Government Plays with Poles’ Pilots, Wants to Strengthen Five TVP Channels. “Strengthening Party TV.”
The government wants to amend the Broadcasting Act so that the first five buttons on the remote controls must include TVP stations, and the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT) would decide on the remaining channels. For a long time, the Council did not want to grant the TVN license.
Pursuant to the “must carry, must offer” rule, pay-TV operators must offer the following stations: TVP1, TVP2, TVP3, Polsat, TVN, TV4, and TV Puls. However, the government wants to introduce changes – if the amendment to the Broadcasting Act enters into force, the above list will lose several items, and new ones will appear. Then only five channels will remain TVP1, TVP2, TVP3, TVP Kultura, and TVP Info. However, the remaining stations, after consultations, would be indicated by the National Broadcasting Council’s chairman, who for a long time did not want to grant the TVN license .
TVP stations will be in the first positions in cable TV. Jacek Kurski spoke about the local government elections.
Pursuant to the amendment, TVP stations would obligatorily occupy the first positions on the set-top boxes of pay TV operators and the next ones according to the regulation of the National Broadcasting Council. In addition, the obligation to provide the TVP3 regional channel would also cover satellite platforms, which means the need to include all 16 regional TVP3 channels in the offer. Currently, satellite platforms are provided only by TVP3 Warszawa.
This is how the then-president of TVP, Jacek Kurski, assessed the changes in June 2022:
I am glad that there is an act in the government on the implementation of the European Code of Electronic Communications, the adoption of which may cause that all of you will have on the remote control on the third channel the 3rd channel of Telewizja Polska and the territorially appropriate signal of a given center. Not like today in Polsat, that on channel 68 of TVP3 Warszawa in Bialystok in SD format
– Connecting with the centers during the concert intentionally showed the centers’ potential and how close we can be to local communities, especially with the local government elections next year. Local information is very important for it to reach Poles – he emphasized.
Industry representatives are critical of the government’s idea. Former vice-president of UPC Polska, Marek Sowa, explained that introducing these provisions “is a smaller selection of programs for a higher subscription.” – An election year is coming, so there is no wrong way to strengthen the disposable party television, which is currently TVP – he said in an interview with Wirtualne Media.
The government will change the list of TV channels for Poles. The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage comments
The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage maintains that in the currently processed amendment to the Broadcasting Act, the transmission obligation may cover programs on the so-called statutory list and other channels (e.g., commercial).
“The authorization to issue a regulation by the KRRiT is included in the act, which defines the detailed conditions and rules to be followed by the programs covered by the mandatory transmission. Pursuant to the act, the KRRiT will be authorized to conduct open public consultations on the selection of programs, the number of which may not exceed 30 ” – we read in the message.