TVP goes digital with Canal+, comes to Poland from Sweden
The decision to broadcast from Sweden was a result of political infighting between state-owned companies who were to take part in the digital platform, which has been put together by Canal+ Polska.
"We'll uplink TVP from Sweden," Lew Rywin, president of Canal+ Polska, and the driving force behind the project, told the Business Journal last Friday. "Political realities forced us into extraordinary moves."
Cyfra+ will unite Canal+ Polska, TVP, private television station Polsat, the country's second-largest cable operator Aster City Cable, and supraregional television station Nasza TV.
The missing link is Telekomunikacja Polska (TPSA). Canal+ had hoped to include the state-owned telecom operator in the platform and to use its two transponders on the Hot Bird satellite to broadcast Cyfra+. This inclusion has not been worked out, however, because of political differences between TVP, TPSA and the Treasury Ministry, which owns both companies, media watchers said. (See also Medialog, page 9.)
TVP is largely linked to left-leaning political parties, while TPSA and the Ministry are in the hands of Solidarity Election Action (AWS). Friction between the political factions, and the ministry's opposition to TVP taking part in the platform, have kept TPSA out of the mix.
"It's nothing but an example of bad will on the part of TPSA," said Witold Grabos, deputy head of the country's media watchdog, the National Radio and Television Council (KRRiTV).
The council last week approved TVP's move to take part in Cyfra+, overriding objections from Treasury Minister Emil Wasacz. He had said TVP's inclusion in the platform signaled the "creeping privatization" of the broadcaster.
TPSA has denied accusations that it has held back from the platform for political reasons. On Oct. 3, the company issued a statement denying that it was in any way delaying a decision on the lease of its transponders on the Hot Bird 3 satellite. "The negotiations on this matter with potential partners are in progress," said the statement. "The forecast end of the talks is mid-November."
Executives at the telecom giant were last week completing an international road show promoting the company's initial public offering (IPO) and were not available for comment.
In the meantime, Cyfra+ has moved ahead. It went on the air last Friday and starting today, Monday Nov. 9, consumers will be able to buy sets to receive the platform. But worries about TVP being broadcast into Poland from a foreign country exist.
"It will be nothing but pure paranoia," said Andrzej Zarebski, a member of the KRRiTV's board. "Polish public television will be broadcast from Sweden."
These worries were not strong enough for the board to block TVP's inclusion in the platform. TVP is currently a part of Cyfra+ under a tentative agreement, but TVP President Robert Kwiatkowski said he expects to sign a final contract within days.
The KRRiTV decision to give TVP a green light was not unanimous, though. "Personally I thought we had too little data to push TVP into such a huge project," said Zarebski, who abstained from the vote. Two of the nine-member council, Marek Jurek and Jan Szafraniec, voted against. But the matter was passed 6-2-1.
Supporters of TVP's inclusion in a digital platform argued that the public broadcaster can't sit on the sidelines while new technologies develop. "We cannot expect public television to meet requirements connected with its public status if we deprive it from access to a media market," Grabos said. "By saying it should not join a digital platform we would agree to a gradual marginalization of the public media."
While giving its approval for TVP's participation in the platform, the agency also adopted a resolution saying that all the channels on Cyfra+ should either be owned by Poland-licensed broadcasters or registered for cable distribution here. However, the council did not approve a third resolution proposed by some members, that would specify that Cyfra+ can only be uplinked from Poland.
"Personally, I think we should have done it," Grabos said of the third resolution. However, he added that the council, which in principle is against delocated broadcasting, could not ban such practices. To do so would give a huge advantage to Wizja TV, the digital platform that is already present on the market. Wizja beams its signal to Poland from the U.K. based on a local British license issued by the Independent Television Commission (ITC) and the Transborder Television Convention, which Poland has ratified.
Although Cyfra+ is now on the air and has cleared significant hurdles, more problems loom.
Canal+ wants to ultimately move all uplink facilities to Poland by next July. But this and the development of the platform will require funding and that's where the Treasury Ministry may once again haunt it.
TVP does not need its owner's approval to enter into commercial contracts, but it does need ministerial consent when it comes to moves concerning fixed assets. While the share capital of the Cyfra+ consortium is only zl. 100,000, the company will definitely need to invest between $100 million-$150 million in the future, industry watchers said.
"We'll uplink TVP from Sweden," Lew Rywin, president of Canal+ Polska, and the driving force behind the project, told the Business Journal last Friday. "Political realities forced us into extraordinary moves."
Cyfra+ will unite Canal+ Polska, TVP, private television station Polsat, the country's second-largest cable operator Aster City Cable, and supraregional television station Nasza TV.
The missing link is Telekomunikacja Polska (TPSA). Canal+ had hoped to include the state-owned telecom operator in the platform and to use its two transponders on the Hot Bird satellite to broadcast Cyfra+. This inclusion has not been worked out, however, because of political differences between TVP, TPSA and the Treasury Ministry, which owns both companies, media watchers said. (See also Medialog, page 9.)
TVP is largely linked to left-leaning political parties, while TPSA and the Ministry are in the hands of Solidarity Election Action (AWS). Friction between the political factions, and the ministry's opposition to TVP taking part in the platform, have kept TPSA out of the mix.
"It's nothing but an example of bad will on the part of TPSA," said Witold Grabos, deputy head of the country's media watchdog, the National Radio and Television Council (KRRiTV).
The council last week approved TVP's move to take part in Cyfra+, overriding objections from Treasury Minister Emil Wasacz. He had said TVP's inclusion in the platform signaled the "creeping privatization" of the broadcaster.
TPSA has denied accusations that it has held back from the platform for political reasons. On Oct. 3, the company issued a statement denying that it was in any way delaying a decision on the lease of its transponders on the Hot Bird 3 satellite. "The negotiations on this matter with potential partners are in progress," said the statement. "The forecast end of the talks is mid-November."
Executives at the telecom giant were last week completing an international road show promoting the company's initial public offering (IPO) and were not available for comment.
In the meantime, Cyfra+ has moved ahead. It went on the air last Friday and starting today, Monday Nov. 9, consumers will be able to buy sets to receive the platform. But worries about TVP being broadcast into Poland from a foreign country exist.
"It will be nothing but pure paranoia," said Andrzej Zarebski, a member of the KRRiTV's board. "Polish public television will be broadcast from Sweden."
These worries were not strong enough for the board to block TVP's inclusion in the platform. TVP is currently a part of Cyfra+ under a tentative agreement, but TVP President Robert Kwiatkowski said he expects to sign a final contract within days.
The KRRiTV decision to give TVP a green light was not unanimous, though. "Personally I thought we had too little data to push TVP into such a huge project," said Zarebski, who abstained from the vote. Two of the nine-member council, Marek Jurek and Jan Szafraniec, voted against. But the matter was passed 6-2-1.
Supporters of TVP's inclusion in a digital platform argued that the public broadcaster can't sit on the sidelines while new technologies develop. "We cannot expect public television to meet requirements connected with its public status if we deprive it from access to a media market," Grabos said. "By saying it should not join a digital platform we would agree to a gradual marginalization of the public media."
While giving its approval for TVP's participation in the platform, the agency also adopted a resolution saying that all the channels on Cyfra+ should either be owned by Poland-licensed broadcasters or registered for cable distribution here. However, the council did not approve a third resolution proposed by some members, that would specify that Cyfra+ can only be uplinked from Poland.
"Personally, I think we should have done it," Grabos said of the third resolution. However, he added that the council, which in principle is against delocated broadcasting, could not ban such practices. To do so would give a huge advantage to Wizja TV, the digital platform that is already present on the market. Wizja beams its signal to Poland from the U.K. based on a local British license issued by the Independent Television Commission (ITC) and the Transborder Television Convention, which Poland has ratified.
Although Cyfra+ is now on the air and has cleared significant hurdles, more problems loom.
Canal+ wants to ultimately move all uplink facilities to Poland by next July. But this and the development of the platform will require funding and that's where the Treasury Ministry may once again haunt it.
TVP does not need its owner's approval to enter into commercial contracts, but it does need ministerial consent when it comes to moves concerning fixed assets. While the share capital of the Cyfra+ consortium is only zl. 100,000, the company will definitely need to invest between $100 million-$150 million in the future, industry watchers said.
