IAA Poland International Advertising Association appeals for an immediate cessation of work on the draft act introducing the Law of Electronic Communications. It’s about the so-called lex pilot. As advertisers argue, the proposed changes are “against the principle of proportionality” and are “a glaring example of discrimination against one group of broadcasters at the expense of another”.
In December the Council of Ministers adopted the draft Act Provisions introducing the Act – Electronic Communications Law – the so-called lex pilot. If the regulations come into force, pay TV operators will have to make available, in the first places of the list, only five government TV channels.
Until now, the list also included commercial stations, including TVN. According to the applicable regulations, the operator must include the following channels in its offer: TVP1, TVP2, TVN, Polsat, TV4, TV Puls and the regional TVP antenna. If the amendment enters into force, all commercial channels will drop from the mandatory list. TVP1, TVP2, TVP3 will remain, and additionally TVP Info and TVP Kultura will appear. Five stations broadcast by TVP will also be on the first five buttons on the remote controls.
Read more: The government is preparing changes for TV viewers. Media: they favor TVP
Advertisers criticize the regulations
IAA Polska, the International Advertising Association, in its call for the cessation of work on the “lex pilot” indicated two groups of premises: the scope and effects of the changes introduced and the mode of proceeding with the draft act.
According to advertisers, “modification of the implementation of the must carry, must offer (MCMO) principle in such a way that the presence of one broadcaster on the list of MCMO channels will be guaranteed by law, and all others by regulation issued by the regulatory body according to unclear, imprecise criteria – is contrary to the principle of proportionality “. They also added that “the procedure for selecting members of the regulatory body (KRRiT) makes its composition a reflection of the current balance of political forces.
“According to European Union law, the mandatory prominence of certain channels must be justified by the pursuit of the public interest, i.e., for example, the freedom of access to diverse content, opinions, cultural patterns, freedom of speech, pluralism” – emphasized the Association.
And added: “the statutory guarantee of the first places for the programs of a public broadcaster, which is financed mainly from the state budget, and additionally carries out advertising activities to the same extent as commercial broadcasters for whom advertising is the only or leading source of income, is a clear example of discrimination one group of broadcasters at the expense of another.
According to the advertisers, some of the proposed changes will result in “an increase in the prices of television services”, “in a situation where a significant part of the audience will not accept higher prices – niche channels living mainly on advertising will lose coverage, and thus also advertising revenues, which in turn will lead to decline and impoverishment of the programming offer for all recipients”.
“The obligation to offer a la carte access is inconsistent with the currently applicable license agreements, and additionally does not take into account the technical possibilities (some programs are still distributed analog) and the costs related to the implementation of this obligation” – the Association noted.
It also emphasized that “additional obligations of broadcasters operating on the basis of Polish licenses will result in a privileged position of foreign broadcasters who will not be subject to the Polish Broadcasting Act”.
When it comes to the procedure, advertisers first indicated that “the draft act is not accompanied by an impact assessment of the introduced regulation (RIA)”, which concerns “both social and economic effects, primarily the costs of these changes and the consequences of the current agreements licenses, subscribers and others.
It was not possible to prepare an RIA, because no public consultations were held in any form, which, apart from the fact that they result directly from the Work Regulations of the Council of Ministers, seem obvious given the revolutionary nature of the proposed changes, overturning the business models of most entities present on the television market in Poland or dependent on the stability of this market.
It added that “all the circumstances indicated above lead to the conclusion that during the processing of the draft act Provisions introducing the Act – Law of Electronic Communications, the principle of the rule of law guaranteed in the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, trust in state institutions, principles of making good law, respect for acquired”.
“Being aware of the need to implement the European Code of Electronic Communications into the Polish legal system (OJ L 321 of 17.12.2018, p. 36, as amended), we call for this process to be carried out in a transparent manner, preceded primarily by broad consultations with all groups of entities and organizations related to the Polish television broadcasting market. legislative processharmful to broadcasters and operators, but above all to Polish viewers.
IAA Polska is an organization associating almost all television broadcasters present in Poland, both public and private, but also the majority of entities for which television advertising is an important element of the business model, i.e. advertisers and agencies working on their behalf.
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