CEETV continues its series of interviews dedicated to the NATPE Budapest 2023 market (June 19-22) featuring companies and executives that will be a part of the highly anticipated event following its change of ownership.

Today, we talk to Pavel Stanchev, CEO of TV2 Media Group, who will headline NATPE Budapest's conference program with an executive keynote.


Pavel, you will be headlining the conference program at NATPE Budapest 2023. What will be the focus of your keynote?

Leading vs. following. For instance, the digital transformation of our industry. But not only. I like one sentence of Ted Turner: „Lead, follow or get out of the way”.


What changes have you observed on the CEE market after the COVID pandemic?

During the pandemic we learnt that our society can’t live without 3 things: food, electricity, and TV. The linear TV audiences have spectacularly increased. Thanks God, at TV2 Media Group we continued our work, including with new shows. It was painful, but the reward came from the viewers: we became the market leader.


What have been the effects of the war in Ukraine on the industry in the region?

The news programs and channels became more watched. Some markets experience an advertising revenue slowdown. That doesn’t affect Hungary so far due to its low prices. TV remains the best marketing investment for every dollar.


The last time we spoke TV2 had just closed an excellent 2022, and it looks like 2023 started even better for your company which has been growing steadily since your arrival in 2019. What drives this successful run?

We finished Q1 as the absolute leader in all viewing categories in Hungary (Nielsen). All-day, primetime, you pick the demographics. As a main channel and as a group. Our friends at RTL often say we compare our 14 channels to the 8 they have. OK, then let’s pick our Top 8 channels and compare. Or 2, or 3, or 4. The result will be similar.

In Slovenia, Planet TV Group registers in 2023 its best viewing shares for the last 7 years. Our average prime time share is up by 8%, Pro Plus’(CME) is down by 4% (AGB, Live+Playback, A18-64). On both markets we put the viewers at the center of our interest, we have great talents and hard-working teams. Sounds simple to explain.


What do you expect from this year’s NATPE Budapest? What is your impression of the new owners of the market?

As always – meet people, exchange ideas, learn from other experiences. I haven’t met yet in person the new owners of NATPE Budapest who are from Canada – looking forward!


You were probably among the first executives to attend NATPE when it launched in Budapest. Can you share some memories from the NATPE markets? Any big shows that you acquired?

I remember the market when it was called DISCOP – the first content forum in Central and Eastern Europe. I know well its founder Patrick Jucaud – an industry pioneer. I remember one gala dinner 15 years ago, when the CEO of a big TV group told everyone in the room to look for another job, as in 10 years TV won’t exist. Well, we are still here… Perhaps the biggest show I acquired on this market was the Turkish series 1001 Nights which broke all the audience records in Bulgaria, on Nova TV Bulgaria, in 2008.


TV2 has been actively adapting formats coming out of CEE, alongside big international brands. Does this strategy pay off and do you see potential to have more partnerships among regional players?

We are looking for partnerships and good formats from everywhere, but if they have already worked well in our region, it is a plus.


You have led companies in various markets within CEE. What do they have in common? For example, is Serbia so different from neighboring Hungary, or Bulgaria from neighboring Romania?

All these markets have a lot in common, but also differences. At the end it comes down to the way we do things and how do we adapt the best practices from the others. As you know, TV2 Media Group currently operates commercial channels in two markets which are neighbors, but have quite different languages and recent history: Hungary and Slovenia. However, for now, all the projects we have done together worked pretty well, the last one being the Wheel of Fortune which we produce in Budapest for both territories, but, of course, with different hosts, contestants and creative teams.


Do you believe that events like NATPE Budapest help to promote Hungary as a place to produce content?

Hungary is a leading production hub for more than 100 years. One of our studios was built in 1917, before most of Hollywood’s lots. In 1996 the movie Evita with Madonna was shot in the studio where we produce today Dancing with the Stars. NATPE Budapest is here to continue this tradition.