continue to fully service all advertising campaigns of clients who enter into annual or other commitments with us,” Ulrych said.
The basic buying target group will not change for 2025, so Nova will continue to market to the 15-54-year-old audience. Nova is also responding to excess demand by increasing prices in the seasonal months, specifically from February to November (excluding July and August). For the autumn months of September to November, the coefficient will thus reach the level of 1.55. The price will also increase if the spots are placed in prime time.
Advertising on Nova Sport pay channels will also become more expensive. The Voyo video platform will enter the new year without advertising. However, advertisers will have a new sponsorship offer in addition to the product placement option.
You can read the answers to the questions for Nova’s Sales Director below.
Questions for Honza Ulrych:
In the middle of the year, Nova announced that client interest in TV advertising persisted, which, combined with rising costs and the filling of advertising space, left no other option but to make TV advertising more expensive again for 2025. So how much will the price of advertising increase?
Unfortunately, the combination of rising costs in production and reduced advertising space leaves us with no choice but to increase the price level for the following year. For the next year, the price for TV advertising will grow by an average of 22%. We want to meet all our commitments and continue to fully service all advertising campaigns of clients who enter into annual or other commitments with us.
Are certain client groups advantaged in pricing?
We maintain a consistent approach to our clients in pricing. We are pleased that despite the difficult situation, we continue to win favour with our clients and the interest in our advertising inventory persists even in the autumn months. This helps us generate additional revenue which we can invest already this year in the production of new shows for next year. A strong programming lineup will ensure we offer quality inventory to our clients. We also believe that next year will show a slight economic recovery accompanied by higher demand for advertising space. We want to be prepared for this situation.
How would you describe the situation in the TV market? What will primarily influence it for 2025 and what did you have to take into account in your commercial policy for the next year?
Both in the Czech Republic and abroad, there are trends of continuous decline of linear television. The only way to reduce this decline is to increase investment in programming and thus attract Czech viewers to television screens with an attractive offer. In our commercial policy and prices, we have primarily considered the months with high demand. At the same time, we took into account the price adjustment for the lucrative primetime time zone.
Are you experiencing growing viewer interest in VOD services and content consumption via catch-up services in your business?
The viewer is becoming more and more demanding in terms of content. The interest in VOD platforms in the Czech Republic is still on the rise and we are happy to be able to offer quality programming on our Voyo platform. By working with the best producers, we are achieving great results. Voyo has already surpassed 850,000 subscribers in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and is still growing. Commercially, clients have the opportunity to engage with the formats on Voyo through product placement in our own shows.
Are you considering, like Prima, prohibiting the possibility of skipping ads in time-shifted viewing?
We recognise that this is one way to bring additional inventory and reduce pricing pressure for clients. We have been looking at this option for some time, but I cannot say more now.
How will the seasonal and footage coefficients change for 2025?
Seasonal coefficients are adjusted in months when we expect high demand and sell-out. The change will affect all months from February to November excluding the summer months of July and August. And as I mentioned, there will be an increase in the primetime price. We will maintain the footage coefficients.
In the summer, you admitted that you were considering a change in the target group. Will Nova continue to sell to the 15-54 group?
Our reasoning was to move our target group up slightly, but still with a strong gap between us and our competition. In the end, we decided to keep our attractive 15-54 target group for next year. We believe that this move will support client loyalty and maintain our competitive advantage.
It turns out that linear television is the primary medium of the middle and older generation. Wouldn’t it be a solution to expand the target group beyond 54 years of age?
We follow the trends, and we see that the population is aging and so is the TV population. Today’s 50-somethings live a different life than previous generations. We believe that they will gradually become a lucrative and creditworthy group for clients and will welcome the adjustment of the target group in the future.
What tools can Nova use to increase its advertising inventory? Is it realistic to come up with a new linear TV channel, for example?
We chose the route of promoting content on existing commercial channels. We are focusing a lot on strengthening the audience base of the main channel. We are planning several new shows for next year, in addition to the premieres of popular series and reality shows. We successfully managed the rebranding of TV Nova in August, and we are also planning to rebrand Nova Cinema in mid-October, which has a great track record and holds the position of the fourth most-watched station on the market.
We have received information that Nova might join the AdCross project. What do you expect from this move?
AdCross is undoubtedly an interesting project in the field of measurement, a topic that has been of interest to us for a long time. However, we cannot comment on potential negotiations.
How will advertising prices on Nova Sport pay channels change for 2025? And how will advertising on Nova Sport be sold?
Nova Sport stations have expanded their programming offer to include the European and Conference Leagues, for which we have prepared new commercial packages. Sport is still very popular among viewers and there is a great interest in it, especially when Czech teams and athletes participate in the world’s best competitions. Apart from upward price moderation, we are not planning any major changes in the business of Nova Sport.
Will Voyo remain without an ad layer in 2025?
Commercially, clients have the opportunity to participate in our own formats on Voyo through product placement. We are also considering the possibility of offering sponsorship there. We do not plan to offer advertising space on Voyo next year. Our goal is to reach one million subscribers in the Czech Republic and Slovakia first, and we believe we will meet it next year. It only makes sense for us to offer advertising space to clients at that point.
Source: mediaguru.cz
