People to meet: Ondrej Zach, HBO CE

Ondrej Zach is senior VP, programming and acquisitions, HBO Central Europe.

Based in Prague, Ondrej Zach is responsible for programming the bouquet of channels across the fourteen countries in which HBO Central Europe operates. Prior to HBO, Zach was at TV Nova and is a well-known TV exec in the CEE region.

He says one of the appeals of Discop is that it is less manic than some of the larger markets. “Discop is one of the more relaxed industry gatherings where I can arrange to meet our key partners in a less hectic environment than other markets and talk through the details of deals that are already arranged, but where we have to agree the fine detail before they are signed,” he says.

The way the TV business is evolving means these kind of detailed discussions are more and more necessary, Zach adds.

“People still need to talk to people in spite of email and smart phones, and these conversations have become increasingly detailed, because as technology continually introduces more and more ways of watching television, there are more details to be ironed out with every new deal. For example, now that we have HBO GO being rolled out across our region, we will only enter into negotiations if SVOD rights are available, as well as linear rights, of course. And for this you need time, and the atmosphere at Discop provides just that.”