Warsaw, July 15, 2021

 

The Management Board of the Chamber of Press Publishers is closely following the plans to amend the National Broadcasting Act by limiting the right of entities from outside of the EEA to participate in the Polish electronic media market. The circumstances of filing the relevant draft, the manner it is being processed, and the numerous comments of the amendments initiators unambiguously show that the regulation is to be directed against TVN which is owned by the American corporation Discovery.

 

We strongly oppose these plans. From the moment it was founded, TVN has been an important element of the Polish media system and it has contributed in the process of rendering this system more professional. Its multimillion audience constitutes proof of its strength and importance for the Polish freedom of speech. In a democratic country, it is said audience, and not politics in any meaning of that word, that should decide about the continuation of the broadcaster’s mission. Formally and legally, TVN should, therefore, benefit from acquired rights. The Management Board of the Chamber of Press Publishers hereby points out that economic freedom and freedom of speech in Poland are guaranteed by the Constitution and any violation thereof will be met with a joint reaction of the community of media entities which are part of the Chamber of Press Publishers.