The bill implementing the Electronic Communications Law, which favors TVP channels, will be sent for the first reading of the Sejm session as early as in January. The bill is criticized by operators and representatives of private television broadcasters, emphasizing that the amendments have not been consulted with them. They also request that the work on the bill be stopped.

On 9 December, the governmental bill was submitted to the Sejm, and on December 13th, it was referred for the first reading. It has now been placed on the agenda of the session of the Sejm, which will take place on January 11th, 12th, and 13th, 2023.

If the provisions enter into force, the Telewizja Polska channels covered by the must-carry/must-offer principle (which means that operators must offer them) will have to be assigned the first numbers on the channels lists in cable networks or on satellite platforms (numbers 1 to 5). In addition, the operators will have to make TVP 1, TVP 2, and TVP 3 available as TVP Info and TVP Kultura. In line with the amendments proposed by the government, the must-carry/must-offer principle will cease to extend to TVN, Polsat, TV 4, and TV Puls. After the amendments are adopted, the National Broadcasting Council, by way of regulation, will be able to apply the principle of mandatory provision of channels by operators to other channels as well, up to a maximum of 30 channels.

“I agree with the voices that the only reason explaining this method of more than risky introduction of the amendments are political reasons,” said Jan Dworak, former Chairman of the National Broadcasting Council, during the Friday expert hearing organized by the parliamentary club of the Civic Coalition.

“The bill should not be binned entirely. It can be worked on,” said the former Chairman of the National Broadcasting Council, Witold Kołodziejski. He added: “However, I agree that the process of working on these extremely important amendments should be widely consulted so that the market and social stakeholders could present their stance.

“The proposed amendments are a scandalous breach of the principles of fair competition and the Poles’ right to choose; they also are imposing the numbers of TVP channels on the remotes of citizens’ TV sets. Channels not approved by the National Broadcasting Council will be available from number 36,” tells Marcin Malicki, VP of Products, Wirtualna Polska, Head of WP Pilot service.

He also points out that the bill directly imposes fixed reception of television while users around the world, especially young users, prefer mobile reception. “The bill turns us back to the digital Middle Ages. It does not take into account how the technology develops, nor does it take into account viewers’ choices,” adds Malicki.

This includes, among others, a provision under which the must carry/must offer principle will extend only to operators who apply “technical security measures or IT solutions ensuring that programs are received in a fixed manner only.”

The legislation proposed by the government also provides that pay-TV operators will have to offer customers the possibility of buying individual channels and not just bundles with the stations chosen by the operator as it is now the case.

“Small specialized channels will not be able to survive. Now they can function because they are part of the bundles (and receive fees from operators for that – ed. note),” said Teresa Wierzbowska, President of the Management Board of the Association of Private Media Employers Lewiatan, which associates broadcasters and television operators, during the Friday expert hearing. As she underlined, this solution will also result in higher fees to be paid by subscribers who, when choosing individual channels, will consequently pay more than they currently pay for the whole bundle.

The chambers of commerce associating media and telecommunications broadcasters and operators, such as the Polish Chamber of Electronic Communications, the Polish Chamber of Information Technology and Telecommunications, the Polish Chamber of Commerce for Electronics and Telecommunications, the Association of Private Media Employers Lewiatan, the National Chamber of Ethernet Communications, the Union of Cable Television in Poland – Chamber of Commerce, the Polish Foundation for the Development of Electronic Communication PIKSEL and the Foundation for Supporting New Telecommunications Technologies “Protelko” also oppose the amendments.

We strongly oppose further processing of amendments to the Broadcasting Act, incorporated into the bill implementing the Electronic Communications Law (PKE) without public consultation,” wrote a representative of these Chambers in an appeal of December 15th.

As they added, the proposed amendments deeply interfere with the freedom of business activity and business models. “We appeal for stopping work on these harmful regulations, which will actually limit competition and weaken the Polish television market,” they said in the appeal.