NEM Dubrovnik 2026 got underway on Monday with a clear message: despite ongoing industry disruption, the Central and Eastern European TV business remains highly active, highly international and increasingly important to the global content ecosystem.

This year's edition opened at Hotel Dubrovnik Palace with a significantly expanded market footprint, record attendance levels and a new Adriatic Area pavilion added after the Sunset and Mare exhibition zones sold out. According to organizers, more than 300 companies, over 200 buyers and 150 exhibitors are participating this year, while the market itself has grown by 50% compared to 2025.

The opening day was marked by a busy schedule of meetings across the three market areas and a conference program focused on the structural changes reshaping the television industry.

Kicking off the conference agenda, the session NEM Kickoff: Three Media Trends, powered by the European Audiovisual Observatory, examined partnerships between broadcasters and streaming platforms, investment trends and market consolidation.

Christian Grece, Senior Analyst at the European Audiovisual Observatory, argued that Europe’s audiovisual landscape is being “quietly redrawn” by major industry shifts.

“Broadcasters and streamers are no longer rivals; today they are partners,” he said, pointing to the growing number of co-productions, distribution agreements and joint content launches. He also noted that YouTube is increasingly viewed as “an essential extension of the broadcast network” as broadcasters seek to reach younger audiences.

At the same time, Grece warned of potential long-term consequences. “The question is no longer whether to partner. The question is on whose terms,” he said, highlighting concerns around audience ownership, data access and platform dependency.

Guy Bisson, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Ampere Analysis, stressed the need for what he described as “diagonal integration collaboration” between traditional and digital players as media companies look for growth opportunities in a rapidly changing market.

Gregoire Polad, Director General of ACT, meanwhile, called for a more balanced regulatory framework between broadcasters and digital platforms, arguing that traditional television companies continue to operate under significantly greater obligations than global online services.

Providing a regional perspective, NEM founder and Pickbox CEO Sanja Božić-Ljubičić emphasized the realities facing CEE players. “We don’t have money, at least not on the scale of Western Europe,” she said. “These are very small territories, very fragmented countries and markets.” She added: “I was talking to some guys from Netflix and inviting them here. They said—and they've been saying it for 5 years now— no, we don't come to regions where we don't plan to produce.”

Beyond the conference sessions, the market itself was one of the main talking points on the opening day. According to industry observers, NEM Dubrovnik is benefiting from the absence of competing regional events and has attracted a growing number of first-time participants. This year Canadian publisher Brunico canceled NATPE Budapest (while traditionally held in June, the company first moved it to April but eventually canceled it altogether) and another, smaller event, moved to Warsaw after its first edition in Budapest failed to impress CEE delegates despite heavy promotion several years ago, was also canceled quietly due to “the war in the Middle East”.

Monday's program also featured showcases from Global Agency and Globo, while a Globo-sponsored panel explored the dynamics of long-term buyer-seller relationships. The day concluded with a well-attended welcome party in Dubrovnik's Old Town, sponsored by Broadpeak, Globo, Fremantle International and ITV Studios.

Today's schedule continues with one of the strongest conference lineups of the event.

The day will feature a keynote conversation with CME CEO Sam Barnett discussing how local content competes in an increasingly global market and what makes the CEE region unique.

Another major session will be the SES-sponsored panel The Hybrid Future of TV Distribution in 2026: Is Satellite Still "Sexy", Relevant or Just Necessary?, moderated by Stanislav Kimchev, SVP Global Sales & Partnerships at CEETV. The discussion will bring together executives from SES, Eutelsat, Antenna Entertainment, Telekom Srbija and Nielsen to examine how satellite, IP and hybrid distribution models are evolving in the region.

The participation of CEETV in moderating one of the event's key industry debates underscores the media's continuing role in shaping discussions around distribution, technology and business strategy across Central and Eastern Europe.

Day 2 will also include ITV Studios' latest format showcase, a Spain Upfront presentation, a panel examining how CEE telecom operators approach content decisions differently from their Western European counterparts, and a keynote conversation with Fremantle's Jens Richter.