PRAGUE -- Following a broad and successful promotional campaign in the Czech Republic last fall, HBO has more than doubled its subscribers here.
The country's only pay TV channel now claims more than 80,000 subscribers. The campaign benefited from HBO's signing on provider Cable Plus, the U.S. West-owned cabler and largest cable company in the Czech Republic. HBO now reaches 80% of cable systems in the country.
The company expects the surge in viewership to continue. It estimates another doubling in subscriptions by the end of 1998. Additional recent incentives driving up numbers include exclusive deals with Disney, Sony and Polygram (along with its Warner Bros. and Turner relationships), and an increase in viewing hours, up to 18 from the previous 10 hours per day.
HBO broadcasts on three channels in the Czech Republic. Along with its movie channel, it runs a documentary channel, Max 1, and a children's channel, SuperMax. Those are provided by its basic subscription service (which does not include the movie channel). Subscriptions for that service also more than doubled in 1997, and now stand at around 300,000.
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