Some comments on NOVA TV, CME and CET-21

Robert Horvitz, OMRI, Prague4th February, 1997

Robert Horvitz's address

See also related comments by Dr. Milan Smid, Faculty of Journalism, PragueTo clarify some details, e.g. about whether Vladimir Zelezny was or was not part of the original CET-21 group, and what difference that makes: As I recall, he was the last person to join the group, and did so after the license application had been drafted but before it was submitted to the Broadcasting Council. That may be one reason why TV Nova's program profile turned out so different from what the group had proposed.

The original members of CET-21 had no TV programming experience whatsoever. The closest any of them had come was Petr Krcak, who had some technical experience editing films. The others were politically active intellectuals who looked at the creation of a national TV network as a grand sociological experiment, a chance to mold Czech society in a positive way. Zelezny, too, had innovative ideas, many of which were dropped before TV Nova actually signed on. He at least had worked as a producer and show host at CTV with some success in the 1960s, and under pseudonyms as a TV scriptwriter in the 70s-80s. So his approach to television was more pragmatic than the others, and he had a view of programming that was more "audience-driven" than "idea-driven."

He was certainly not brought in to CET-21 simply as a translator. There was no need for that. Some of the others in the group are as fluent in English as he is (Petr Huncik for example, or Andrzej Bartolsewicz). Aside from his TV experience, Zelezny had been the official spokesman for Petr Pithart, the first prime minister in the government formed after the "velvet revolution." He thus had important political connections and a lot of experience dealing with news media and politicians in matters of public controversy.

I was the one who introduced CME's Len Fertig to the CET-21 group, and can say as a matter of fact that Len decided to back the group on condition that Zelezny headed the management team. But that was why they brought him in: Zelezny was actually interested in the problems of management, in competitive counter-programming, in developing a business plan. They may not have been "simple country boys," but none of the others understood or cared about those things. Plus, Zelezny was a polished spokesman, already known to the public.

I believe that CET-21 won the national license not just because their programming plan looked good on paper, but more importantly, because they were the only applicant group to submit a credible business plan; it was mainly the work of Len Fertig.

The Council had indeed turned to England for ideas on how to award commercial TV licensees. But by the time they got to issuing the first Czech national license, they were afraid of having another TV Premiera, but on a national scale. Premiera had submitted an ambitious and idealistic programming plan for the "greater Prague area," and the management team was dominated by experienced Czech concert promoters and entertainment producers. But their experience was under socialism, and they really didn't know how to run a business. Even before they started broadcasting (several months before Nova), it was clear that they did not know how to run a business. They attracted very few viewers, and never generated enough income to produce the programming they had promised when winning the license. The Council felt that after Premiera, if the national licensee also failed on a business basis, then other prospective applicants would conclude that it just was not possible to create good commercial television in a country as small as this, and the quality of applicants willing to risk their capital would fall to unacceptably low levels.

Maybe it was a mistake, but they put great faith in the professionalism of CET-21's business plan. An outside accounting firm analyzed the applications and gave thumbs up to Nova's. The Council took it on faith that the programming described in the application would make the income numbers real - they had no way to test or prove that, of course. I would guess that between the time the license was granted and a year later, when the station finally came on the air, Zelezny and Fertig decided that the program schedule CET-21 had promised the Council would not attract enough viewers to make the network profitable.

That does not justify Nova's extraordinary "overcompensation" for the fear: they didn't just change their profile slightly to increase their income slightly. They broke most of their commitments and went for profit as if it was the only thing that mattered. That attitude would be understandable if expressed by Len Fertig - his job is to maximize CME's profit. But to have Zelezny become its embodiment, its agent, is much harder to bear.