The Largest Private Media Outlets Protest. Read the Open Letter

A black screen bearing the words “Your favorite program was supposed to be here” appears, among others, on the channels of Grupa Polsat and TVN. The programs of private radio stations have also been changed. The protest will end on February 11 at 4:00 a.m. An open letter is being published on the largest private online portals; you can read it below.

Open letter to the authorities of the Republic of Poland and leaders of political groupings

We are writing regarding the announced new additional burden on media operating on the Polish market, misleadingly called a “contribution” and introduced under the pretext of Covid-19. It is simply a tribute imposed on Polish viewers, listeners, readers and internet users, as well as on Polish productions, culture, entertainment, sport and the media.

Its introduction will mean:

• the weakening, or even closure, of some media operating in Poland, which will significantly limit society’s ability to choose content of interest to it,
• a reduction in the ability to finance high-quality and local content. Its production currently provides a livelihood for hundreds of thousands of employees and their families, while ensuring that most Poles have access to information, entertainment and sporting events largely free of charge,
• a deepening of the unequal treatment of entities operating on the Polish media market, when state media receive PLN 2 billion every year from the pockets of every Pole, while private media are burdened with an additional PLN 1 billion tribute,
• the de facto favoring of companies that do not invest in creating Polish and local content at the expense of entities that invest the most in Poland. According to estimates, companies described by the government as “global digital giants” will pay only approximately PLN 50–100 million in the aforementioned tribute, compared with the PLN 800 million that the other locally active media outlets will pay.

The asymmetrical and selective burden imposed on individual companies is also scandalous. Furthermore, in a state governed by the rule of law, an attempt to change licensing conditions during their period of validity is unacceptable.

As media outlets that have operated in Poland for many years, we do not evade our obligations or social responsibility. Every year, we pay an increasing number of taxes, levies and fees into the state budget (CIT, VAT, emission fees, collective management organizations for copyrights, licenses, frequencies, reservation decisions, the VOD fee, etc.). Through our own charitable activities, we also support the weakest groups in our society. We support both Poles and the government in combating the epidemic, through information and by allocating resources worth hundreds of millions of zlotys to this purpose.

We therefore strongly oppose using the epidemic as a pretext to introduce another new and exceptionally onerous burden on the media—one that will persist beyond the Covid-19 epidemic.

Signatories of the letter:

Agencja Wydawnicza AGARD Ryszard Pajura
Agora S.A.
AMS S.A.
Bonnier Business
Burda Media Polska
CANAL+
Dziennik Trybuna
Dziennik Wschodni
Edipresse Polska
Eleven Sports Network sp. z o.o.
Gazeta Radomszczańska
Green Content sp. z o.o.
Gremi Media S.A.
Grupa Eurozet
Grupa Interia.pl sp. z. o.o.
Grupa Radiowa Agory sp. z o.o.
Grupa RMF
Grupa Wirtualna Polska
Grupa ZPR
Helios S.A.
Infor Biznes
Kino Polska TV S.A.
Lemon Records sp. z o.o.
Marshal Academy
Music TV sp. z o.o.
Muzo.fm sp. z o.o.
naTemat.pl
Polityka
Polska Press Grupa
Ringier Axel Springer Polska
STAVKA sp. z o.o.
Superstacja sp. z o.o.
Telewizja Polsat sp. z o.o.
Telewizja Puls sp. z o.o.
TIME S.A.
TV Spektrum sp. z o.o.
TVN S.A.
Tygodnik Powiatu Wołowskiego Kurier Gmin
Tygodnik Powszechny
Wydawnictwo Bauer
Wydawnictwo Dominika Księskiego Wulkan
Wydawnictwo Magraf
Wydawnictwo Nowiny
Zakopiańskie Towarzystwo Gospodarcze – Tygodnik Podhalański