Radio broadcasters fret over need to reapply for concessions
The Radio and Television Council's (KRRiTV) decision to force radio broadcasters to reapply for concessions once their licenses expire has caused outrage and anxiety in the industry.
Three national broadcasters Radio Zet, RMF FM and Radio Maryja and a host of local radio stations will have to apply this year for new concessions. While many of the stations thought that their licenses would automatically be renewed when the seven-year concessions expired, the KRRiTV said last week that the current media law requires the governing body to start the licensing process all over again for existing broadcasters.
That opens up the possibility for some license holders to lose their concession, which has caused uncertainty throughout the industry. Media conglomerate Agora, which publishes daily newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, operates 12 local radio stations and is facing the prospect of potentially losing the right to broadcast. Agora acquired some of the stations as recently as two years ago. Since 1996 it has invested zl. 20 million ($4.87 million) in its radio operations.
"Nothing worse could have happened to broadcasters," said Marek Michalski, deputy director for local radio stations at Agora. "Radio is a commercial undertaking, which needs money, and when one invests a lot of money, he needs stability and security."
Next year, one of Agora's local licenses will expire. Many of the others come up in 2002.
"The entire concession process, which characterized the beginning of the media market in Poland, will happen again, this time in the middle of its development," Michalski said.
He said that the issue is further complicated by the fact that new applicants will emerge for licenses, which could create a bidding contest. "In accordance with the council's decision, we will compete on even conditions, with completely new applicants, who haven't invested a penny in the already operating stations, " Michalski said.
The KRRiTV said it would officially invite broadcasters to apply for concessions in early spring. The national broadcasters' licenses come due in 2001, while the various local licenses are spread out over the next few years.
Joanna Stepien, press spokeswoman for KRRiTV Chairman Juliusz Braun, said the council has no legal guidelines for how to handle the expired concessions. For that reason, she said, the body had to come up with its own approach.
"The council couldn't refer to the media bill because it doesn't stipulate how the new concessions ... should be issued," she said. "The amendment of the media bill, which is still at the Sejm, doesn't provide solutions to this problem either."
In the absence of guidelines, the KRRiTV decided to re-use its old rules for new concessions. Stepien said the council slightly amended the original regulation governing the awarding of concessions. But she added that the council was unwilling to make any significant changes, as such a move could also be questioned by broadcasters and government officials.
"This time requirements might be better described," she said.
Meanwhile, radio broadcasters said they are confused about how the process will work. "I regret to say that a year before the new concessions will be handed out, we don't really know what the application's conditions are," said Krzysztof Kouyoumdjian, PR manager at Radio Zet. "It worries us."
Radio Zet, one of Poland's largest private radio stations, will have to apply for a new concession this year. Like many stations, it received its original broadcast license in 1994. That means that the concession expires in 2001.
While a little jittery, Kouyoumdjian said that Radio Zet is not unduly afraid that its spot will be taken by another applicant.
"We knew the rules when we received the concessions; that it would expire one day," he said. "And we'll follow the rules as soon as we know them."
Agora's Michalski said that the KRRiTV had made some promises as to how the reissuing of concessions would work. He said the council told broadcasters that as long as they didn't have outstanding taxes, they would automatically receive a new license.
Council members disagree that this was ever the case. KRRiTV member Jaroslaw Sellin said that everyone involved knew the concessions would have to be reopened.
"There is no other legal possibility but to start a new contest in order to issue new concessions," he said. "I have never heard that somebody was promised an automatic renewal of his concession."
Not everybody is a loser in the concession conundrum, however. The KRRiTV might consider issuing a fourth national radio concession, which would open the market significantly, Sellin said.
"I can't see why we should stick to only three concessions for national broadcasting (Radio Zet, RMF FM and Radio Maryja)," he said. "It's possible to extend the package of accessible frequencies and grant yet another national license to, for instance, Radio Plus, which has already proved it's a quality station."
Radio Plus broadcasts nationwide through a network of local radio stations. The station was founded in 1998, when 15 local radio stations signed an agreement to establish a network that would use feeds from Warsaw-based Radio Plus, whose primary owner is the Polish Episcopate. Today 26 radio stations broadcast about eight hours of Radio Plus's programming a day. While Radio Plus is owned by the Episcopate, it operates as a completely commercial entity.
Piotr Pacholski, an adviser to Radio Plus, refused to comment on whether the company would apply for a national concession. "Such a decision will be taken by its owners," he said. "I admit, however, that holding such a concession is valuable to any station."
