The political environment of the CEE media markets in 2023

In 2022, Central Eastern European media markets faced many changes driven by politics, legislation, and regional conflicts. Across the region, political influence on media spending remained problematic, highlighting problems as elections are held, for example in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, or shaky governments and turbulent political scenes influencing market stability, as in Bulgaria.

The ultimate conflict in the region, the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia influenced CEE media markets too. In the Baltic states, governments voted for banning Russian produced content, which mostly impacted Latvia’s media market with the biggest share of Russian TV: TV prices increased for other channels, and TV audience dropped, also driving investments to other segments. Advertisers tried to adapt by including Ukrainian content, but viewership struggles persisted. In Hungary, the state has been the biggest spender in the past years, and even though its influence remained, state-owned media spending overall decreased. Here the Bonus Act 2015 is still in force, so media agency fees paid by the advertisers are set at 15% of the fee for the advertisement. Poland’s media market also faces increased influence from the governing party, where the uncertainty surrounding the extension of licenses for independent media causes fear, along with a proposal (effective of 2023) that deputy editors-in-chiefs of major portals are assigned by government officials – all said to safeguard internal security against the potential threats from Russia. In Ukraine, the war with Russia had profound consequences, including significant population loss and major economic challenges. International support stabilized the currency, though exchange rates fluctuated, and all industries suffered. In 2022, the Czech media adapted a new legislation, implementing cookie bars on all online platforms collecting active consent from users regarding their data and behavior, which resulted in reduced visitor numbers and data collection. The European Union's Digital Services Act regulation and the end of third-party cookies in the Chrome browser, all taking effect in 2024 are setting a challenge to all CEE media markets in the near future.