Streaming against the current: Reframing media power in Central and Eastern Europe through the rise of a regional media giant

This article challenges the dominant narrative that media development in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) has shifted from globalization to “oligarchization.” Using original data from the Global Media and Internet Concentration Project, it examines the transformation of Central European Media Enterprises (CME) under Czech investment group PPF since 2020. Grounded in a critical political economy approach, the study analyzes CME's hybrid strategy combining local-language content, streaming-first distribution, and telco-media convergence. Rather than political instrumentalization by national capital, the case illustrates a commercially driven, regionally scaled consolidation model. The article introduces the concept of “compartmentalized” regionalism to describe how cross-border integration coexists with nationally segmented operations. The findings offer a non-Western perspective on contemporary media globalization and highlight emerging industrial configurations in peripheral markets shaped by both convergence and fragmentation.