Poland is set to introduce a 15% foreign ownership limit on media companies in a move that could have far-reaching consequences for TVN, the national commercial broadcaster backed by Scripps Networks Interactive.
Wirtualne Media reports that the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party plans to submit proposed new legislation on the de-concentration of Polish media to parliament (Sejm) following the summer recess.
Quoting an unnamed representative of PiS, speaking to the publication Super Express, it adds that the limit, previously suggested as 20%, could be as low as 15%. Significantly, the proposed new legislation would also place limits on cross-media ownership.
Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the president of PiS, has already spoken on a number of occasions about the introduction of such limits, likening them to those that already exist in France.
Some critics argue that they would also reflect those that have recently been introduced in Russia.
Scripps Networks Interactive, which is the sole owner of TVN, is in the process of itself being acquired by Discovery Communications in a deal worth $14.6 billion.
