THE NEW MANAGEMENT CHANGES THE DIRECTION OF PRO TV Aleksandras Cesnavicius: "There are no commercial or political pressures in Pro TV"

There are no commercial or political pressures in Pro TV, people are simply allowed to do their job and are focused on it, Aleksandras Cesnavicius, the CEO of Pro TV said yesterday, at the event for the launch of the autumn schedule of the channel, at the MediaPro Studios.

He said: "Before coming to Romania, I was a bit concerned about what the news would look like in this country and whether there was journalistic freedom and people were free to do their job properly. I was pleasantly surprised to find that in Pro TV the highest standards of journalism are preserved, there are no commercial or political pressures, people are simply allowed to do their job".

The statement of the head of Pro TV is interesting to say the least; it is a well-known fact that Romanian TV stations suffer when it comes to regard of journalistic independence and freedom of expression.

It is well-known that under the previous management team, Pro TV was the supporter of the government, due to its tax arrears, s meaning that it would constantly switch allegiances whenever the government changed.

Once the government would help them with their debts, the journalists of Pro TV would boast that "they think freely".

The presence of Christoph Mainusch, co-CEO of CME, the parent company of Pro TV at yesterday's conference, was the surprise element of the event. He said: "I came to Pro TV in September last year, as co-CEO, together with Michael Del Nin. We are in full process of building the business. It hasn't been that easy, but what I want to tell you is that as owner, CME supports 100% Pro TV and this group. In the last few months there has been a lot of noise. Our message is that we are one hundred percent committed to Pro TV".

Christoph Mainusch also said that in the first semester, Pro TV was the biggest profit center of the international network of TV stations owned by CME.

Despite the information published by the press concerning the restructuring process that Pro TV is going through, as well as the transfer of several executives or stars to other TV stations, Pro TV had the biggest market share in prime time, in the history of modern measurements (25%), compared to Antena 1 which has stagnated, Cesnavicius said.

Christoph Mainusch added: "As you can see we are being challenged, the competition is waking up, (ed. note: this summer's ratings seen by Antena 1, as well as the departure of some major stars from ProTV). For me, it's not the fact that we have been challenged that is the surprise, but the fact that it took so long for us to do it. Pro TV has always been the number one channel and we will do whatever it takes to keep this position. Competition drives quality".

Aleksandras Cesnavicius said yesterday: "Our ambition to remain the leader doesn't change. It is just a bigger pressure, to remain where we are. As a leader, the greatest mistake we could stop making is to innovate. We keep trying to come up with new ideas that don't exist in the market".

In the first semester of 2014, PRO TV had a median rating of 10.4 points and a market share of 25% among commercial viewers, up 1.6 percentage points over last year and 75% higher than its main competitor, according to company officials.

The channel had 9.7 ratings points on a national level, and a 19.7% share, according to data presented at the press conference. Also, in the prime time, Pro TV ranked first among urban viewers, seeing 9.3 ratings points and 18.7% share, according to data provided by the management of Pro TV.

Christoph Mainusch also said that it was too early for details concerning the possible buyers of the non core-business assets of Pro TV - Pro FM, the Buftea studios - while the negotiations are not in their final stages.