TV sector is static
Television viewers must remain content with their current selection of channels since it's unlikely any new stations will hit the country's airwaves this year.
Tight competition for advertising and viewers among top-tier players - a mix of both state-owned and private stations - makes it almost impossible for new broadcasters to enter the market. State-owned TVP is now the strongest broadcaster, according to media houses, followed by privately owned stations Polsat and TVN.
In television, as in other media, viewership determines advertising. Last year, TVP1 had a 24.4% viewership, Polsat 20.2%, TVP2 18.7% and TVN 14.8%, according to market research firm AGB Polska. And more viewers meant more advertising. Polsat led the pack with €420 million (zł. 1.74 billion), followed by TVP1 with €408 million (zł. 1.69 billion), TVN with €348 million (zł. 1.44 billion) and TVP2 with €225 million (zł. 930 million), according to AGB Polska.
"The main problem is not enough advertising money on the market," said Adam Łapiński, media director of Star Media, a Warsaw media house. "Each of the players wants to have the highest viewership and the best share of ad spending." Slightly higher ad spending levels are expected this year, although media houses could not provide estimates. In addition, they said they didn't anticipate viewership figures changing much.
Previous new entrants have quickly discovered the difficulties of trying to wrest viewers from stations. Tele5, a station that hit the airwaves last year, only amassed 0.2%-0.3% of the country's tele watchers, though it previously said it would gain 1.5% by the end of last year.
"Without money to invest and to advertise, it is not possible for a new station to be successful," Łapiński said. "And if one thinks about a new terrestrial nationwide station, there are a lot of political, and not economic, factors." The government, for example, is still debating a new media law that would prohibit the Agora group, primarily a newspaper concern, from buying a TV station to add to its collection of print publications and radio stations. If the bill fails to become law, Agora could establish its own station or buy an existing one.
And any potential new broadcasters can forget about the niche market where the top three stations have created their own channels, such as TVP's TVP3, Polsat's TV4 and TVN's TVN7, which transmit to cities via cable and digital platforms, but not nationally.
Only one possible scenario may present an opportunity for a new station to emerge. "If the government decides to sell TVP2, then we will have a very big new player," Łapiński said. "If not, then we may expect TV Trwam ('Rydzyk TV') or a small cable player," - a reference to the TV station that Tadeusz Rydzyk, the Catholic priest who runs ultra-conservative Radio Maryja, wants to set up.
Tight competition for advertising and viewers among top-tier players - a mix of both state-owned and private stations - makes it almost impossible for new broadcasters to enter the market. State-owned TVP is now the strongest broadcaster, according to media houses, followed by privately owned stations Polsat and TVN.
In television, as in other media, viewership determines advertising. Last year, TVP1 had a 24.4% viewership, Polsat 20.2%, TVP2 18.7% and TVN 14.8%, according to market research firm AGB Polska. And more viewers meant more advertising. Polsat led the pack with €420 million (zł. 1.74 billion), followed by TVP1 with €408 million (zł. 1.69 billion), TVN with €348 million (zł. 1.44 billion) and TVP2 with €225 million (zł. 930 million), according to AGB Polska.
"The main problem is not enough advertising money on the market," said Adam Łapiński, media director of Star Media, a Warsaw media house. "Each of the players wants to have the highest viewership and the best share of ad spending." Slightly higher ad spending levels are expected this year, although media houses could not provide estimates. In addition, they said they didn't anticipate viewership figures changing much.
Previous new entrants have quickly discovered the difficulties of trying to wrest viewers from stations. Tele5, a station that hit the airwaves last year, only amassed 0.2%-0.3% of the country's tele watchers, though it previously said it would gain 1.5% by the end of last year.
"Without money to invest and to advertise, it is not possible for a new station to be successful," Łapiński said. "And if one thinks about a new terrestrial nationwide station, there are a lot of political, and not economic, factors." The government, for example, is still debating a new media law that would prohibit the Agora group, primarily a newspaper concern, from buying a TV station to add to its collection of print publications and radio stations. If the bill fails to become law, Agora could establish its own station or buy an existing one.
And any potential new broadcasters can forget about the niche market where the top three stations have created their own channels, such as TVP's TVP3, Polsat's TV4 and TVN's TVN7, which transmit to cities via cable and digital platforms, but not nationally.
Only one possible scenario may present an opportunity for a new station to emerge. "If the government decides to sell TVP2, then we will have a very big new player," Łapiński said. "If not, then we may expect TV Trwam ('Rydzyk TV') or a small cable player," - a reference to the TV station that Tadeusz Rydzyk, the Catholic priest who runs ultra-conservative Radio Maryja, wants to set up.
