Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. (CME) is a media and entertainment company that operates

television channel A television channel is a terrestrial frequency or virtual number over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the terrestrial or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, wit ...

s in

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. Th ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...

and

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

. Until its acquisition by PPF Group N.V. in October 2020, the company was listed on

NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...

and

Prague Stock Exchange Prague Stock Exchange (PSE; cs, Burza cenných papírů Praha (BCPP)) is the largest and oldest securities market organizer in the Czech Republic. After a 50-year hiatus brought about by World War II and the Communist regime, it was reopened in ...

under the ticker symbol CETV. It has since been delisted.

History

Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. was co-founded in 1991 by Americans

Ronald Lauder Ronald (Ron) Steven Lauder (born February 26, 1944) is an American businessman, billionaire, philanthropist, art collector, and political activist. He is the president of the World Jewish Congress since 2007. He and his brother, Leonard Lauder, ...

and

Mark Palmer Robie Marcus Hooker Palmer (July 14, 1941 – January 28, 2013) was an American diplomat, who served as United States Ambassador to Hungary from 1986 to 1990. He was a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy and the Committee on the Present ...

in Germany as CEDC GmbH (Central European Development Corporation) and later changed its name and reincorporated in the Netherlands as Central European Media Enterprises (CME). It started broadcasting its first channel in the Czech Republic in 1994. On 23 March 2009, Time Warner (now

Warner Bros. Discovery Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at 230 Park Avenue South in New York City. It was formed after the spin-off of WarnerMedia by AT&T, and its merger with Di ...

) announced it would invest $241.5 million in CME for a 31% stake. By 2Q 2013, Time Warner had acquired a controlling interest in CME in a series of transactions. In October 2019, AT&T signed agreement to sell WarnerMedia's stake to PPF. The transaction valued at $2.1 billion was completed in October 2020. On 14 February 2022, Central European Media Enterprises announced buying RTL Hrvatska from

RTL Group RTL Group (for "Radio Television Luxembourg") is a Luxembourg-based international media conglomerate, with another corporate centre in Cologne, Germany. The company operates 68 television channels and 31 radio stations in Germany, France and ...

for €50 million. The transaction was closed on 1 June 2022.

Operations

CME is the broadcast market leader in most countries where it has television stations. CME currently operates 43 television channels broadcasting to approximately 49 million people across 6 countries. CME develops and produces content for its television channels, and its content is also consumed through subscription and advertising VOD. The company operates 4 radio channels in Bulgaria. It also operates the Voyo streaming platform.

Television channels

Bulgaria * bTV *

bTV Cinema bTV Cinema is a Bulgarian television channel, showing movies and serials. It is part of bTV Media Group, owned by CME (Central European Media Enterprises). The channel starts on 7 December 2009.bTV Cinema is aimed at viewers of all ages with ...

bTV Comedy bTV Comedy is a Bulgarian family-based television channel, airing mostly comedy series. It is part of bTV Media Group, owned by Central European Media Enterprises, a subsidiary of AT&T/WarnerMedia. Originally launched in 1997 as Television Tri ...

bTV Action bTV Action is a Bulgarian man-based television channel. The channel, along with sports channel RING, bTV, bTV Comedy, bTV Cinema and bTV Lady are part of bTV Media Group, owned by the US media conglomerate CME(through WarnerMedia/AT&T). H ...

bTV Lady bTV Lady is a Bulgarian female-oriented television channel. Along with bTV, bTV Comedy, bTV Cinema and bTV Action and RING are part of bTV Media Group, owned by the US media conglomerate CME(owned by WarnerMedia/AT&T AT&T Inc. is an ...

Ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

Croatia * RTL *

RTL 2 RTL2 may refer to: * RTL II, a German general-interest television channel * RTL 2 (Croatia), a Croatian commercial broadcaster with national availability * RTL2 (France), a French private radio station, based in Paris * RTL II (Hungary), a Hung ...

* RTL Kockica * RTL Living * RTL Crime * RTL Passion * RTL Adria * RTL Croatia World Czech Republic * TV Nova * Nova Cinema * Nova Action * Nova Fun *

Nova Gold Nova Gold (originally Telka) is a Czech free-to-air commercial TV station belonging to the Nova Group, whose program includes series and programs from the Nova station archive and foreign crime series. The station began broadcasting on February 22 ...

* Nova Lady * Nova Sport 1 * Nova Sport 2 * Nova Sport 3 * Nova Sport 4 * Nova International Romania *

Pro TV PRO TV (, often stylized as PRO•TV as of 2017) is a Romanian free-to-air television network, launched on 1 December 1995 as the fourth private TV channel in the country (after TV SOTI, Antena 1, and the now-defunct Tele7ABC). It is owned by CME ...

(also broadcast in

Republic of Moldova A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...

as a simulcast feed) * Acasă (also broadcast in Republic of Moldova as a simulcast feed) * Acasă Gold *

Pro Arena Pro is an abbreviation meaning "professional". Pro, PRO or variants thereof may also refer to: People * Miguel Pro (1891–1927), Mexican priest * Pro Hart (1928–2006), Australian painter * Mlungisi Mdluli (born 1980), South African retired f ...

* Pro Cinema * Pro TV Internațional * Pro TV Chisinau Slovakia *

Markíza Markíza (also known as Televízia Markíza) is a Slovak television channel launched on August 31, 1996. The channel was founded by a later politician Pavol Rusko, and is now part of the Central European Media Enterprises (CME). It also opera ...

Markíza Doma Markíza Doma ("Doma" means "At home" in Slovak) is the first television channel aimed at young, active people in Slovakia. The channel, which launched on 31 August 2009, is owned by Central European Media Enterprises (through PPF) and curren ...

Markíza Dajto Markíza Dajto ("Dajto" means "Giveit" in Slovak) is the first niche channel aimed at young, active men in Slovakia. The channel, which launched on 20 August 2012, is owned by Central European Media Enterprises and currently has a reach of appro ...

* Markíza Krimi * Markíza International Slovenia *

Pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

TV * Kanal A *

Brio Brio (stylized BRIO) is a wooden toy company founded in Sweden. The company was founded in the small town of Boalt, Scania, Götaland in 1884 by basket maker Ivar Bengtsson. For a long time the company was based in Osby, Scania, in southern Swed ...

* Oto *

Kino Kino may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasters * KINO, a radio station in Arizona, U.S. * Kino FM (98.0 FM – Moscow), a Russian music radio station * KinoTV, now Ruutu+ Leffat ja Sarjat, a Finnish TV channel Fictional entitie ...

* Astra

CME Content Academy

In 2022 Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. launched CME Content Academy. CME Content Academy’s two-year course is designed to provide participants with a grounding across various film-making disciplines, enabling students to become TV professionals. The practice is divided according to the production scheme of TV Nova and

and takes place in Brno,

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

and

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% o ...

References

External links