Advertising ban and lower ratings may cost TVP jobs

Public broadcaster TVP is considering laying off staff, in an effort to come to terms with a declining audience, and a loss of revenue caused by the ban on beer advertising. Unofficial sources quoted by Prawo i Gospodarka suggest that the lay-offs may involve as many as two thirds of TVP's workforce. However, commenting on the report, TVP spokesman Janusz Cieliszak insisted that should any job cuts take place, they would affect no more than 8% of the workforce. TVP's viewer ratings in the first half of the year were down by 2.17% compared to the same period of 2000. It is estimated that the ban on television beer advertisements will cost TVP some zl.70 million, roughly the same as it spends each year on maintaining the unprofitable TV Polonia channel. According to Cieliszak, the current worldwide recession has brought a 14% decrease in advertising spending, and this will result in a similar percentage fall in the company's revenue next year. (Prawo i Gospodarka, pp. 1, 4) P.J.