Once upon a time, Tim Crescenti was a puzzle board operator for the hit US game show Wheel of Fortune – not Vanna White, but the guy behind the scenes plugging one cord into another to make sure the letters lit up.

Czech artist Natalie Kocábová Hoffmann opens up about her life and career to CME Content Academy students Natalie is a remarkable Czech artist who recently shared her inspiring life story and career journey with students at the CME Content Academy's masterclass. Her passion for writing and creativity began at a very young age, and she never stopped pursuing it.

When students at CME Content Academy speak of Tuwiah Neustadt, you can hear the awe, the respect, and even a little bit of their nervousness. “Tubi is my motivation, my inspiration,” said student Tereza Vlčeková. “He is everything I want to be.” “I felt challenged to give him better answers,” said Matěj Skop after he faced “difficult, thought-provoking” questions from Tubi during his application interview for the academy.…

In linear TV programming, everything can change in an instant because Nova is live and can react to any current events. And since it broadcasts 24 hours a day, the deadlines are uncompromising, there is no time to pause as viewers have to be entertained at all times. Silvia Majeská, Program Director of TV Nova and Markíza Groups, thrives under the pressure. The 38-year-old from Bratislava loves her job and loves the challenge…

Ask Matthias Settele what is behind his success as General Director of TV Markíza, and he’ll tell you those two things. Ask him what has made TV Markíza a powerhouse broadcaster in Slovakia and he’ll lead you right back there. Ask him how the broadcaster has produced such great content and greatly expanded their streaming: You’ll get the same answer. “You need passion to be successful in this business,” he explained, “and…

If you could influence millions of people, what message would you send them? Klára Brachtlová knows exactly what she would say. As the former co-CEO of TV Nova, the largest broadcaster in the Czech Republic, she had a great deal of influence. Now, as the Chief of External Affairs for Nova’s parent company, CME, Klára is transitioning into a new role that will allow her to expand her message across all six countries…

Henrich Krejča is an old-school journalist – the kind who investigates the mafia, battles government corruption, and fights for the little guy. Every month this year, he plans to visit universities in Slovakia with one message for today’s youth: “Please, you MUST be interested in what’s happening in your country,” he said.

The first writers' room was established by Aaron Spelling in the 70s. for his series The Mod Squad, Charlie’s Angels, and The Love Boat. Since it became standard practice in American production, the concept is today adopted around the globe. For example, the first Star Wars movie was written by a small writing group led by George Lucas. Because two heads are better than one. That's why TV Nova established several writers' rooms…

Former executive producer Veronika Trčková, who spent 16 years working her way up in the television industry, has taken on a new mission to jump-start the television careers of talented young newcomers. She is one of the key players in the creation of the CME Content Academy, which opened last year, and is designed to develop young talent into the scriptwriters, showrunners, directors, and TV producers of tomorrow.

The entertainment industry can be wasteful. Since climate change is a big topic around the globe, television and content makers are looking for green ways of production. It's natural for young people to adopt green filming strategies in their work from the beginning. That's why our CME CONTENT ACADEMY students had many practical workshops about Green filming concepts and the Albert certification.

Some of the most valuable lessons from Tarantino include the importance of being true to your characters and having a clear vision, having a personal connection to your story, and the importance of finding your own writing process and making films that you would personally want to see.

What can you learn during three months? With great teachers, more than you think. The students of CME Content Academy, who just finished their first trimester, can support that thesis. Since October they have had a chance to listen to great lecturers from the TV industry. What resonated with them the most?

You can't invent anything new. But you have to be innovative enough to blow the viewer away and not just repeat the old stuff.

Director and producer Radovan Síbrt visited the school for young talents CME Content Academy in December. He is currently producing the cooking reality show MasterChef for Nova. Its sixth series reached its finale before Christmas, and another is on the way. "To lead a show like MasterChef, one does not need to understand cooking," says Síbrt. According to him, looking for stories for the show is much more critical.

Sylvia Stevens is sick and tired of formulaic movies and TV shows. And don’t even get her started on algorithms. What does she want from broadcasters and filmmakers? Courage! This Texas-born producer and director – who’s been based in London for the last 40-plus years – wants more broadcasters to experiment, to open their minds to independent directors and to projects from around the world.

Trying to come up with a new idea for a show? Ben Gibson says to give it up. “There aren’t any original ideas,” according to Ben, who has run prestigious film schools for nearly 20 years. “Most people never start work because they’re looking for a good idea. But what’s important is to have a different idea every morning.”

Author: Matej Škop In the first month that the CME Content course has been running at the Academy, we, as its students, listened to dozens of speakers. Without wanting to toot our own horn, we agreed that the lectures from CME professionals were among the most interesting: whether it was head of content development Michal Reitler, who guided us through the process of developing a subject, or creative producer Erika Hníková,…

“I tried to organize chaos. How Scandinavian of me.” -- Björk Markus Sterky is definitely Scandinavian and he has spent decades wrestling the chaos, drama, and sheer madness of life into successful and well-organized television content. Markus Sterky is definitely Scandinavian and he has spent decades wrestling the chaos, drama, and sheer madness of life into successful and well-organized television content.

“If you’re average, you won’t be watched.” That pretty much sums up the philosophy of Ole Hedemann, the man who helped develop some of the best television content in Norway, and who now teaches it at Norway’s TV School.