Supreme Court suspends Nasza, tvn licenses
The court's decision does not mean, however, that the two stations are off the air. But it could lead to the KRRiTV being forced to reopen the tender for the licenses.
The NSA's decision came in response to complaints filed by two companies who had also bid for the supra-regional frequencies. Gdansk-based Antena 1 and Prowincja Braci Mniejszych Konwentualnych (the broadcaster of a local Catholic TV station called Niepokalanow) claimed that the council broke the Law on Radio and Television by giving the Communications Ministry only a short list of bidders for approval. The two plaintiffs said the ministry never had a chance to evaluate their proposals along with tvn's and Nasza's.
Although the court agreed with this argument, tvn and Nasza last week said they did not believe the tender would have to be reopened, nor that the ruling would affect their business. "Nothing makes the business better than a small scandal," said Anna Wolynczyk, public relations director for Nasza TV. "We got our license for 10 years, and that's the minimal time for how long we're planning to broadcast."
But the decision could not come at a worse time for the council, which is waiting for the Sejm to sign off on its activities for the past year by approving its annual report. If the Sejm rejects the report, the council could watch its entire management board be fired and its appropriations put in jeopardy.
"We were completely shocked" by the court's decision, said Anna Kowalewska, spokeswoman for the council.
The council's process has been questioned before, also by the NSA. The council's decision more than four years ago to grant a broadcasting license to Canal+ Polska came under fire by a few losing bidders. In that instance, the council followed the same procedure of only presenting the Communications Ministry with a short list of bidders. The NSA did not question that practice, but still found that the council violated other licensing procedures, such as awarding Canal+ a license to operate 14 terrestrial transmitters when the company only asked for a license for 10.
Kowalewska said she does not understand why the NSA decided to object now to the process of only giving the Communications Ministry a short list of candidates. She said the court's decision was even more surprising considering how eagerly Nasza and tvn had dug into their stations and actively created new programming.
Both stations have attracted a hefty amount of ad spending. The No. 3 station in the market, tvn pulled in zl. 112.13 million ($32.98 million) in the first quarter, while much smaller Nasza brought in zl. 17.13 million ($5 million), according to data compiled by AGB Polska based on official price lists.
In terms of viewership, tvn attracted 6.5% of TV watchers in the third week of May, while Nasza TV grabbed 1.5%, according to a recent report published by Osrodek Badania Opinii Publicznej (OBOP).
In a statement released last week, the council said that the success of the two stations so far proved that its choice of bidders was correct. It added that the NSA's decision stymies its ability to regulate the industry.
But that argument has fallen flat with Solidarity Election Action (AWS) parliamentarians, who last week encouraged the Sejm to reject the KRRiTV's year-end report. "It's unacceptable that a well-paid council with huge powers commits such errors," said AWS leader Marian Krzaklewski during a press conference last Wednesday.
The council, however, denied it made egregious errors. And the broadcasters in question said that they stand behind the council in its fight. tvn's parent companies, Luxembourg-listed International Trading and Investments Holding (ITI), and Central European Media Enterprises (CME) were chagrined over the NSA's decision.
While Nasza may see the ordeal as good publicity and therefore good for business, advertising agencies who allocate money to the two television stations said Nasza and tvn could face difficulties if the issue is not resolved quickly. "It's a big problem, particularly for tvn, whose market share is already considerably high," said Pawel Sawicki, media director at Bates Saatchi & Saatchi advertising agency, a large player in television advertising. "Our involvement in tvn is proportional to its market share, so obviously if this decreases, we'll also have to reschedule our budget placements."
He said that tvn unofficially promised the agency that within the next three months nothing will change. For that reason, the NSA's ruling will not affect already signed contracts. But that three months expires in the fall, the hottest advertising season. If the two stations miss their viewership numbers by that time, for any reason, they might see their ad zloty go to other broadcasters, advertisers said.
"In such a case a media buyer may just break the contract," said Witold Gawda, up till yesterday the head of public Telewizja Polska's (TVP) Biuro Reklamy advertising division, and the new managing director of MindShare media house.
And those who have not yet signed contracts with the stations may actually delay making a final decision, or at least prepare two options, until tvn and Nasza's final status is clear, he added.
The NSA's decision came in response to complaints filed by two companies who had also bid for the supra-regional frequencies. Gdansk-based Antena 1 and Prowincja Braci Mniejszych Konwentualnych (the broadcaster of a local Catholic TV station called Niepokalanow) claimed that the council broke the Law on Radio and Television by giving the Communications Ministry only a short list of bidders for approval. The two plaintiffs said the ministry never had a chance to evaluate their proposals along with tvn's and Nasza's.
Although the court agreed with this argument, tvn and Nasza last week said they did not believe the tender would have to be reopened, nor that the ruling would affect their business. "Nothing makes the business better than a small scandal," said Anna Wolynczyk, public relations director for Nasza TV. "We got our license for 10 years, and that's the minimal time for how long we're planning to broadcast."
But the decision could not come at a worse time for the council, which is waiting for the Sejm to sign off on its activities for the past year by approving its annual report. If the Sejm rejects the report, the council could watch its entire management board be fired and its appropriations put in jeopardy.
"We were completely shocked" by the court's decision, said Anna Kowalewska, spokeswoman for the council.
The council's process has been questioned before, also by the NSA. The council's decision more than four years ago to grant a broadcasting license to Canal+ Polska came under fire by a few losing bidders. In that instance, the council followed the same procedure of only presenting the Communications Ministry with a short list of bidders. The NSA did not question that practice, but still found that the council violated other licensing procedures, such as awarding Canal+ a license to operate 14 terrestrial transmitters when the company only asked for a license for 10.
Kowalewska said she does not understand why the NSA decided to object now to the process of only giving the Communications Ministry a short list of candidates. She said the court's decision was even more surprising considering how eagerly Nasza and tvn had dug into their stations and actively created new programming.
Both stations have attracted a hefty amount of ad spending. The No. 3 station in the market, tvn pulled in zl. 112.13 million ($32.98 million) in the first quarter, while much smaller Nasza brought in zl. 17.13 million ($5 million), according to data compiled by AGB Polska based on official price lists.
In terms of viewership, tvn attracted 6.5% of TV watchers in the third week of May, while Nasza TV grabbed 1.5%, according to a recent report published by Osrodek Badania Opinii Publicznej (OBOP).
In a statement released last week, the council said that the success of the two stations so far proved that its choice of bidders was correct. It added that the NSA's decision stymies its ability to regulate the industry.
But that argument has fallen flat with Solidarity Election Action (AWS) parliamentarians, who last week encouraged the Sejm to reject the KRRiTV's year-end report. "It's unacceptable that a well-paid council with huge powers commits such errors," said AWS leader Marian Krzaklewski during a press conference last Wednesday.
The council, however, denied it made egregious errors. And the broadcasters in question said that they stand behind the council in its fight. tvn's parent companies, Luxembourg-listed International Trading and Investments Holding (ITI), and Central European Media Enterprises (CME) were chagrined over the NSA's decision.
While Nasza may see the ordeal as good publicity and therefore good for business, advertising agencies who allocate money to the two television stations said Nasza and tvn could face difficulties if the issue is not resolved quickly. "It's a big problem, particularly for tvn, whose market share is already considerably high," said Pawel Sawicki, media director at Bates Saatchi & Saatchi advertising agency, a large player in television advertising. "Our involvement in tvn is proportional to its market share, so obviously if this decreases, we'll also have to reschedule our budget placements."
He said that tvn unofficially promised the agency that within the next three months nothing will change. For that reason, the NSA's ruling will not affect already signed contracts. But that three months expires in the fall, the hottest advertising season. If the two stations miss their viewership numbers by that time, for any reason, they might see their ad zloty go to other broadcasters, advertisers said.
"In such a case a media buyer may just break the contract," said Witold Gawda, up till yesterday the head of public Telewizja Polska's (TVP) Biuro Reklamy advertising division, and the new managing director of MindShare media house.
And those who have not yet signed contracts with the stations may actually delay making a final decision, or at least prepare two options, until tvn and Nasza's final status is clear, he added.
