On 21 June, the National Broadcasting Council decided that the eighth multiplex would be powered by the news and journalism channels Republika and wPolsce24. The competition lost out to bids from Hungarian company TV2 Média, which wanted to launch an entertainment and lifestyle channel PTV, and Polskie Media PSA, a company belonging to the MWE Networks Group, to combat fake news and disinformation.
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After the vote, the participant of the National Broadcasting Council Prof. Tadeusz Kowalski sent a statement to Wirtualnemedia.pl. – At the meeting on June 21 this year, four members of the National Broadcasting Council adopted a resolution on the use of slots in MUX-8. In my opinion, this constituted a violation of the principle of due diligence resulting from: lack of sufficient information about the candidates and ignoring some economic opinions – he wrote in the post.
On July 2 this year, the chairman of the National Broadcasting Council signed the licenses. Republika will be financed, among other things, by donations from supporters and wPolsce24 from a loan. A few days later, the licenses were published. Republika quickly began broadcasting on MUX-8 on July 12. The station wPolsce24, associated with the Karnowski brothers, is scheduled to launch on September 2, according to the license. Previously, these procedures took much longer. For example, the resolution on the license for ViDoc TV was adopted at the meeting of the National Broadcasting Council on December 20, 2023. In early February this year, the regulator published the licenses on its website, and test broadcasting on the multiplex began on March 15.
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The Republic’s terrestrial signal is identical to the satellite broadcast. There is no specific channel name, just the letter R. According to the Regulatory Department of the National Broadcasting Council, the two channels will have different symbols. Republika intends to launch a new channel instead of the satellite station. This could happen thanks to the support of conservative foreign investors.
“The decision may have been taken against the principles of equal treatment and impartiality”
The owner of the MWE Networks Group announced the cancellation after the competition. – We are awaiting the decision to refuse to grant us the license. We would also like to read the minutes of this meeting. Professor Kowalski indicated in his statement that he did not even participate in the vote because, in his opinion, the applications were not sufficiently verified. We will definitely appeal – announced Michał Winnicki in an interview with Wirtualnemedia.pl.
The sender kept his word. – Polskie Wolne Media PSA filed a complaint with the Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw against the decision of the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT) of July 2, 2024. We are appealing the decision, alleging violation of legal provisions, incorrect evaluation of requests and lack of transparency in the procedures, including the lack of minutes of the meeting. “We believe that the decision may have been taken contrary to the principles of equal treatment and impartiality. We request that this decision be revoked and its execution suspended,” Karol Warda, Vice President of MWE Networks Group, told Wirtualnemedia.pl.
READ TOO: The new TV República portal. The station is waiting for reports from viewers
A month ago, Teresa Brykczyńska, spokesperson for the National Broadcasting Council, assured Wirtualnemedia.pl that everything was done in accordance with the law. – The licensing procedure for the development of places on MUX8 for digital terrestrial television was carried out in accordance with the rules applicable in the National Broadcasting Council for such processes. The submitted applications were reviewed and checked in terms of content and finances with due diligence. The applicants presented their plans regarding the financing of the programmes, also from donors and sponsors, she said.
Hungarian company TV2 Media has also not ruled out cancellation. – We respect the Polish institutions. We have reviewed the decision and will review it and discuss our next steps in the coming weeks, the company’s press office said. During one of the visits to TV Republika, the chairman of the National Broadcasting Council, Maciej Świrski, assured that the National Broadcasting Council is working on a tender for MUX-5 so that other interested broadcasters can apply for terrestrial licenses. The Office for Electronic Communications is currently preparing to select the operator of the fifth multiplex. Emitel, BCAST and MWE Teleport have applied for frequency reservation.
