Television in Poland was introduced on an experimental basis in 1937. It was state owned, and was interrupted by the Second World War in 1939. Television returned to Poland in 1952 and for several decades was controlled by the communist government. Colour television was introduced in Poland in 1971. Private television stations in Poland appeared around the time of the fall of communism, with PTV Echo (once a member of the local channels of Polonia 1) becoming the first private station in Poland (and in the former Eastern Bloc).
Terrestrial television in Poland broadcasts using a digital DVB-T system. First test DVB-T emission was carried out in Warsaw on 9 November 2001. In April 2004, first DVB-T transmitter near Rzeszów started operation and local TVP division started to market set-top boxes allowing to receive it. As of July 2016, there are about 250 DVB-T transmitters operating in Poland, broadcasting up to three multiplexes (except local stations),[1] all using MPEG-4 AVC compression. Majority of channels are available in HD across all the Poland after DVB-T2/HEVC switchover has finished in June 2022, while channels from MUX8 (Metro, Zoom TV, Nowa TV, WP, ViDoc TV, Republika and wPolsce24) are available only in SD, although Nowa TV and Republika broadcast in HD in some local multiplexes.Analog terrestrial transmissions were terminated in 2013.First efforts to introduce DVB-T in Poland was made in 1997 in Gdańsk on initiative of TVP (Polish public television broadcaster).In the spring of 2022, the terrestrial TV broadcasting standard was changed across the country to the newer and more effective DVB-T2/HEVC standard, where HEVC (or H.265) is a new standard for TV signal compression. Switching to the new DVB-T2/HEVC terrestrial TV broadcasting standard was carried out in the period from March to June 2022. However, the changes did not cover MUX3, which belongs as a whole to TVP. Decision by requested by the Minister of Interior Affairs and Administration, argumented by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, allowed to delay the switch until the end of 2023.[2]
At 2006 conference in Geneva known as GE06 Poland received eight DVB-T multiplexes—seven at UHF frequencies 470–862 MHz (channels 21–69) and one at VHF frequency 174–230 MHz (channels 6–12). Since some of these frequencies are currently used for analog PAL terrestrial television broadcasting, it is possible to run only two nationwide multiplexes (MUX1, MUX2) and one (MUX3) which covers part of country (58% of population). Introduction of all multiplexes will be possible after switching off analog broadcasting.
A government document entitled "Country digitalization schedule", dated January 2009, set out plan for the digital broadcast switch-on to be made in three steps and analog broadcast switch-off in six steps.
First regular digital broadcast started on 30 September 2010. Analog broadcast switch-off started on 7 November 2012 and the transition to digital broadcasting finished on 23 July 2013.
The period of time between digital broadcast switch-on and analog broadcast switch-off will allow people time to buy new integrated Digital TVs or set-top boxes.
The shutdown of analog broadcast took place in 7 steps between 7 November 2012 and 23 July 2013.
Most operators of analog cable TV are planning to continue providing analog service in their networks for an unspecified period of time.
The Polish government created Informative campaigns regarding analog broadcast switch-off in mass media. The government also requires electronic equipment sellers to inform buyers that MPEG-2 TVs and STBs are not compatible with the national standard which is currently DVB-T2 HEVC QAM256 .
The Polish government provides financial help for poor families and seniors to buy a TV - 250 PLN or STB – 100 PLN per household, totaling 475 million PLN.[3]
Polish digital terrestrial television broadcast uses the basic parameters of a digital receiver defined in ETSI TS 101 154 for level 4.1 HDTV: 50 Hz HEVC HDTV 8-bit (resolutions 1920 x 1080 p50, 1280 x 720 p50) MPEG-2 Audio Layer 2 and E-AC -3 audios. In the case of a TV receiver capable of displaying UHD, the DVB-T2 receiver also supports the format specified in ETSI TS 101 154 in point 5.14 HEVC HDR UHDTV IRD using HLG10 and HEVC HDR UHDTV IRD using PQ10, Main 10 Profile, Main Tier for UHDTV with resolution 3840 x 2160 and AC-4 audio.
Plan from January 2009 included three nationwide multiplexes with seven SDTV channels in each:
In January 2010 new plan on introducing DVB-T was presented. Assignment of multiplexes was changed:
In June 2010 the final decision on the allocation of multiplexes was made:
| MUX1 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Channel | Owner | Type | Position (LCN) | ||||||||
| Polsat Plus Group (earlier ZPR Media Group) | Music/Entertainment | 12 | |||||||||
| Stavka (TVN Warner Bros. Discovery) | General/Social-intervention | 13 | |||||||||
| Polsat Plus Group (earlier ZPR Media Group) | Music/Entertainment | 14 | |||||||||
| Antena HD | MWE Networks | General | 15 | ||||||||
| Religious | 16 | ||||||||||
| Movies | 17 | ||||||||||
| Polsat Plus Group (earlier ZPR Media Group) | General/Documentaries | 18 | |||||||||
| Wydarzenia 24 | News | 49 | |||||||||
| MUX2 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Channel | Owner | Type | Position (LCN) | ||||||||
| General | 4 | ||||||||||
| General | 5 | ||||||||||
| TV4 | Polsat Plus Group (earlier Polskie Media) | General | 6 | ||||||||
| General | 7 | ||||||||||
| TVN7 | General/Entertainment | 8 | |||||||||
| General/Entertainment | 9 | ||||||||||
| Polsat Plus Group (earlier Polskie Media) | General/Entertainment | 10 | |||||||||
| General/Entertainment | 11 | ||||||||||
| MUX3 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Channel | Owner | Type | Position (LCN) | ||||||||
| TVP1 | General | 1 | |||||||||
| TVP2 | General | 2 | |||||||||
| TVP3[4] | Regional | 3 | |||||||||
| TVP ABC | Telewizja Polska | Children | 29 | ||||||||
| TVP Kultura | Telewizja Polska | Culture | 30 | ||||||||
| Historical | 31 | ||||||||||
| TVP Sport | Sport | 32 | |||||||||
| TVP Info | News | 34 | |||||||||
| TVP GO[5] | Telewizja Polska | Interactive (HbbTV) | 88 | ||||||||
| TVP World[6] | Telewizja Polska | International (HbbTV) | 91 | ||||||||
| TVP ABC 2 | Telewizja Polska | Children (HbbTV) | 92 | ||||||||
| TVP Historia 2 | Telewizja Polska | Historical (HbbTV) | 93 | ||||||||
| TVP Kultura 2 | Telewizja Polska | Cultural (HbbTV) | 94 | ||||||||
| MUX6 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Channel | Owner | Type | Position (LCN) | ||||||||
| TVP Polonia | Telewizja Polska | Worldwide | 19 | ||||||||
| TVP Nauka | Telewizja Polska | Popular science | 20 | ||||||||
| TVP Dokument | Telewizja Polska | Documentaries | 24 | ||||||||
| TVP Rozrywka | Telewizja Polska | Entertainment | 27 | ||||||||
| Alfa TVP | Telewizja Polska | Children | 28 | ||||||||
| TVP World | Telewizja Polska | International | 33 | ||||||||
| TVP Kobieta | Telewizja Polska | Lifestyle | 35 | ||||||||
| Belsat | Telewizja Polska | General | 36 | ||||||||
| MUX8 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Channel | Owner | Type | Position (LCN) | ||||||||
| General/Lifestyle | 38 | ||||||||||
| General/Local issues | 39 | ||||||||||
| Polsat Plus Group (earlier ZPR Media Group) | General | 40 | |||||||||
| General/Interactive | 41 | ||||||||||
| ViDoc TV | Film/Documentary | 50 | |||||||||
| Republika | Telewizja Republika | News | 51 | ||||||||
| wPolsce24[7] | Fratria | News | 52 | ||||||||
| CDA Premium | CDA SA | Interactive (HbbTV) | 86 | ||||||||
| Sklep Kapitan.pl | CDA SA | Online shop (HbbTV) | 87 | ||||||||
| Legia TV | Legia Warsaw | Sport (HbbTV) | 89 | ||||||||
| EWTN GO | EWTN | Religious (HbbTV) | 90 | ||||||||
| Pershyi | Suspilne | General (HbbTV) | 95 | ||||||||
| test5 | Emitel | N/A (black screen) (HbbTV) | 96 | ||||||||
| test6 | Emitel | N/A (black screen) (HbbTV) | 97 | ||||||||
| EmiRadio | Emitel | Interactive (HbbTV) | 98 | ||||||||
| EmiTV | Emitel | Interactive (HbbTV) | 99 | ||||||||
| Polsat Box "Sport i informacje" ("Sports & information" Pay TV package)[8] | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Channel | Owner | Type | Position (LCN) | |||||||||
| Polsat Sport 1 | Sport | 110 | ||||||||||
| Polsat Sport 2 | Polsat Plus Group | Sport | 111 | |||||||||
| Eurosport 1 | TVN Warner Bros. Discovery | Sport | 112 | |||||||||
| Eurosport 2 | TVN Warner Bros. Discovery | Sport | 113 | |||||||||
| Eleven Sports 1 | Polsat Plus Group | Sport | 114 | |||||||||
| Eleven Sports 2 | Polsat Plus Group | Sport | 115 | |||||||||
| TVN Turbo | TVN Warner Bros. Discovery | Lifestyle | 116 | |||||||||
| TVN Style | TVN Warner Bros. Discovery | Lifestyle | 117 | |||||||||
| Polsat News Polityka | News | 118 | ||||||||||
| Polsat News | Polsat Plus Group | News | 119 | |||||||||
| TVN24 | TVN Warner Bros. Discovery | News | 120 | |||||||||
| Polsat promo HbbTV[9] | Interactive (HbbTV) | 333 | ||||||||||
| MUX-L1 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Channel | Owner | Type | |||||||||
| Junior Channel | MWE Networks | Children | |||||||||
| Szlagier TV | MWE Networks | Schlager music | |||||||||
| TVC Super | MWE Networks | General | |||||||||
| Filmax HD | MWE Networks | Movies | |||||||||
| Pogoda24.TV | MWE Networks | News | |||||||||
| Home TV | MWE Networks | Lifestyle | |||||||||
| Echo24 HD | MWE Networks | Regional | |||||||||
| Stars.TV | JBD S.A. | Music | |||||||||
| TV Dami / TV Bolesławiec | N/A | Regional | |||||||||
| TVT Zgorzelec | Telewizja Regionalna TVT | Regional | |||||||||
| Republika | Telewizja Republika | General | |||||||||
| TVC | MWE Networks | General | |||||||||
| TVS | TVS Sp. z.o.o. | Regional | |||||||||
| MUX-L2 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Channel | Owner | Type | |||||||
| TVT | Telewizja TVT Sp. z o.o. | Regional | |||||||
| TV Republika Plus | Telewizja Republika | General | |||||||
| Stars.TV | JBD S.A. | Music | |||||||
| Nowa TV | Polsat Group | General | |||||||
| TVS | TVS Sp. z.o.o. | Regional | |||||||
| TVN | TVN Warner Bros. Discovery | General | |||||||
| TVN7 | TVN Warner Bros. Discovery | General/Entertainment | |||||||
| Kabaret TV SD | Wirtualna Polska Holding | Cabaret | |||||||
| TV Okazje SD | TVO (Polsat Plus Group) | Teleshopping | |||||||
| MUX-L3 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Channel | Owner | Type | |||||||||
| Junior Channel | MWE Networks | Children | |||||||||
| Szlagier TV | MWE Networks | Schlager music | |||||||||
| TVC | MWE Networks | General | |||||||||
| TVC Super | General | ||||||||||
| Pogoda24.TV | MWE Networks | News | |||||||||
| Home TV | MWE Networks | Lifestyle | |||||||||
| Filmax | MWE Networks | Movies | |||||||||
| Stars.TV | JBD S.A. | Music | |||||||||
| Republika | Telewizja Republika | General | |||||||||
| TVS | TVS Sp. z.o.o. | Regional | |||||||||
| MUX-L4 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Channel | Owner | Type | |||||||||
| Junior Channel | MWE Networks | Children | |||||||||
| Szlagier TV | MWE Networks | Schlager music | |||||||||
| TVC Super | MWE Networks | General | |||||||||
| Stars.TV | JBD S.A. | Music | |||||||||
| Pogoda24.TV | MWE Networks | News | |||||||||
| General | |||||||||||
| General | |||||||||||
| Echo24 HD | Regional | ||||||||||
| Republika | Telewizja Republika | General | |||||||||
| TVS | TVS Sp. z.o.o. | Regional | |||||||||
| MUX-L7 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Channel | Owner | Type | |||||||||
| TV Regionalna SD | TVL Sp. z o.o. (programme producer) / GIA DINH Foundation (concessionaire) | Regional | |||||||||
| Nowa TV | Polsat Plus Group | General | |||||||||
| Republika | Telewizja Republika | General | |||||||||
| EWTN | Eternal World Television Network Inc. | Religious | |||||||||
| TV Okazje | TVO (Polsat Plus Group) | Teleshopping | |||||||||
| Polsat | Polsat Plus Group | General | |||||||||
| BCAST experimental DVB-T2 MUX | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Channel | Owner | Type | |||||||||
| Nowa TV | Polsat Plus Group | General | |||||||||
| Republika | Telewizja Republika | General | |||||||||
| TV Media Narodowe SD[10] | Telewizja Media Narodowe | News | |||||||||
| Stars.TV | JBD S.A. | Music | |||||||||
| EWTN | Eternal World Television Network Inc. | Religious | |||||||||
| TV Okazje | TVO (Polsat Plus Group) | Teleshopping | |||||||||
| wPolsce.pl SD | Fratria | News | |||||||||
| Polsat | Polsat Plus Group | General | |||||||||
| TV Regionalna SD[11] | TVL Sp. z o.o. (programme producer) / GIA DINH Foundation (concessionaire) | Regional | |||||||||
In 1998, two DVB-S providers, Cyfra+ and Wizja TV started operation. In 2001, Wizja TV was merged into Cyfra+.
1999 saw the introduction of another platform, Polsat 2 Cyfrowy (later renamed to Polsat Cyfrowy, Cyfrowy Polsat and finally Polsat Box), owned by Polsat, a major Polish commercial TV network. These platforms become very popular, and today, there are no Polish channels available on analogue satellite (the last one, TVN, was switched off in 2008). However, most of the satellite broadcasts in Poland are in SDTV resolution.
On 12 October 2006, ITI launched the n platform with a few HD channels available, as well as—also new to Poland—video on demand functionality. Later, in December 2006, Cyfra+ also started HD broadcasts. Cyfrowy Polsat started HD broadcasts in second half of 2007.
On 21 March 2013, as part of deeper cooperation between Canal+ Group and ITI, Cyfra+ and N were merged into NC+.
On 3 September 2019 NC+ has changed name to Platforma Canal+.
Several TV channels, as well as video on demand, are available in Polish mobile telephony networks. There are no currently operating dedicated mobile TV transmitters.
There are also OTT TV service providers.
| Name | Type | Subscribers | Number of channels | HD channels | 3D channel | VOD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polsat Box | Digital platform | 5,700,000[12] | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| |
| Canal+ | Digital platform | 2,119,000[13] | 175 | 92 | 0 |
| |
| Orange TV | Digital platform | 875,000[14] | 99 | 40 | 0 |
| |
| UPC Polska | Cable | 1,434,600 | 201 | 50 | 0 |
| |
| Vectra | Cable | 970,933[15] | 204 | 52 | 0 |
| |
| Multimedia Polska | Cable | 825,000 | 171 | 41 | 0 |
| |
| Inea | Cable | 182,000 | 190 | 52 | 0 |
| |
| TOYA | Cable | 160,000 | 52 | 0 |
| ||
| Petrus | Cable | 50,000 | 55 | 0 | |||
| Promax | Cable | 35,670 | 41 | 0 |
| ||
| Sat Film | Cable | 25,000 | 41 | 0 |
| ||
| Other Cable | Cable | more than 1,322,000 |
Top 20 Polish TV channels by Nielsen Media Research (in gray channels, which were in a given year out of the Top 20):
| Channels | Launched | 2023[16] | 2022[17] | 2021 | 2020[18] | 2019 | 2018[19] [20] | 2017[21] | 2016[22] | 2015[23] | 2014[24] | 2013[25] | 2012[26] | 2011[27] | 2010[28] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TVP1 | 01/1953 | 7.73 | 8.67 | 9.73 | 9.66 | 9.68 | 9.73 | 9.59 | 11.10 | 12.28 | 12.27 | 13.17 | 15.41 | 17.41 | 19.35 | |
| TVP2 | 10/1970 | 7.33 | 7.02 | 7.85 | 8.34 | 7.85 | 8.16 | 7.87 | 8.32 | 8.72 | 9.41 | 10.30 | 12.56 | 13.27 | 14.49 | |
| Polsat | 12/1992 | 6.91 | 7.30 | 8.19 | 8.37 | 9.85 | 10.23 | 10.91 | 11.45 | 11.60 | 11.84 | 12.24 | 13.97 | 14.53 | ||
| TVN | 10/1997 | 6.85 | 6.90 | 7.49 | 8.45 | 7.37 | 9.38 | 9.87 | 10.37 | 10.65 | 11.68 | 12.54 | 13.93 | 14.95 | 15.21 | |
| TVN24 | 08/2001 | 5.72 | 5.63 | 4.94 | 5.36 | 4.47 | 4.14 | 4.27 | 3.81 | 3.22 | 2.99 | 3.12 | 3.06 | 3.14 | 3.45 | |
| TVP Info | 10/2007 | 5.08 | 5.14 | 3.97 | 5.14 | 4.82 | 3.43 | 3.83 | 3.26 | 3.51 | 2.86 | 2.61 | 3.82 | 4.24 | 4.92 | |
| TV4 | 04/2000 | 2.98 | 2.89 | 3.23 | 3.64 | 3.72 | 4.16 | 4.08 | 3.36 | 3.27 | 2.68 | 2.97 | 2.49 | 2.39 | 2.14 | |
| TVN7 | 03/2002 | 3.16 | 3.07 | 3.60 | 3.45 | 3.21 | 3.24 | 3.29 | 3.30 | 3.53 | 3.54 | 2.53 | 1.79 | 1.63 | ||
| TV Puls | 03/2001 | 2.95 | 2.90 | 3.59 | 3.61 | 3.50 | 3.40 | 3.03 | 3.20 | 3.09 | 3.11 | 3.08 | 2.33 | 1.89 | 1.51 | |
| TTV | 01/2012 | 1.73 | 1.76 | 2.07 | 1.16 | 2.24 | 2.14 | 1.78 | 1.60 | 1.45 | 1.30 | 1.02 | 0.31 | — | — | |
| Puls 2 | 07/2012 | 1.59 | 1.43 | 1.68 | 1.99 | 1.91 | 1.88 | 1.75 | 1.78 | 1.62 | 1.52 | 1.07 | 0.14 | — | — | |
| TVP Seriale | 12/2010 | 1.56 | 1.58 | 1.47 | 1.47 | 1.41 | 1.41 | 1.49 | 1.48 | 1.40 | 1.44 | 1.14 | 0.64 | 0.34 | — | |
| Polsat 2 | 03/1997 | 1.34 | 1.35 | 1.45 | 1.47 | 1.54 | 1.52 | 1.47 | 1.52 | 1.45 | 1.68 | 1.79 | 1.37 | 1.32 | 0.88 | |
| TV6 | 05/2011 | 1.15 | 1.08 | 1.32 | 1.56 | 1.71 | 1.45 | 1.44 | 1.48 | 1.23 | 0.97 | 0.61 | 0.20 | 0.04 | — | |
| TVP ABC | 02/2014 | — | — | — | 1.02 | 1.23 | 1.39 | 1.18 | 0.92 | 0.70 | 0.49 | — | — | — | — | |
| Polsat News | 06/2008 | 1.76 | 1.97 | 1.76 | 2.03 | 1.13 | 1.12 | 1.14 | 1.11 | 1.08 | 1.08 | 1.04 | 0.90 | 0.81 | 0.62 | |
| TVP Rozrywka | 04/2013 | — | — | — | 0.50 | 0.49 | 0.46 (August) | 0.99 | 1.09 | 1.14 | 0.93 | 0.48 | — | — | — | |
| Stopklatka TV | 03/2014 | 1.14 | 1.12 | 1.30 | 1.17 | 1.12 | 0.98 | 0.94 | 1.00 | 0.88 | 0.60 | — | — | — | — | |
| TVP3 | 09/2013 | 0.97 | 0.91 | 1.00 | 1.10 | 1.02 | 0.98 | 0.94 | 0.97 | 1.05 | 1.09 | 0.36 | — | — | — | |
| Fokus TV | 04/2014 | 0.83 | 1.07 | 1.26 | 1.14 | 0.93 | 0.96 | 0.80 | 0.81 | 0.69 | 0.31 | — | — | — | — |
Top 10 most watched TV broadcasts in Poland from 1998 according to Nielsen Media Research:[29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35]
| Program | Date | Channel | Number of viewers | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TVP1, TVP2, TVP3, Polsat, TVN, TVN24 and others | Over 21,400,000 | Almost 90% | ||
| 2 | UEFA Euro 2016 Poland vs Portugal (quarter-final) | TVP1, Polsat, Polsat Sport | 15,974,822 | 86.57% | |
| 3 | UEFA Euro 2012 Poland vs Russia (group stage) | TVP1, TVP Sport, TVP HD | 14,683,216 | 81.51% | |
| 4 | UEFA Euro 2016 Germany vs Poland (group stage) | TVP1, Polsat, Polsat Sport | 14,352,012 | 80.89% | |
| 5 | UEFA Euro 2012 Czech Republic vs Poland (group stage) | TVP1, TVP Sport, TVP HD | 14,070,492 | 81.28% | |
| 6 | FIFA World Cup 2018 Poland vs Colombia (group stage) | TVP1, TVP Sport | 13,631,335 | 75.45% | |
| 7 | UEFA Euro 2012 Poland vs Greece (group stage) | TVP1, TVP Sport, TVP HD | 13,308,343 | 83.78% | |
| 8 | 2002 Winter Olympics Ski Jumping Men's K120 Individual | TVP1 | 13,259,612 | 75.15% | |
| 9 | TVP1, TVP2, TVP Info, Polsat, Polsat News, TVN, TVN24 and others | 13,033,967 | 86.68% | ||
| 10 | UEFA Euro 2016 Ukraine vs Poland (group stage) | TVP1, Polsat, Polsat Sport | 12,639,308 | 81.67% | |
Advanced Digital Broadcast, with the R&D headquarters based in Zielona Gora, is a Polish company, which introduced many innovations and world's first solutions in the area of Digital TV. One of the co-founders was local professor Janusz C. Szajna.[36]