SBC takes another look at Nasza in quest to enter Poland
European television operator SBS Broadcasting is setting its sights on Nasza TV as it scouts Poland for an acquisition target, representatives close to the company said last week.
SBS approached Nasza, one of three private terrestrial broadcasters, last summer about acquiring a 30% stake in the Polish television station. Nasza's directors reacted warmly to the offer, but the station's management was replaced later in the summer and those new executives rejected SBS's offer.
While the two have not come to any definite agreement at present, SBS is still considering Nasza as a top acquisition target, Igor Ostrowski, an attorney from law firm M. Rejman & Partners, said last week. "Obviously, I don't rule out that Nasza could be our target," he said.
"SBS is not to give up the intention of entering the Polish market," he said. "We are currently working on a new concept of SBS's presence here."
Rejman & Partners represents EBS, an SBS subsidiary that operates television stations in northern Europe and is handling the company's expansion in Central Europe.
If SBS doesn't do a deal for Nasza, the company is likely to pursue another independent station. Market observers said the most obvious second target may be Catholic TV Familijna, which has had difficulty finding investors.
Martin Lindskog, president of Stockholm-based SBS, was unavailable Friday to comment on the company's acquisition targets.
Whatever it decides to do, SBS will need a Polish partner if it wants to move quickly into television here, said Ryszard Wojtaszek, senior vice president of cable operator Polska Telewizja Kablowa (PTK).
He said that foreign entities have realized they need a local partner in this market, particularly after the failure of Central European Media Enterprises (CME) with independent station tvn. CME pulled out of that venture after disagreements with its partner, ITI Holdings, on the supraregional station's direction.
"One thing is obvious. SBS won't come here on its own," he said.
SBS began eyeing expansion in Central Europe about a year ago, looking to build on its existing presence in Hungary. The company owns a 61.5% stake in Hungarian television station TV2. The company also broadcasts in Slovenia.
With that strategy in mind, the company tried to enter the Polish market but was frustrated in its move on Nasza. SBS was interested in Nasza because of its supra-regional terrestrial broadcast license, which gives the station far greater reach than other outlets, such as digital television. In 1998, for example, terrestrial signals reached 52.4% of Polish households, while digital platform Wizja TV was accessible to only 8%, according to market research firm AGB Polska.
In a bid to acquire shares in Nasza, EBS established a consortium that was put together to take control of Polskie Media, Nasza's parent company. Nasza's former president, Henryk Chodysz, backed that plan. In June, however, Polskie Media's shareholders elected new supervisory and management boards for Nasza, and they were hostile to EBS's overtures.
That new board removed Chodysz, and he left the station last year. He protested his removal, however, and last week the Warsaw Regional Court ruled that he was wrongfully terminated. Because the court has not yet issued an official ruling on the case, neither Chodysz or others interviewed for this article could comment on what legal basis the court had for its decision.
Chodysz, in fact, refused to comment at all until the court came out with its justification. However, he did say that he expected the ruling to go uncontested. "No doubt, the ruling will cause an avalanche," he said. "There is no appeal to the court's decision."
At the same time, Nasza needs an investor. The station has debts topping zl. 65 million ($15.85 million), which media observers said makes it an easy acquisition target.
But EBS is not the only company interested in Nasza. Another independent television station with national reach, Polsat, would like to acquire Nasza and use it as the basis for a new TV channel, called TV4.
"We have been long waiting for something new on the programming market, so I find the idea of creating Polish (TV4) interesting," PTK's Wojtaszek said. "And to cable operators, it really doesn't matter who will create the new channel."
On a more global front, SBS has deepened its relationship with the Netherlands' United Pan-Europe Communications (UPC), which already has significant holdings in Poland. Through its acquisition last year of @Entertainment, UPC gained control of digital platform Wizja TV and cable network PTK.
In January, UPC increased its stake in SBS to 18%. At the same time, UPC announced that it intends to join SBS and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) as a major investor in the European Broadcasting System (EBS), an SBS-affiliated company.
"It's of key importance that UPC decided to invest in EBS, which was formed as a vehicle to invest in Central and Eastern Europe," Ostrowski said.
Meanwhile, UPC and SBS already are or will be jointly present on several European markets.
Under the January agreement, UPC and SBS decided to form two new joint ventures, one of which will concentrate on offering subscription-based TV channels in the Benelux region. The two companies also plan to jointly develop entertainment portals for the internet as well as content for those sites.
Countries in which SBS currently broadcasts include Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, Hungary, Switzerland, Finland, and Slovenia.
