The Polish Council of Ministers has accepted amendments to the Law on Radio and Television and other laws designed to harmonise them with European legislation.
Submitted by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, they apply to all linear and non-linear (on demand) programming and propose strengthening the powers of the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT).
Furthermore, they lay down general rules for all audiovisual media services and regulate advertising, introducing a gap of 20 minutes between successive blocks of commercials in TV programmes and 30 minutes in TV movies.
Significantly, the amendments also introduce a general ban on product placement and totally prohibit the placement of topics.
The rules on sponsorship will also be changed, with sponsors only being able to be entities that do not provide media services or produce programmes.
The proposed amendments will now be considered by the Polish parliament.