ATM Group posted over 153 million PLN in consolidated revenue and almost 18 million PLN in net earnings. Its premiere shows, including “Wataha” on HBO Poland, attracted record-breaking audiences, and its continued shows achieved excellent ratings too. In 2015 the Group plans to increase the number of its shows in broadcasters’ schedules.
In 2014 ATM Group’s consolidated sales rose more than 153 million PLN, up 26.2% (almost 32 million PLN) year on year, reaching the highest value in the Group’s history. It also posted marked increases in earnings and margins at all operational levels. Net earnings neared 18 million PLN, an almost triple rise on the previous year.
ATM Group operates in four segments: television and film production, fixed asset management, broadcasting and other. In 2014, all of the segments recorded growth in revenue.
Television production is the Group’s main source of revenue. In 2014 Polish broadcasters aired 12 ATM Group series, with 252 hours of premiere programming and 11,700 of reruns. In 2014 ATM Group companies launched production of three new series for leading channels: the drama series “Powiedz tak” for Polsat TV, the series “Prokurator” for TVP2 and “Strażacy” for TVP1.
“Strażacy” is the first Polish series about volunteer fire fighters, one of the two new series in the spring schedule of TVP1. The first episode, aired on March 1, received excellent ratings – 3.3 million viewers (17.1% share in the 16–49 demographic and 21% share in the 4+ age group). The series remains unchallenged in its time slot, placing second among the most-watched films during the weekend. Sunday afternoon repeats performed very well too, attracting 2.4 million viewers. In total, the first episode of “Strażacy” drew 5 million viewers.
Throughout 2014 ATM Group continued production of its flagship shows, including the soap “First Love” for Polsat TV, the leader in its time slot, which celebrated its 10th anniversary last year; the cult sitcom “The Lousy World” (holder of the world record of 468 episodes and 16 years in running); and the highly anticipated criminal series “Na krawędzi 2”, which received the first ever online-only premiere before its television debut. For state-owned broadcasters, ATM Group produced new seasons of “The Ranch” and “Ojciec Mateusz”, hits that draw multi-million audiences. Both series ranked, respectively, second and fourth in the top 20 most-watched series in 2014.
In the fall of 2014, HBO Poland aired the ATM Group series “Wataha”. The 6-episode show drew a record audience becoming the most-watched series on HBO Poland in 2014. The uncoded premiere episode attracted almost 1 million viewers, one of the best viewing results for films and series in the history of HBO Poland. HBO plans to distribute the show internationally in 14 languages, with the Hungarian and Czech versions slated for broadcast in 2015.
In 2014, ATM Grupa shows received multiple nominations to Polish awards. “The Ranch” and “Wataha” were nominated to the prestigious Eagle awards for best television fictional series. “The Lousy World” and “The Ranch” received Telekamera nominations, and in 2015 “The Ranch” won the Telekamera.
The series “Pielęgniarki”, produced for Polsat, has also performed well. The premiere episodes, aired in the spring, led to a new commission. The episodes broadcast in the fall also drew large audiences, with the series topping its time slot.
ATM Grupa S.A.’s documentary-style series, aired since 2014, got excellent ratings. The daily series “Pielęgniarki”, produced for Polsat TV, which debuted in spring 2014, has been performing very well. The episodes aired in the spring and fall topped the series time slot, and new episodes were commissioned.
The new series “Policjantki i policjanci”, produced for TV4 and airing since 29 September 2014, also commanded very high viewing figures, growing from episode to episode. Since its debut, the show has significantly boosted its time slot ratings (period on period), becoming the most-watched program on TV4. Since its launch, the show repeatedly improved its time slot ratings. A new set of episodes kicked off on March 2 after the broadcast on February 28 of the feature film “Pokój 112: Policjantki i policjanci”, which drew an impressive million viewers.
The 2-episode documentary series “Seks – kup teraz”, produced in the second quarter of 2014 for TLC Poland (Discovery Channels Group) had a record summer holiday rating, nearing 200,000 viewers (the channel’s daily average is 37,000 viewers). This spring, TLC Poland wants to broadcast a continuation of the series – a 4-episode documentary exploring similar themes.
In 2015 ATM Grupa S.A. plans to add four new titles to broadcasters’ schedules, increasing its show count to 16.
ATM Group shows are also produced outside Poland. Based on Polish scripts, Estonian television has launched production of the fourth series of “The Ranch” while a Russian company is producing “Ojciec Mateusz” for a state-owned Russian channel. In June 2014 ATM Grupa S.A. attended NATPE Europe in Prague, which included a Polish showcase. ATM Grupa S.A., in conjunction with TVN S.A. and Monolith Films Sp. z o.o., created a Polish pavilion where television shows produced by ATM Group and companies represented by ATM Grupa S.A. were showcased. Honorary guest, invited by ATM Grupa S.A., was world-renowned director Agnieszka Holland. At the market the company unveiled the draft of a new series, “Breslau”, a high-budget production based on Marek Krajewski’s popular series of crime novels. ATM Rozrywka TV had good ratings too, with revenue from airtime sale rising by 11.4% year on year and the market share of the channel increasing.
The revenue of the fixed asset management segment was up 20.8%. In 2014 non-Group revenue rose by 11.8%. The results of different operational levels improved mainly due to higher sales of studio and office space at the ATM Studio complex and higher revenue from technical support and equipment rental by ATM System.
In addition to providing production equipment for ATM Group companies, ATM System continued to support the broadcast of T-Mobile Ekstraklasa league and championship games and basketball league games. In March 2014 ATM System and Live Park pioneered the use of 4K technology in Poland. ATM System also worked for many external clients (equipment hire, technical support), including shows such as “The Voice of Poland. Najlepszy głos”, “Top Chef”, “Hell’s Kitchen”, “Dancing with the Stars/Taniec z gwiazdami”, all of which were produced in ATM Studio’s sound stages in Warsaw. The launch of the modern studio complex in Warsaw, along with services provided by ATM System, has enabled the Group to offer a full range of television production services for the production industry, significantly strengthening the Group’s market position. Since their launch, ATM Warsaw studios have been attracting continuous interest from television and advertising companies. In addition to television production, the ATM Studio building is a popular venue to hold a variety of prestigious events, with the facility being appreciated by industry periodicals, garnering ample praise, awards and nominations for high quality and functionality.
In the second quarter of 2014, the 400-seat Bielany Stage (Scena na Bielanach) was launched in Wrocław in one of the studios of ATM Grupa S.A. Despite it is still early days, the project has attracted great interest from audiences and theatre companies alike.
*All viewing data according to Nielsen Audience Measurement
