KRRiT criticizes TVP Polonia: premieres for Polonia cut sharply, reruns and sport take their place

In brief

• The National Broadcasting Council criticises TVP Polonia for failing to deliver programming aimed at Poles abroad in the first half of 2026.
• Premiere programmes for Polonia reportedly fell by about 75 percent, replaced by reruns, series and sport.
• The broadcaster, now in liquidation, argues that all its content is aimed at Poles abroad, a claim the regulator rejects.

Regulator says the channel has lost its purpose

The National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT) has issued a critical assessment of how TVP Polonia carried out its public mission in the first half of 2026. The regulator's statement was published on a government website on 27 October (TVP Polonia bez oferty dla Polonii - KRRiT krytycznie ocenia realizację misji nadawcy – Gov.pl) (KRRiT ostro o programach w TVP Polonia. Liczby nie pozostawiają złudzeń – Onet).

What the numbers show

According to KRRiT, the number of current programmes aimed at Poles abroad fell by about 75 percent compared with the earlier period. The schedule was instead filled with reruns of programmes from other TVP channels, popular series and live sports coverage.

The broadcaster's defence

Telewizja Polska, now in liquidation, argued in its mission reports that every item on TVP Polonia is by its nature directed at Poles living abroad and at people interested in Poland. It added that whether a programme is specifically aimed at Polonia depends on interpretation.

Regulator rejects that reading

KRRiT's chair, Agnieszka Glapiak, said this interpretative approach is wrong. In her view it ignores the core purpose of TVP Polonia, which is set out both in the broadcasting law and in the company's mandate document, the so-called Karta Powinności. She called the approach careless toward the duties of the liquidated broadcaster's management.

Why it matters

The dispute goes to the heart of what the public broadcaster owes its audience abroad. Because the channel is in liquidation, the question of who will meet these obligations in future is likely to remain open.