2013 in review- Media

The media market in Romania was impacted by an emergency ordinance published by the government in April 2013, which modifies the audio-visual law and brought substantial changes to the way market players- including agencies, clients and broadcasters- do business. On the other hand, media outlets have seen a rough year, with both the TV and the written press seeing declining revenues, and some even closing down. 

By Otilia Haraga

• Total net ad spend in Romania was set to decrease this year as well, to an estimated 295 million, from EUR 303 million posted in 2012, according to the Media Fact Book Romania 2013 by Initiative Media

• The online advertising market summed up RON 45.5 million in the first half of the year, according to a ROADS survey. The telecom industry remains the most important investor in the local online advertising in the first half of 2013, according to the most recent ROADS survey.

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•  The mobile marketing market was set to approach the EUR 10 million mark in 2013, representing a 25 percent hike compared to 2012, according to the estimations of the Mobile Marketing Association in Romania.

•  According to an emergency ordinance published by the government, the advertising agencies can intermediate the purchase of advertising space on TV only if they are empowered by the advertising beneficiary (the client) to represent it. The ordinance takes out the rebate and transfers it into the relation between the TV channel and the advertising client. This measure went down like a lead balloon for the media industry.

•  Publicis Groupe media network ZenithOptimedia took majority control of media buying company Zenith Romania, which was previously an affiliate agency. The vendor was communications group Centrade.

• Hospitality Services, a subsidiary of Swisscom, acquired the operations of Deuromedia Technologies Entwicklungs – und Vertriebs, to strengthen its global position in entertainment services for hotels. The acquisition was structured as an asset/business deal in Austria and as a share deal in Romania.

• The main shareholders in Romanian marketing agency Kinecto International – Dragos Grigoriu and Radu Ionescu – fully sold their stakes to London-based Aegis Group, a multinational media and digital marketing communications company.

• Burda International took over all the activities of Sanoma Hearst in Romania, becoming one of the largest media groups in the country with over 35 titles and 40 online media services.

• Publicis Groupe consolidated its local operations by reaching a 51 percent stake in five affiliated agencies: Leo Burnett & Target, Starcom MediaVest Group, The Practice and iLeo (all part of Leo Burnett Group) and Optimedia (part of Publicis Romania). Prior to the deal, Publicis owned 35 percent in Leo Burnett and 35 percent in Starcom, but had no stake in iLeo, The Practice or Optimedia.

• A group of Romanian investors acquired from Slovak JOJ Media House the full share package in Euromedia Holding, the leading outdoor advertiser in Romania. The group has over 8,000 outdoor advertising boards across Romania, reporting a turnover of EUR 8 million in 2012.

• APG|SGA, Switzerland’s leading out-of-home advertising company, sold its entire participation in Affichage Romania to Rene Rosenberg, the current local CEO, acting with co-investors.

• Mediafax Group announced it has taken over a minor share package in 2Parale affiliation network, taking over the shares of Stefan Iordache.

• Chello Central Europe, which in Romania ran TV channels Minimax, Megamax, TV Paprika, FilmCafe, MGM, Sport1 and SportM, closed down the Bucharest office

• A merger between Hyperactive and Senior Interactive led to the creation of the new digital agency Senior Hyperactive, headed by Mihai Tataru as managing partner.

• Mobile marketing agency Mobile Works announced that it took over Magnetic Studios, with an expertise in programming and research.

• Links Associates, which provides services of strategic communication services, public affairs and public relations, opened an office in Belgrad, as part of its development strategy.

Media outlets

•  Local publications saw their sales dip further between October- December 2012, compared to the similar timeframe in 2011, according to data from the Romanian Bureau of Circulation Auditing (BRAT).

•  Claudiu Saftoiu submitted his resignation from the position of president and general manager of the public television channel. He was elected president of the administration board of the public television (SRTV) at the end of June 2013.

•  Telecom operator Orange Romania launched its satellite TV service in Romania, at prices up to EUR 12 (VAT included).

•  Central European Media Enterprises (CME) appointed Christoph Mainusch and Michael Del Nin as co-chief executive officers of the company. They replaced Adrian Sarbu, who stepped down as president and CEO of CME.

•  Central European Media Enterprises (CME) announced plans to make 1,000 employees redundant by the end of 2013.

•  Shares of Central Media Enterprises (CME) plummeted by 50 percent, after the company announced the financial indicators for the third quarter ended September 30, 2013.

•  Agerpres, Romania’s longest standing newswire, announced a new identity, a new logo, and will deliver its message via new online communication outlets.

•  The National Audio-visual Council (CNA) decided to withdraw the licenses of Radio Guerilla, owned by Realitatea Media, which attracted the closure of the radio channel, which is now only available online.

•  The National Audio-visual Council decided to withdraw the broadcasting license of Money.ro TV, after the TV channel ceased to broadcast for more than 96 hours without notifying the Council.

• Pro TV group exit the must-carry list of programs. From now on, cable providers must request approval and pay to broadcast the Pro TV channels to their subscribers.

 Predictions for 2014

•  The media market is set to grow slightly by 1.9 percent in 2014. The forecast of media pundits is optimistic but reserved, due to the influence that the politic environment can exert on the media industry, according to ZenithOptimedia predictions.

•  TV remains dominant in the media mix, while advertising on other media outlets will slightly decrease or stabilize, according to ZenithOptimedia.

•  The digital, which is dominant in the media mix after TV, will continue its natural growth. Digital video advertising will bring new energy into the mix, according to ZenithOptimedia.