The National
Broadcasting Council

Dr Agnieszka Glapiak pointed out that the KRRiT is a constitutional body safeguarding freedom of speech, the right to information and the public interest in radio and television.

‘The National Broadcasting Council is not a government administrative body. Its independence is enshrined in the constitution and guarantees a modern media system based on freedom of speech, citizens’ right to information and the protection of the public interest’, said the Chair of the KRRiT.

In her speech, Dr Agnieszka Glapiak addressed the situation in the media market and the functioning of public service media. The Chair emphasised that keeping public media companies in a state of liquidation whilst simultaneously funding them with multi-billion zloty subsidies from the budget exacerbates the legal, organisational and financial crisis facing these entities and negatively impacts the fulfilment of their public service remit. She also drew attention to the decline in viewing figures for programmes broadcast by Telewizja Polska S.A. (in liquidation) and the threats to the future of TVP Polonia arising from proposed legislative changes.

‘The viewership declines affected both the public broadcaster’s main channels, TVP1 and TVP2, as well as its thematic and regional channels. A particularly marked decline was seen on TVP INFO, which recorded a threefold drop in viewership and lost its position as one of the leaders in the news market to private broadcasters’.

As the Chair of the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT) pointed out, the audience for the main news programmes has fallen dramatically.

‘They have lost hundreds of thousands of viewers, which indicates an exodus of viewers and a dramatic weakening of the public media’s role in providing news’, noted Dr Agnieszka Glapiak. 

During her speech, the Chair discussed the findings of the monitoring of the election campaign for the office of President of the Republic of Poland. As she noted, the monitoring revealed a lack of impartiality and journalistic standards. On the programmes ‘Fakty’, ‘19.30’ and ‘Wydarzenia’, a positive narrative concerning only Rafał Trzaskowski dominated. Telewizja Republika, on the other hand, portrayed Karol Nawrocki in a positive light. The other candidates were marginalised.

The Chair of the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT) also presented information on the protection of media pluralism, the analysis of journalistic standards, the handling of viewer complaints, and the performance of licensing and regulatory tasks. She recalled that in 2025, the KRRiT received over 18,000 complaints, initiated 379 investigations, and the decisions issued resulted in the imposition of financial penalties totalling nearly 5 million zlotys.

Referring to legislative work concerning the media and digital services market, Dr Agnieszka Glapiak highlighted the exclusion of the KRRiT from the process of drafting measures relating to the implementation of European regulations and amendments to the Media Act.

As she pointed out, limiting the constitutional regulator’s involvement in work on legislation concerning its remit undermines the quality of the legislative process and calls into question the role of an independent state body.

During the meeting, Dr Agnieszka Glapiak referred to the resolution of the Senate Committee on Culture and the Media concerning the KRRiT’s report. 

The Chair pointed out that all five arguments contained in the explanatory memorandum to the resolution were based on false information. She emphasised that the Senate had designated 2027 as the Year of Information Awareness and Security; it is therefore particularly worrying that an official document should contain assertions that are not supported by the facts or the current legal framework.

‘All five points in the resolution’s explanatory memorandum contain false information. The National Broadcasting Council’s activities should be assessed in the light of the facts, the current law and the nearly 200-page report, rather than political assertions ‘, said the Head of the National Broadcasting Council.

During the Senate sitting, Dr Agnieszka Glapiak pointed out that there is no administrative court judgement currently in force that would find the KRRiT Chair guilty of inaction or undue delay in proceedings concerning the disbursement of subscription fee funds.

She recalled that in 2025, the KRRiT transferred over 692 million zlotys from subscription fee revenue to public service broadcasters.

Dr Agnieszka Glapiak also pointed out that the Council took ongoing action regarding complaints about content that might constitute hate speech. The ruling of the Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw (WSA) dismissed the complaints lodged by the Basta Foundation against the decision of the Chair of the KRRiT refusing to initiate proceedings to impose a penalty on the broadcaster.

The court concurred with the view that the interests of the LGBT+ community cannot be equated with the public interest. The fines imposed on the KRRiT related solely to procedural matters. The Chair concluded the cases with an information letter rather than issuing decisions. By contrast, the substantive rulings of the KRRiT Chair were not challenged by the Provincial Administrative Court (WSA) in any of the cases under consideration.

The Head of the National Broadcasting Council also rejected the claim that courts allegedly routinely overturn penalties imposed by the KRRiT for breaches of the Broadcasting Act. As she pointed out, in 2025, out of 84 cases heard, the courts dismissed the KRRiT’s appeal in only four instances.

On the issue of licence fees, she recalled that the KRRiT consistently enforces payment from all broadcasters.Where broadcasters are in arrears with their licence fees, the National Council always calls on debtors to settle their outstanding amounts. This was also the case with TV Republika. TV Republika paid all arrears, including interest, in April 2026.

The Chair emphasised that an independent regulator has a duty to uphold the law regardless of current political disputes. She assured that the KRRiT would continue to consistently fulfil its constitutional duties, protecting freedom of speech, the right to information, media pluralism and the public interest.

‘Poland needs a strong, independent media regulator more than ever before. The National Council will respond consistently wherever pluralism is threatened, journalistic standards are breached and citizens’ right to information is restricted’, concluded Dr Agnieszka Glapiak.