UPC Holding B.V., the Netherlands-based media company with cable and telephone holdings in 11 countries, reported revenues rose 10% year-on-year to €827 million in the first half. The increase was driven primarily by subscriber growth as well as the acquisition of Karneval, the No. 2 cable operator in the Czech Republic.
The number of cinema screens across Central Europe is set to rise to more than 3,000 by 2011, says a report by the U.K.-based film industry analysts Dodona Research.
Private Polish broadcaster TVN Group (www.tvn.pl) said its second-quarter results beat management's own expectations, with revenues up 32% from the same period in 2006 to 407 million zloty (€109 million). Net profit shot up 64% to 139 million zloty, from 85 million zloty in 2006.
Triple-play operator Multimedia Polska (www.multimedia.pl) reported first-half profits rose 12.3% compared to the same period in 2006 as it continues its acquisition spree. Multimedia recently acquired 15 cable operators in northern Poland and is looking for more.
Viasat Broadcasting (www.viasatworld.com), a European satellite broadcaster, has obtained the exclusive rights to air the next five seasons of the EHF Champions League for handball in Hungary and Slovenia.
Defiance, a U.S. film directed by Edward Zwick (Blood Diamond), will begin filming in Lithuania at the end August for six weeks. Daniel Craig, hot off his success in Casino Royale, will star. The film is produced by The Bedford Falls Company and Grosvenor Park Productions (www.grosvenorpark.com). The budget is estimated at €36 million.
The average Pole spent two hours and 47 minutes before a TV screen daily in July, according to a new survey by the TNS OBOP agency (www.tns-global.pl). That represents a gain of seven minutes from July, mainly due to poor weather in Poland
Several films from Central and Eastern Europe will be shown at the EU Film Week in Durban, South Africa.The festival begins Aug. 17 and ends Aug. 23.
Central European Media Enterprises looks poised to bid for Czech TV channel Top TV as part of a renewed acquisition spree according to media analysts.
Volny (http://web.volny.cz ), a telecommunications company in the Czech Republic, has announced the launch of its new IPTV service. Titled Volny TV, the service offers 40 foreign and national stations as well as film channels.
