The Polish audiovisual market model is based on three categories of broadcasting: public service broadcasters, licensing – social broadcasters, and licensing – commercial broadcasters.
The television market is divided between the public broadcaster TVP and two commercial television stations:
Polsat and TVN. Public television offers nationwide and regional programmes operating under the name TVP INFO (sixteen regional centres). Additionally, TVP offers five satellite channels: TVP Polonia (for Poles living abroad), TVP Kultura (culture channel), TVP Historia (history channel), TVP Sport (sports channel) and TVP HD. Other channels can be viewed only via the digital platforms and cable networks, so their range and influence is limited.
TVP Kultura was launched on 24th April 2005. It is aimed at the promotion of various cultural activities, including non-commercial artistic projects. The half of the channel’s broadcast material is based on Polish Public Television’s (TVP) archival programmes. The rest consists of programmes bought from foreign broadcasting companies.
Public radio and television are mainly financed from public funds (licence fees) and budget subsidies.
Advertising is an additional source of financing although some restrictions regarding public media are present.
The major responsibilities of the National Broadcasting Council are set out in the Broadcasting Act and are twofold: to award broadcasting frequencies to public radio and television stations and to share income from the license fees between different public broadcasters. The National Broadcasting Council is also obliged to design, in consultation with the Prime Minister, state policy in the field of broadcasting.
The issue of politicisation of public media became one of the central topics of public debate after the parliamentary elections of 2023. In December 2023, the new government replaced the management boards of Telewizja Polska (TVP), Polish Radio and the Polish Press Agency (PAP). Subsequently, the Minister of Culture, Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz, placed the public media companies into liquidation. According to the government, these actions were necessary to restore impartiality, pluralism, objectivity and professional standards in public broadcasting after years of political influence. However, the process triggered a major legal and political conflict with opposition parties and the National Broadcasting Council, which questioned the legality of the reforms and accused the government of exceeding its competences. The replacement of management boards and the liquidation of public media companies sparked a broader debate on the fragility of governance mechanisms designed to protect public media from political influence. The ongoing institutional and legal conflict also revealed deep political divisions concerning the understanding of media independence, public accountability and the role of the state in shaping the public sphere. As a result, the governance and future institutional model of public media remain subjects of ongoing political and legal dispute.
Despite the dynamic development of broadband infrastructure and Internet accessibility in recent years, Poland still faces the problem of digital exclusion, especially among elderly people, inhabitants of rural areas and groups with lower digital competences. Regional inequalities in access to high-quality digital infrastructure persist, although the gap between Poland and the EU average has significantly decreased due to large-scale investments supported by European funds and national digitalisation programmes. Current challenges concern not only infrastructure, but also the development of digital skills, media literacy and critical competences necessary for conscious and creative participation in digital culture and online communication. Media education remains an important issue, particularly in the context of disinformation, artificial intelligence and the growing role of digital platforms in cultural participation.
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