Voyo still expects to have one million subscribers in the Czech Republic and Slovakia by the end of 2025, and the current 820,000 are actually paying and long-term users, according to Grunt. To reach a million paying viewers should thus be less of a problem than maintaining that number in the long term. That's why Nova and Markiza are counting on producing a record 512 hours of first-run drama this year, 160 of which will be exclusively for Voyo and 338 for Nova TV, with previews of that content also on Voyo. There will also be 13 hours of original Czech documentaries, a total of 25 new projects with 521 episodes, which will be produced in collaboration with 17 production companies.
The second series of Metoda Markovič series and thoughts on the new Comeback series
"Voyo is already the strongest local streaming service in the Czech Republic," stated Daniel Grunt. Overall, it holds second position behind Netflix and ahead of Disney+ and HBO Max, which will be renamed MAX on 21 May and will more than double its library thanks to its merge with Discovery+. It is strong competition from global services on the one hand and pressure from local competition in the form of the prima+ and iBroadcast services that is leading to Nova Group's record investment in original programming. For example, the family drama Studna, directed by Tereza Kopáčová, a comedy series about intergenerational coexistence by Jan Hřebejk, a new series of the successful Metoda Markovič: Straka about a Spartakiad killer, or a return to an unconventional family in the second series of Sex O'Clock are currently in the pipeline for Voyo.
From the original fiction intended for TV Nova, viewers can expect light detective stories from the production workshops of Lenka Szántó or Tomáš Baldýnský, who recently rejoined the team of creative producers of the Nova group and, according to his own words, is even considering making new episodes of the sitcom Comeback. A series by hitmaker producer Tomáš Hoffman is in the pipeline. New are the documentary series Případ Stodolovi, which Voyo has already deployed, Kauza Kramný or a series about the clash between man and bear with the working title Lebo medveď.
"TV Nova and Voyo continue their steady support of Czech audiovisual production and are behind, for example, the upcoming documentary Virtuální přítelkyně by director Barbora Chalupova about the phenomenon of OnlyFans,"
the Nova group said.
Jan Hřebejk is also filming for Voyo, based on a script by Natalia Kocábová
In the pipeline are comedic stories about family for the whole family. A series based on a script by Natalia Kocábová and directed by Jan Hřebejk, Pád domu Kollerů, will give an insight into the life of one such family. "I've wanted to write a comedy about what can and does happen when you take your aging and increasingly dominant parents home for a long time," says the scriptwriter Natalie Kocábová and continues. Director Jan Hřebejk cast Slovak acting legend Božidara Turzonovova in the lead role of the peculiar mother of the family.
In May, Nova will present the documentary triptych Málo mne znáš about the life and career of a famous singer Iveta Bartošová. A documentary series with the working title Lebo medveď (The Bear) about all aspects of coexistence with the brown bear in the Slovak Poľana is nearing completion. It is being prepared for Voyo by Miro Remo. On the subject of his latest project, he says: "Some call for bear protection, others for regulation. People are afraid to go into the forest, sometimes even to leave the house. Is the situation really that serious, or is it a purposeful conflict? Through a few direct actors, we unpack the whole bear issue on several levels." Voyo's creative producer is Erika Hníková, who is also behind other upcoming documentary formats. One of them is a five-part series about a case that once divided Czech society - Kauza Kramný.
Voyo continues its cooperation with Czech Television
In the documentary, director Petr Hátle revisits the 2013 tragedy at an Egyptian resort, what preceded it and what followed it. Peter Bebjak, a recent winner of the Czech Lion for his Voyo Original miniseries Matematika zločinu, is working with screenwriter Jakub Režný on a documentary series Rigo about the "most famous" Slovak serial killer and the circumstances of his capture. Voyo will also continue its collaboration with Czech Television and will get exclusive content in the form of the streaming premiere of director Jiří Strach's eight-part mystery thriller Lovec. It is a free sequel to the successful CT miniseries Ďáblova lest, Ztracená brána and Labyrint, starring Pavel Kříž and Jana Kolesárová.
"Lovec is a rare opportunity to work on something that radically breaks out of the usual scriptwriting framework. The hardest thing about genre projects is to present a believable world to the viewer, even though there is a lot of mystery and intrigue. But if it succeeds, it is also possible to say something substantial about the way we live today and human direction in general. And it's often even easier than in the usual realistic settings," says Jan Lekeš, creative producer at Czech Television. The series is co-produced with Slovak TV Joj and Trigon Production and after its premiere on Czech Television it will be available to watch on Voyo in the Znáte z České televize section.
Source: televizniweb.cz
