“The National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT) has won the dispute with Telewizja Polsat. on the interpretation of the provisions of the Broadcasting Act regarding the differences between self-promotion and the broadcaster's announcement and the rules for broadcasting this type of messages in the program,” we read in the council's announcement.
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We read in it that the case concerned violations that occurred in April 2023. Telewizja Polsat then exceeded the permissible total time of broadcasting advertising and teleshopping.
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“The broadcaster did not include in the statutory limit the broadcasts that he classified as broadcaster announcements and not self-promotion. At the same time, he considered them as announcements regarding programs and services from entities from the same capital group, which resulted in their broadcast during the broadcast and not – as the regulations provide – between broadcasts. The Chairman of the National Broadcasting Council considered such an action a violation of the Broadcasting Act (art. 16 section 5 in connection with Art. 16 section 4 points 1 and 1a) i imposed a fine on Telewizja Polsat in the amount of PLN 20,000. zloty“- we read.
Telewizja Polsat lost in court
In appeal against the decision the company argued that the disputed communications were solely of an informational nature and therefore constituted announcements and not advertising. According to the broadcaster, as announcements regarding programs or media services distributed by entities from the same capital group, they could be broadcast not only between programs, but also during them.
However, the courts of both instances did not share this argumentwhich fully confirmed the interpretation of the provisions adopted by the Chairman of the National Broadcasting Council.
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The Council cites the opinion of the appellate court, which stated that the essence of information is its neutral and objective nature, while the advertising message is dominated by the element of encouragement to take advantage of the offer, even if it also contains information elements. In the court's opinion, the disputed broadcasts were not limited to neutral information about programs broadcast on Polsat. They clearly encouraged people to watch them, which is a characteristic feature of self-promotion.
The National Broadcasting Council indicates the interpretation
“The courts also drew attention to the need for rational interpretation art. 16 section 4 points 1 and 1a of the Actwhich requires a clear distinction between a given broadcaster and other companies belonging to the same capital group. A different approach would lead to a conflict of regulations and would enable broadcasters to circumvent the Act in order to create more favorable conditions for broadcasting advertisements and announcements,” the council emphasizes.
