Conservative couch potatoes alarmed, Polsat steals the ball from inert TVP
Last week Rafal Smoczyński, the author and editor of ŇFronda,O a popular, twice-monthly feature covering social, cultural and even moral issues, said that his four-year-old program might get axed from TVP's fall programming schedule.
ŇIt's my feeling that the director of Channel 1 plans to get rid of the program; he doesn't want to speak to me, though,O Smoczy[ski told the Business Journal.
This has conservative viewers up in arms, or at least rising from their armchairs. They claim that ŇFrondaO is the only program that actually fulfills the role of public television, while the rest of programming on TVP consists of nothing but cheap entertainment.
Ň ÔFronda' is an island in a sea of programs made by journalists of a leftist and liberal background,O said Jaroslaw Sellin, a new Solidarity Election Action (AWS)-backed board member on the National Television and Radio Council (KRRiTV). ŇTVP needs to become a non-partisan medium whereas now it's ruled by people affiliated with President (Aleksander) Kwaćniewski who are focused on preparation for his upcoming presidential campaign.O
According to Smoczy[ski, his program will be practically doomed to nonexistence even if it remained on the air as a monthly.
ŇI can't possibly pay for the team with a program on air just once a month,O Smoczy[ski argued. ŇThe program's budget hasn't been changed since its start four years ago.O
Pawel Sosnowski, head of the information office at TVP, said that the problem had been exaggerated by ŇFronda'sO editor.
ŇThere are no restrictions planned for ÔFronda,' O he said. ŇAll the havoc started when Slawomir Zieli[ski (head of Channel 1) wouldn't prolong a contract with ÔFronda's' authors because the fall programming hadn't been shaped yet.O
According to Smoczy[ski, a fall programming schedule is now being put together.
Interception
Private television station Polsat scored big time late last month against rival TVP when it landed a deal with the Union of the European Football Associations (UEFA) to air Champions League soccer games for three years starting in 2000.
The rights to the games currently rests in TVP's hands and it will continue to broadcast them for one more season.
After that, though, it's Polsat's ball.
ŇDespite the internal reform, public television still operates on the basis of inertia, if they did have the rights for something in the past, they tend to assume that this will be the situation in the future,O said Piotr Nurowski, general manager at Polsat. ŇAnd television sports rights is a business, and you have to approach it in a business-like way.O
The value of the contract brokered by local sports rights agency Go & Goal was not revealed, although backstage talk put the value at about $7 million.
Nurowski refused to say if the figure was accurate.
ŇRegardless of the price, the fact that we bought the rights for the Champions League mirrors the new approach with which Polsat wants to treat sport events,O he said. ŇWe have to admit that until now we have not been taking sports seriously enough.O
Continued outrage
Reemtsma, the tobacco producer behind the perky billboards that briefly featured a bare-breasted smoker, may soon have to explain the nuances of tantalizing ad campaigns to police.
Last week, Antoni Szyma[ski, an AWS deputy who was outraged by the racy campaign for West-brand cigarettes, filed an official complaint against Reemtsma Polska with the Gda[sk Police Headquarters. He accused Reemtsma of breaking the law while letting the breasts go uncovered on 1,800 billboards around the country. (See also WBJ, April 26-May 2, 1999) After two days, the breasts were covered with a strip of paper that read Ňcensored.O
ŇEnforcement should take certain steps (against the tobacco maker), and the case should finish with an appropriate fine,O Szyma[ski said.
More money
Those waiting to see what will happen with supraregional station Nasza TV won't have to hold their breath much longer. This Thursday the station's license holder, Polskie Media, will meet to decide on a capital increase for the company with a possible change in its shareholding structure to follow.
The station's viewershare reached a plateau of 3% several months ago, and media players said that if Nasza wanted to jump higher it would need an injection of fresh capital and programming.
Nasza President Henryk Chodysz would not comment last week on the capital increase, saying he'll be more than happy to talk after the Thursday board meeting.
The media rumor mill had it last week that the company's current capital of zl. 32.25 million ($8.3 million) will at least double through the introduction of a foreign investor. Names of possible suitors most often dropped were CLT-Ufa and Universal Studios, the current 50-50 owners of satellite channel RTL7. (See WBJ, Feb. 1-7, 1999)
Riding party
Boleslaw Sulik, former chairman of the National Radio and Television Council (KRRiTV) got a free train ride to Krak—w last Thursday. The country's major television and radio stations Đ TVP, Polsat, tvn, Wizja TV, Canal+, Radio RMF and Radio Zet Đ picked up the tab for a privately rented, two-car train to bid Sulik adieu.
Those on the train had a chance to raise their glasses to celebrate Sulik's six-year term at the KRRiTV, or for those who weren't always thrilled with the chairman, to toast his departure.
But sources on board said TVP execs may have had a different reason to offer toasts Đ to celebrate the arrival of a potential new employee.
Yet another farewell this week Đ to myself. After nearly three years with the Warsaw Business Journal I'll be heading off to new pursuits, possibly in some foreign climes. Happy media to everybody!
Đ Anna Kocińska and Justyna Wróbel
contributed to this article
ŇIt's my feeling that the director of Channel 1 plans to get rid of the program; he doesn't want to speak to me, though,O Smoczy[ski told the Business Journal.
This has conservative viewers up in arms, or at least rising from their armchairs. They claim that ŇFrondaO is the only program that actually fulfills the role of public television, while the rest of programming on TVP consists of nothing but cheap entertainment.
Ň ÔFronda' is an island in a sea of programs made by journalists of a leftist and liberal background,O said Jaroslaw Sellin, a new Solidarity Election Action (AWS)-backed board member on the National Television and Radio Council (KRRiTV). ŇTVP needs to become a non-partisan medium whereas now it's ruled by people affiliated with President (Aleksander) Kwaćniewski who are focused on preparation for his upcoming presidential campaign.O
According to Smoczy[ski, his program will be practically doomed to nonexistence even if it remained on the air as a monthly.
ŇI can't possibly pay for the team with a program on air just once a month,O Smoczy[ski argued. ŇThe program's budget hasn't been changed since its start four years ago.O
Pawel Sosnowski, head of the information office at TVP, said that the problem had been exaggerated by ŇFronda'sO editor.
ŇThere are no restrictions planned for ÔFronda,' O he said. ŇAll the havoc started when Slawomir Zieli[ski (head of Channel 1) wouldn't prolong a contract with ÔFronda's' authors because the fall programming hadn't been shaped yet.O
According to Smoczy[ski, a fall programming schedule is now being put together.
Interception
Private television station Polsat scored big time late last month against rival TVP when it landed a deal with the Union of the European Football Associations (UEFA) to air Champions League soccer games for three years starting in 2000.
The rights to the games currently rests in TVP's hands and it will continue to broadcast them for one more season.
After that, though, it's Polsat's ball.
ŇDespite the internal reform, public television still operates on the basis of inertia, if they did have the rights for something in the past, they tend to assume that this will be the situation in the future,O said Piotr Nurowski, general manager at Polsat. ŇAnd television sports rights is a business, and you have to approach it in a business-like way.O
The value of the contract brokered by local sports rights agency Go & Goal was not revealed, although backstage talk put the value at about $7 million.
Nurowski refused to say if the figure was accurate.
ŇRegardless of the price, the fact that we bought the rights for the Champions League mirrors the new approach with which Polsat wants to treat sport events,O he said. ŇWe have to admit that until now we have not been taking sports seriously enough.O
Continued outrage
Reemtsma, the tobacco producer behind the perky billboards that briefly featured a bare-breasted smoker, may soon have to explain the nuances of tantalizing ad campaigns to police.
Last week, Antoni Szyma[ski, an AWS deputy who was outraged by the racy campaign for West-brand cigarettes, filed an official complaint against Reemtsma Polska with the Gda[sk Police Headquarters. He accused Reemtsma of breaking the law while letting the breasts go uncovered on 1,800 billboards around the country. (See also WBJ, April 26-May 2, 1999) After two days, the breasts were covered with a strip of paper that read Ňcensored.O
ŇEnforcement should take certain steps (against the tobacco maker), and the case should finish with an appropriate fine,O Szyma[ski said.
More money
Those waiting to see what will happen with supraregional station Nasza TV won't have to hold their breath much longer. This Thursday the station's license holder, Polskie Media, will meet to decide on a capital increase for the company with a possible change in its shareholding structure to follow.
The station's viewershare reached a plateau of 3% several months ago, and media players said that if Nasza wanted to jump higher it would need an injection of fresh capital and programming.
Nasza President Henryk Chodysz would not comment last week on the capital increase, saying he'll be more than happy to talk after the Thursday board meeting.
The media rumor mill had it last week that the company's current capital of zl. 32.25 million ($8.3 million) will at least double through the introduction of a foreign investor. Names of possible suitors most often dropped were CLT-Ufa and Universal Studios, the current 50-50 owners of satellite channel RTL7. (See WBJ, Feb. 1-7, 1999)
Riding party
Boleslaw Sulik, former chairman of the National Radio and Television Council (KRRiTV) got a free train ride to Krak—w last Thursday. The country's major television and radio stations Đ TVP, Polsat, tvn, Wizja TV, Canal+, Radio RMF and Radio Zet Đ picked up the tab for a privately rented, two-car train to bid Sulik adieu.
Those on the train had a chance to raise their glasses to celebrate Sulik's six-year term at the KRRiTV, or for those who weren't always thrilled with the chairman, to toast his departure.
But sources on board said TVP execs may have had a different reason to offer toasts Đ to celebrate the arrival of a potential new employee.
Yet another farewell this week Đ to myself. After nearly three years with the Warsaw Business Journal I'll be heading off to new pursuits, possibly in some foreign climes. Happy media to everybody!
Đ Anna Kocińska and Justyna Wróbel
contributed to this article
