President Duda Met with President and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery.

Wirtualnemedia.pl | April 28, 2023

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav held a meeting with Polish President Duda, addressing Polish employees of the company on April 17. The international executive reassured the employees that TVN was not for sale, emphasizing the importance of the Polish market to the corporation.

Zaslav stated that the company would support local productions in Poland, as they are crucial. Furthermore, he did not anticipate any cuts, reductions, or the sale of TVN, according to one of TVN’s journalists who reported on Zaslav’s speech. Zaslav jokingly mentioned that neither Netflix nor Solorz would acquire TVN, eliciting smiles from those present, as shared by our informant.

What topics were discussed during the meeting?

On the “Fakty po Faktach” TVN24 program, Zaslav expressed the particular importance Poland holds for him.

“First of all, I am here because TVN is very close to me. I visit frequently and am extremely proud of everything we do at TVN. We’ll return to that. Additionally, a significant part of my family hails from Poland. My relatives perished in the Warsaw Ghetto. When I am here and witness such an important celebration, I receive further confirmation of how incredible this country is,” said Werner during an interview with Anita. He disclosed that prior to his visit to Poland, he conversed with the Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris, and  President Joe Biden.

“The President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Duda, met with Mr. David Zaslav, who participated in the celebrations commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising just last week. The meeting occurred at the request of the Warner Bros. Discovery president,” Wirtualnemedia.pl Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland reports.

Though TVN Warner Bros. Discovery remains tight-lipped about the conversation’s topics, presidential officials provide insights into the meeting’s agenda. “The discussion revolved around combating disinformation, particularly in the context of Russian aggression against Ukraine and the state of the global media market. The President of the Republic of Poland also recounted the role Pope John Paul II played in the history of Poland and the world,” explains the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland.

KRRiT and PiS versus TVN

A few weeks ago, Maciej Świrski, the chairman of the National Broadcasting Council, initiated proceedings to penalize TVN24 for a report suggesting that Cardinal Karol Wojtyła had covered up pedophilia cases. Earlier, Świrski initiated similar proceedings regarding a report attacking Antoni Macierewicz’s Smolensk subcommittee.

The National Broadcasting Council has scrutinized TVN’s ownership structure for several years. Council members assert that the station circumvents regulations by belonging to an American corporation. According to the Broadcasting Act, licenses can be granted to broadcasters with headquarters in the European Economic Area. The formal owner of TVN is Discovery Communications Benelux, based in Amsterdam. This company is, in turn, part of the Warner Bros. Discovery conglomerate. The license renewal processes for TVN24, TVN7, and recently HGTV took many months. On Wednesday, the regulator agreed to continue broadcasting the station dedicated to homes and gardens (the license expired on June 26). Concurrently, the National Broadcasting Council announced it was further examining TVN’s ownership structure. On April 14, 2024, the main TVN station’s license will expire. At the end of 2021, President Andrzej Duda vetoed a bill known as “Lex TVN,” which would have forced the American owners to resell a majority stake in the station.