Are you one of the nearly one million users of the new internet platform and enjoy a large plethora of content for 159 crowns a month? Then get ready for a price increase. "(We will raise the price - ed.) Next year, but not from January. During the year. ... It will be in the lower tens of crowns," Grunt admitted in Players, with the implication that this will subsidise the additional premium content being created for Voy subscribers.
In the coming year, for example, he plans to offer a miniseries elaborating on the relationships within the Jelinek family that led to the tragic story known as The Well.
Crime is a fairy tale for adults
According to Grunt, it is the subject of crime that works extremely well on Voy - whether in documentary form or as a miniseries. "From my point of view, it's kind of the archetype of an adult fairy tale. There's a crime, there's an evil that is punished after some sort of denouement and it turns out well. The genre that's strongest is the true crime genre, real crime, something that people have watched in the media, lived through," he said in The Players.
The stories that are well received, he said, are the ones they already know well - Voyo has had success with the miniseries Method Markovic: Hoyer, but also with Iveta, a series about the life of singer Iveta Bartosova.
Television is working, we would like StarDance
However, according to Grunt, the great popularity of Voya does not mean that viewers have abandoned, or even in the future will abandon, so-called linear broadcasting, i.e. television that you simply turn on with the remote control and do not choose the programme. Grunt argues that people are sometimes tired of the constant choice and simply want to be passively entertained; moreover, news and various live broadcasts, which are part of the "linear", are key for them.
One thing he could imagine in the Nova portfolio is the flagship of the public Czech television, StarDance. "It's a colossus, it's a phenomenon, it's managed to build a mass of fans that go across generations. My family also enjoys watching it," he said.
And he indirectly confirmed that he was already in talks with the UK's BBC, which has licensed the show. "Czech Television has a long-standing agreement with the BBC. If it turns out that we could enter into it, we will definitely do it," Grunt said.
Fees will rock the market
According to the head of the commercial station, relations between Nova and Czech Television are fair. Nova is buying public service productions, including Voya. Grunt, however, is not satisfied with the debate on increasing TV fees and expanding the circle of those who pay them - the topic is currently making waves on the political scene. In fact, like Prima boss Marek Singer some time ago, he argues that it will negatively affect market pricing.
"Some calculations have shown us that this (increase - ed.) could bring up to CZK 2.5 billion (annually - ed.) extra for CT, and this could brutally rock the TV market. You have three big entities and a couple of smaller ones, suddenly you throw 2.5 billion onto the market. In a situation where everyone is investing in production, Netflix, Amazon and others are filming here, the only thing that will happen is a brutal increase in inflation. And that's going to reflect on us, the commercial entities that have to make a living by advertising," Grunt said on The Players after admitting that the whole subject literally raises the pressure for him..
From IT projects to the top of the media pyramid
Daniel Grunt was born in 1975. He studied economics at the Agricultural University and started his career as a product manager at the IT company B-Soft. Between 2002 and 2006 he also worked at Centrum as head of marketing.
Between 2006 and 2007 he was in charge of multimedia content for Nokia. In 2008, he was brought to Nova by the then CEO Petr Dvořák as head of the group's internet division. In 2011 and 2012 he was in charge of online media at Sanoma Group, after which he worked for almost 8 years at Prima Group as the director of new media. In January 2023, he was appointed CEO of Nova. He is married, has 2 children and lives in Litoměřice.
Click in the video on the topics that interest you most
00:00 - 04:34 On how focusing strictly on the viewer has helped Nova.
04:35 - 12:23 On the huge success of Voya and the potential for the future.
12:24 - 18:18 On producing new content and the decision process of what to put on Voyo and what to put on linear.
18:19 - 23:17 About programming news including The Well.
23:18 - 29:24 On being responsible with formats like The Bachelor and The Wife Swap.
29:25 - 31:34 On the return of SuperStar and whether the show can still generate real musical superstars.
31:35 - 33:39 On why it's not worth competing with ČT at Christmas, and Nova's ambition to make its own fairy tale.
33:40 - 35:19 On why the Czech Nightingale has cleared the StarDance field.
35:20 - 37:48 On why StarDance is so popular and on Nova's interest in "blowing" the licence. 37:49 - 44:55 On the "chemistry" between Nova and CT and the view on increasing TV fees.
44:56 - 49:56 On Nova's increased emphasis on news and journalism and the success of the Sunday political debate.
49:57 - 51:44 On why Rey Koranteng and Lucie Borhyova are stalwarts that viewers still love.
51:45 - 60:00 On Daniel Grunt's career trajectory and his ambitions for the future, including why he never wants to join CT.
Players
For the third year in a row, Blesk has been bringing readers and viewers an exclusive show called Players, which features a rotating line-up of those who make a difference in the Czech Republic in the spheres of business, politics, management and show business. The roughly one-hour interviews, conducted by Vera Renovica (39), an experienced moderator of political debates and interviews with top constitutional officials, can be enjoyed every two weeks on the Blesk.cz website. It is always on Mondays (in case of holidays we will announce a shift). On the same day you can read their written version in the printed daily Blesk. All this to give our readers a look behind the curtain behind which our lives, our wallets and the future of our children are decided. If you want to know more about those who really rule the country you live in, watch The Players on Blesk.cz
Source: blesk.cz
