More Wizja TV subscribers tuning into Hot Bird

Canal+ Cyfrowy, operator of the Nowa Cyfra+ digital TV platform, announced last week that it had nearly completed the process of redirecting its subscribers' antennas at a single satellite operator following the merger of Wizja TV and Canal+ in April. Nowa Cyfra+, formed last spring after the nation's top two digital platforms Wizja TV and Canal+ merged, had earlier said that the E4.5 million operation to introduce a uniform satellite system would be finished by the end of June. The work, which is 90% complete, is now expected to take another month, according to industry officials. But Paulina Krasińska, a spokeswoman for Canal+ Cyfrowy, said there was no delay. "We're not behind schedule and there are no problems," she said, referring to accusations by licensed satellite and TV distributors that Canal+ Cyfrowy had hired inexperienced workers to redirect subscriber antennas. Krasińska said the signal used by Wizja TV via the Astra satellite would be switched off by July 25. "This means that after July 25, Nowa Cyfra+'s programming will be available only through the Hot Bird satellite, but that doesn't mean we will stop repointing satellite dishes," she said. "There are a lot of former Wizja TV subscribers who decided to restart their subscriptions with us, which is why we're continuing the operation." Meanwhile, Mirosław Milewski, the chief executive officer of Dem'a Promotion Polska, which was hired by Canal+ Cyfrowy to redirect subscriber antennas, told the WBJ last week that under the terms of Dem'a Promotion's contract with Canal+, his company had until July 25 to complete the operation.

"Having achieved such a number of well-done installations, I'm not afraid of any penalties for delays," he said. "We were super professional." According to Milewski, the total number of Wizja TV customers who had subscribed to the new platform reached 240,000, or 60,000 less than Canal+ had declared in April. Canal+Cyfrowy hired Comtica, an IT company, and Dem'a Promotion Polska, a promotion agency, to administer the database of subscribers and run the operation. Dem'a promised to hire 1,000 people to perform the work and pledged they would be able to install 5,000 dishes a day. "We've done 220,000 installations so far with some 10% of the total number of dishes still to be done, and we had no bad incidents so I call it a success," Milewski said. "I have to say that I've worked with the best people (who installed the new system) in Poland. We've worked with some 1,200 people and 850 have stayed with us for the entire operation." Krasińska said that Wizja TV subscribers who haven't contacted Canal+ yet or those who had sent incorrect addresses still had time. "It's the second stage of the operation," she said. "And subscribers who, for some time, won't be able to watch Nowa Cyfra+ (due to technical reasons) will have the right to compensation." No talks on media law Contrary to expectations, the government last week failed to discuss the watering down of a controversial draft law limiting cross-media acquisitions, which had been offered earlier this month by Deputy Culture Minister Aleksandra Jakubowska. According to the ministry's press office, the government, which had already accepted the draft law, may debate the bill this week. Jerzy Wenderlich, the Democratic Left Alliance's (SLD) chairman of the Sejm's media and culture committee, said he had postponed work on the bill until the government had a chance to consider the Culture Ministry's proposal.

Radio stations coming to Warsaw The National Television and Radio Council (KRRiTV) last week granted Zjednoczone Przedsiźbiorstwa Rozrywkowe (ZPR), the owner of the Radio Eska network, a radio broadcasting license for Warsaw. ZPR's new radio station, Radio Super FM, will broadcast music and "culture" and be addressed to listeners more than 35 years old. ZPR, which has already introduced the same format in Toruń and Poznań, plans to launch the Warsaw station within the next three months. Meanwhile, "Pieniądze i nowoczesność (PiN)" ("Money and modernity"), a business radio station, is expected to air in September. PiN is owned by Softbank, one of the nation's largest IT companies. The station is planning to pre-broadcast elements of its programming in August. "Business and financial information is our focus but we'll also provide other kinds of news if it has an impact on business," said Zdzisław Grzździński, the deputy programming director at PiN. The station will have foreign correspondents in New York and London.