Financial problems of Polish Radio
According to Majchr, the subscription funds withheld by the National Broadcasting Council amount to over PLN 70 million; Polskie Radio has already issued a final pre-court payment request in this case.
“The Chairman of the National Broadcasting Council regularly transfers the funds in question bank account court by requesting the establishment of a court deposit. This is despite the fact that in the first of these cases the court refused to establish a court deposit due to the lack of statutory grounds for such proceedings. This money, in accordance with the legislator's intention, should flow directly to the Polish Radio for the needs of its current operations. As a result, neither Polskie Radio nor the National Broadcasting Council has access to the money due to Polish Radio from the license fee,” Majcher emphasized.
He also pointed out that “the activities of the chairman of the National Broadcasting Council are handled by law enforcement authorities.” “I have already given testimony in this case, and the prosecutor reviewed the files of one of the cases regarding the establishment of a court deposit in terms of exceeding the powers of the chairman of the National Broadcasting Council,” he emphasized.
“Due to the suspension of the payment of license fee revenues due to the public broadcaster by the National Broadcasting Council, Polskie Radio is in a very difficult financial situation,” Majcher told PAP.
He also assured that Polskie Radio is taking “all possible actions to ensure and secure the company's current operations by applying to the Minister of Culture and National Heritage for a targeted subsidy.” “However, the money received so far is not sufficient to implement all the activities specified and accepted by the National Broadcasting Council in the charter of duties to which the public broadcaster is obliged,” he noted.
Paweł Majcher said that he keeps employees informed about the situation. “We try to act in such a way that remuneration is paid in accordance with the regulations in force at Polish Radio,” he assured.
He pointed out that “we are also working on making the programming offer more attractive and on raising money from advertising.” “It is worth noting that the listenership of Trójka has decreased significantly in recent years, which resulted in a loss of advertising revenues of approximately PLN 30 million per year. We are constantly working on rebuilding the Third Program of PR and regaining the trust of listeners and contractors,” he said.
Moreover – as Majcher added – further editions of Polish Radio's flagship summer events are also being prepared, i.e. Summer with Radio, the Two Theaters Festival in Sopot, the Polish Radio Science Picnic and the Copernicus Science Center. “We try to ensure that financial problems do not translate into the sound of our antennas, and with the help and commitment of our employees and collaborators, we strive to rebuild the trust and reputation of Polish Radio,” he emphasized.
The National Broadcasting Council decided in a resolution adopted on February 7 that the funds from the RTV license fee should go to the court deposit. It decided that the payment of revenues from license fees for public media will take place after a final judgment of the registry court regarding the liquidation of these companies.
Świrski from the National Broadcasting Council: The legal situation is unclear
According to the chairman of the National Broadcasting Council, Maciej Świrski, the reason for the delay is: unclear legal situation of Polish Radio. In turn, a lawyer from the Romanowski i Wspólnicy law firm, prof. Michał Romanowski assessed that the action of the National Broadcasting Council amounts to “contempt for the law and court decisions. (…) This means an open refusal to comply with court decisions and the consequences resulting from entries in the National Court Register.”
“The illegality of the National Broadcasting Council's actions is almost of a qualified nature, i.e. particularly flagrant, because we have a uniform line of jurisprudence from the registry courts that television and other radio and television broadcasting units have been effectively put into liquidation,” Romanowski emphasized.
The decision of the National Broadcasting Council also affects TVP SA. On April 9, the company's liquidator, Daniel Gorgosz, sent a final pre-court summons to the chairman of the National Broadcasting Council for the payment of license fee revenues in the amount of PLN 141,780,000 along with interest. On April 12, Polskie Radio reported that the final pre-court payment demand had been sent to the chairman of the National Broadcasting Council. This amounts to nearly PLN 73 million including interest that was not paid to Polskie Radio. (PAP)
Author: Anna Kruszyńska
