The Head of the National Broadcasting Council Wants the Ownership Structure of TVN to Be Examined by an International Contractor
The National Broadcasting Council still has not dealt with the extension of the HGTV license and other TVN Warner Bros. channels. discovery. Chairman of the Council Maciej Świrski wants the analysis of the structure of TVN, the owner of the station, to be carried out by an international contractor.
The broadcaster has been waiting for a decision on the extension of the HGTV license for over eight months. The station’s cable and satellite license is valid only until June 26, 2023. According to the regulations, you must apply for a new license for the next 10 years at the latest one year before the current license expires. The application of TVN (the broadcaster of the station) regarding the extension of the HGTV license was submitted to the National Broadcasting Council on June 23, 2022, still under the previous composition of the National Council.
Chairman with doubts about TVN
Applications for the extension of the license of the main TVN (until April 14, 2024), TVN Turbo (until February 12, 2024) and TVN International (until February 10, 2024) are also waiting in the queue.
The process is delayed due to doubts, among others the chairman of the National Broadcasting Council as to the ownership structure of TVN.
Prof. Tadeusz Kowalski, an opposition member of the National Council, wanting to speed up the process, came up with the initiative for TVN to send its ownership structure to the National Broadcasting Council. As we have established, such a document, prepared by TVN, will soon be sent to the National Broadcasting Council.
However, the Chairman of the Council prefers that the structure of the station be analyzed by an external entity.
– At the meeting of the National Broadcasting Council (held on Wednesday – editor’s note) I asked a question about the expert opinion, previously described by the chairman of the National Broadcasting Council as concerning trading in concessions. The chairman announced that an international contractor was being sought to analyze TVN’s ownership structure. So I asked who and in what mode should conduct such an analysis, but I did not receive any answer from the chairman – says prof. Tadeusz Kowalski.
“Świrski will die in this case”
Krzysztof Luft, a former member of the National Council, emphasizes that Maciej Świrski has never hidden his negative attitude towards TVN and now, as chairman of the National Broadcasting Council, uses his position to act against TVN. “But I’m sure he’ll fall for it.” Such prolongation of proceedings without clear reasons is inconsistent with the obligations of the Code, says Luft. And he adds: – I do not believe that the National Broadcasting Council will not extend this or subsequent licenses of channels from the TVN group, but it may harass the broadcaster even until the last day of their validity.
As Krzysztof Luft emphasizes, TVN has been operating on the market for over 25 years, and all ownership transformations that took place there were public. – So everyone interested knows what the ownership structure of this broadcaster is. Only chairman Świrski insists that he does not know her, says Luft.
Doubts as to the ownership structure of TVN were also the reason for prolonging the proceedings to issue licenses for TVN Siedem and TVN 24, even during the previous term of office of the Supervisory Board. Siódemka’s license is – so far – the last license of the TVN station, which was extended by the National Broadcasting Council. It took the previous KRRiT 19 months to extend the license for TVN 24 (the Council made its decision four days before the expiration of the broadcasting right), and for TVN Siedem – over a year.