KRRiTV smells something fishy with RTL7, Nasza alliance
"One day the KRRiTV just realized that the two stations were broadcasting exactly the same prime-time programming," said Andrzej Zarebski, a member of the KRRiTV's board. "And we were never informed beforehand that any type of merger (of the programming) would occur."
The question of whether there was or is going to be some type of merger is now the subject of a KRRiTV inquiry. If the two stations are moving toward joint broadcasting they could face legal troubles.
"First, however, we have to establish if the two stations are in fact broadcasting a joint band or not," said Witold Grabos, deputy head of the KRRiTV.
The stations in September began broadcasting the same prime-time programming on the basis of a deal signed late summer between Polskie Media, the holder of the now-suspended license for Nasza, and CLT-UFA and Universal Studios, the shareholders in RTL7. So far, though, the stations have broadcast the same programming - from 7 p.m.-10:30 p.m. - independently and from different sources. While RTL7 uplinks its satellite signal from Luxembourg, Nasza just beams the signal from in-house tapes.
The KRRiTV isn't upset that Nasza is looking to beef up its presence on the television market through an alliance. It's just that the nation's media watchdog doesn't like its choice of partners.
"The problem is that when we granted a broadcasting license to Nasza, we had the idea of a federation (of a number of broadcasters) in the back of our minds," said Grabos. But this idea was for a federation between Nasza and supraregional broadcaster tvn. (See WBJ, Sept. 29-Oct. 5, 1997)
Some media watchers believe Nasza and RTL7 could face serious problems if the KRRiTV rules that they are engaged in joint-band broadcasting and rules this illegal.
While Nasza is allowed to form this type of alliance with another broadcaster here, such joint-band broadcasting must not exceed 20% of its programming. In addition, it can only team up with broadcasters holding domestic licenses, which RTL7 does not have.
Secondly, Grabos said, RTL7, which broadcasts to Poland on a de-located basis, may face problems because its programming is now available via Nasza's terrestrial transmitters.
"If we find these practices illegal, we may ban the station from its cable distribution here," Grabos said.
But the stations are playing down such worries, saying the KRRiTV is getting itself all worked up about nothing.
"As far as we are concerned we have only signed a deal with RTL7's shareholders (CLT-UFA and Universal Studios) and not with the station itself," said Anna Wolynczyk, a spokeswoman for Nasza. "It's not a merger or anything else, it's just us buying certain programs from the shareholders of RTL7."
New, old licenses
The KRRiTV said last week that it expected to initiate the process of re-granting supraregional licenses to two broadcasters as soon as this week.
"We don't know if we will grant the licenses at one meeting or if it will take a few meetings, but we are definitely ready to initiate the process," the regulatory agency's Grabos said.
The KRRiTV has to re-examine the licenses after the Supreme Administrative Court (NSA) ruled that the process for granting the licenses was illegal.
But don't expect any license change from the re-examination. The winners you should probably bet your money on: surprise, surprise - tvn and Nasza TV.
Board battle
The recent proposal by Treasury Minister Emil Wasacz to replace the current five-member managing board of public broadcaster Telewizja Polska (TVP) with four political appointees got an unexpected supporter last week.
The head of the National Radio and Television Council (KRRiTV), Boleslaw Sulik, said he might actually accept the idea, provided that "first, the agreement on the matter is reached by political forces."
According to Wasacz the existing board members and their left-leaning politics are heavily influencing TVP's programming. (See also MediaLog, WBJ Nov. 9-15, 1998)
Sulik's declaration could clear the way for Wasacz. Making such a change to the management structure requires an amendment to the broadcaster's articles of incorporation. This has to be approved by the company's shareholder, which is the Treasury Ministry and also must be approved by the KRRiTV.
Good idea
Are you one of the big marketing cheeses who got a homing pigeon from Ammirati Puris Lintas last summer? (See also MediaLog, WBJ Nov. 24-30, 1997) If so, you were taking part in a promotional campaign that turned out to be an award winner.
Lintas' novel marketing received a gold award in the self-promotion category at the Cresta International Advertising Festival held in New York at the beginning of November.
Lintas launched the campaign last year to promote its own direct marketing services. It said the pigeons generated a 100% response. Of course, the reason for letting the pigeons out of their boxes could have been strictly humanitarian, but the creativity was appreciated in New York.
"The Polish market is getting more and more sophisticated and demanding," said Piotr Gawel, Lintas general manager. "Therefore the role of an ad agency is driving at creative ideas and advertising campaigns meeting world standards."
The question of whether there was or is going to be some type of merger is now the subject of a KRRiTV inquiry. If the two stations are moving toward joint broadcasting they could face legal troubles.
"First, however, we have to establish if the two stations are in fact broadcasting a joint band or not," said Witold Grabos, deputy head of the KRRiTV.
The stations in September began broadcasting the same prime-time programming on the basis of a deal signed late summer between Polskie Media, the holder of the now-suspended license for Nasza, and CLT-UFA and Universal Studios, the shareholders in RTL7. So far, though, the stations have broadcast the same programming - from 7 p.m.-10:30 p.m. - independently and from different sources. While RTL7 uplinks its satellite signal from Luxembourg, Nasza just beams the signal from in-house tapes.
The KRRiTV isn't upset that Nasza is looking to beef up its presence on the television market through an alliance. It's just that the nation's media watchdog doesn't like its choice of partners.
"The problem is that when we granted a broadcasting license to Nasza, we had the idea of a federation (of a number of broadcasters) in the back of our minds," said Grabos. But this idea was for a federation between Nasza and supraregional broadcaster tvn. (See WBJ, Sept. 29-Oct. 5, 1997)
Some media watchers believe Nasza and RTL7 could face serious problems if the KRRiTV rules that they are engaged in joint-band broadcasting and rules this illegal.
While Nasza is allowed to form this type of alliance with another broadcaster here, such joint-band broadcasting must not exceed 20% of its programming. In addition, it can only team up with broadcasters holding domestic licenses, which RTL7 does not have.
Secondly, Grabos said, RTL7, which broadcasts to Poland on a de-located basis, may face problems because its programming is now available via Nasza's terrestrial transmitters.
"If we find these practices illegal, we may ban the station from its cable distribution here," Grabos said.
But the stations are playing down such worries, saying the KRRiTV is getting itself all worked up about nothing.
"As far as we are concerned we have only signed a deal with RTL7's shareholders (CLT-UFA and Universal Studios) and not with the station itself," said Anna Wolynczyk, a spokeswoman for Nasza. "It's not a merger or anything else, it's just us buying certain programs from the shareholders of RTL7."
New, old licenses
The KRRiTV said last week that it expected to initiate the process of re-granting supraregional licenses to two broadcasters as soon as this week.
"We don't know if we will grant the licenses at one meeting or if it will take a few meetings, but we are definitely ready to initiate the process," the regulatory agency's Grabos said.
The KRRiTV has to re-examine the licenses after the Supreme Administrative Court (NSA) ruled that the process for granting the licenses was illegal.
But don't expect any license change from the re-examination. The winners you should probably bet your money on: surprise, surprise - tvn and Nasza TV.
Board battle
The recent proposal by Treasury Minister Emil Wasacz to replace the current five-member managing board of public broadcaster Telewizja Polska (TVP) with four political appointees got an unexpected supporter last week.
The head of the National Radio and Television Council (KRRiTV), Boleslaw Sulik, said he might actually accept the idea, provided that "first, the agreement on the matter is reached by political forces."
According to Wasacz the existing board members and their left-leaning politics are heavily influencing TVP's programming. (See also MediaLog, WBJ Nov. 9-15, 1998)
Sulik's declaration could clear the way for Wasacz. Making such a change to the management structure requires an amendment to the broadcaster's articles of incorporation. This has to be approved by the company's shareholder, which is the Treasury Ministry and also must be approved by the KRRiTV.
Good idea
Are you one of the big marketing cheeses who got a homing pigeon from Ammirati Puris Lintas last summer? (See also MediaLog, WBJ Nov. 24-30, 1997) If so, you were taking part in a promotional campaign that turned out to be an award winner.
Lintas' novel marketing received a gold award in the self-promotion category at the Cresta International Advertising Festival held in New York at the beginning of November.
Lintas launched the campaign last year to promote its own direct marketing services. It said the pigeons generated a 100% response. Of course, the reason for letting the pigeons out of their boxes could have been strictly humanitarian, but the creativity was appreciated in New York.
"The Polish market is getting more and more sophisticated and demanding," said Piotr Gawel, Lintas general manager. "Therefore the role of an ad agency is driving at creative ideas and advertising campaigns meeting world standards."
