Football focuses on Poland’s competitive TV market

Michael Hedges February 25, 2008

Football matches are events made-for-TV. Broadcasters bid against each other for rights virtually assured of the advertising and audience bonus. For this summers’ Euro 2008 championships Polsat bought all rights freezing out public broadcaster TVP.

TelewizjaPolsat and TVP had an arrangement, they said. Polsat snapped up all rights for €15 million. The arrangement would allow TVP, for a price, to broadcast most matches including the finals television. That price, €10 million, was too much for TVP, which offered €7 million, according to Dziennik (February 11). Polsat’s rights to Euro 2008 allow it to broadcast the 31 matches free-to-air as well as ‘additional coverage’ on pay channels Polsat Sports and Polsat Sports Extra. The ‘arrangement’ would have had TVP broadcasting 16 matches, including all Polish matches, free-to-air and PolSat covering with its pay channels.

“Their time is up,” said Polsat owner Zygmut Solorz-Zak, dismissive when TVP wanted to change the deal. “We are not going to negotiate with TVP any longer. Euro 2008 matches will be shown only on our channels.”

After Euro 2004 in Portugal UEFA ended its long standing relationship with European public broadcasters through the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) opting, instead, to sell rights country by country, market by market. Suddenly, television rights – and radio, for that matter – soared as private, commercial broadcasters outbid individual public TV channels. Quite often, rights holders obtain rights to sell partial rights to other broadcasters. In the UK, ITV and BBC reached a joint arrangement for Euro 2008 coverage. 

On behalf of public broadcasters, EBU paid UEFA about €290 million for the Euro 2004 finals. To date rights fees negotiated by broadcasters for Euro 2008 exceed €600 million. There are few hold-outs; most broadcasters need deals in place before starting their own marketing and promotion.

Euro 2008 will be jointly hosted by Switzerland and Austria. Public broadcasters in both countries acquired radio and TV rights. SSR-SRG, the Swiss public broadcaster under no competitive threat, signed for exclusive TV rights and non-exclusive radio rights in March 2007. Austrian public broadcaster ORF, which has scant TV competition, held out until September.

“We could have the broadcast rights tomorrow if we would pay the incredible fee the UEFA wants. I am strictly against it,” said ORF spokesperson Elmar Oberhauser to Kurier in March 2007.

Some media watchers in Poland and elsewhere expect the Polish government to step in at the last minute and find a face-saving solution. Poland and Ukraine are set to jointly host the Euro 2012 championships. At least, that’s the plan. Polsat obtained the television rights with the intention of sharing with TVP.

But football’s sanctioning body UEFA let the Poles and Ukrainians know its concerns at the end of January UEFA Congress. An executive report on preparations said only venues in Ukraine, “funded by oligarchs,” are near completion. In all, 10 stadia and more than 100 hotels need to be built or modernized, along with railway, highway and airport expansion. Delays, said UEFA President Michel Platini, rest with political instability in both countries.

TVP has, more or less, maintained its television market share over the last year. The top 15 shows are either seen on TVP1 or TVP2, according to February figures from TNS OBOP. TVP1 has a 25.2% market share, with TVP2 at 17.2%. Polsat, increasing, has a 16.1% market share. TVN, decreasing, has a 13.5% market share. All other channels are in single digits, below 5%.

Since the Polish election a new general direction has been anticipated for TVP. So far, nothing has happened. Privately owned commercial broadcasters have been hoping the new government will revise TVP’s strategic plan, including advertising restrictions.

At present, TVP seems to be continuing – in general terms - along direction from the previous government. One beneficiary has been original tele-film production and co-production and the internationally recognized Polish film industry. TVP co-produced the film “Katyn” which is nominated for several 2008 Academy Awards (OSCARS).

Interestingly, TVP did not obtain rights for the OSCARS broadcast.