Television holds half of the advertising expenditure share in the country. On average, ten minutes of advertisements are broadcast per hour of television. TV ads are dominated by the pharmaceutical industry, followed by telecommunications and FMCG. Viewers are frequently irritated by television ads and are likely to use mobile apps during commercial breaks.
The smaller amount of ads and the possibility of customization are factors in the popularity of video-on-demand. The value of VOD and pay TV is constantly increasing – their shared value is expected to exceed 7 billion zloty in 2019. While some users are considering dropping their pay TV subscription because of high costs and insufficient catalogues, the majority are still not willing to give up pay TV for VOD.
Although the reach of television is decreasing slightly, almost 70 percent of the Polish population still watch it daily. Television consumption is highest in the evenings – the only time of the day when it surges past all other devices, including smartphones. Around this time people watch the news, though Polish viewers have a low level of trust in the credibility and political impartiality of news television.
There are approximately 200 Polish television channels, most of which broadcast film and TV fiction, sport, and entertainment. The most influential TV stations in Poland are owned by the groups TVN, Polsat, and TVP. The leading TV channel is TVP1, whose audience share keeps increasing. Aside from news, the most popular broadcasts among Polish audiences are mostly sport events. Football is the most watched, followed by ski jumping and volleyball.
Television is expected to continue growing and transforming as an industry in Poland over the next years. It remains a crucial medium for reaching the population with cultural and advertising content. The importance of pay TV and video-on-demand should not be neglected.
