According to media research company At Media, television viewership in the Czech Republic returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2022 after two years of Covid-19 related lockdowns and restrictions. In 2020 and 2021, television viewing increased due to people spending more time at home. The average daily television viewing time for viewers over the age of four was 3 hours and 25 minutes in 2021, which was only one minute less than in 2019. However, the trend was opposite for younger viewers. The adult target group of 15+ watched television an average of 3 hours and 44 minutes per day, which was two minutes more than in 2019. About 68% of Czech television viewers, or 6.5 million people, watched television every day in 2021.

The trend in television viewing in other countries in the region was different. In Hungary, television viewing remained the same in 2022 as it was in 2020 and 2021, with viewers over the age of four watching television for an average of 4 hours and 55 minutes per day for three years in a row, which was 16 minutes more than in 2019. Poland, on the other hand, experienced a decline in television viewing, falling below figures for 2019. Meanwhile, the trend in Slovakia was the same as in the Czech Republic.

According to Pavel Müller, At Media’s head of research and marketing, the stability of television viewing in the Czech Republic suggests that television remains a popular medium in the country. In fact, the average viewing time has slightly increased in the last ten years, with viewers over the age of 15 watching television 12 more minutes a day in 2021 than in 2012. However, this trend did not extend to younger target groups.

Compared to other countries in the Visegrad Four (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia), television viewing in the Czech Republic has been consistently the lowest. In Hungary, for example, television viewing has been one of the highest in the Central European region for several years, with viewers spending over four hours a day in front of their screens.

In conclusion, the pandemic has led to an increase in television viewing time in the Czech Republic in 2020 and 2021, with viewership returning to pre-pandemic levels in 2022. The stability of television viewing in the Czech Republic suggests that it remains a popular medium, but this trend does not extend to younger target groups. Compared to other countries in the region, television viewing in the Czech Republic is the lowest, while Hungary has one of the highest viewerships in Central Europe

Article by Prague Forum