The mass media in Poland consist of several different types of communications media including television, radio, cinema, newspapers, magazines, and Internet. During the communist regime in Poland the Stalinist press doctrine dominated and controlled Polish media. The country instituted freedom of press since the fall of communism. The Polish media system's main features are the product of the country's socio-political and economic post-communist transition. These features include: the privatisation of the press sector; the transformation of the state radio and television into public broadcasting services; influx of foreign capital into the media market and European integration of audiovisual media policies. Today the media landscape is very plural but highly polarized along political and ideological divides.
Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing and commercial financing.
Iraq was home to the first television station in the Middle East, which began during the 1950s. As part of a plan to help Iraq modernize, English telecommunications company Pye Limited built and commissioned a television broadcast station in the capital city of Baghdad. Following the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, the Iraqi state media collapsed. In June 2004, a Communications and Media Commission was set up to approve and grant license for all the country's media. By 2011, Iraq was the headquarters of 49 free-to-air satellite channels, one of the highest numbers in the region. Until 2003, satellite dishes were banned in Iraq, and there was a limited number of national terrestrial stations. After 2003, the sale of satellite dishes surged, and free-to-air channels entered the market. There are 17 terrestrial channels, of which one is funded by the US government through the U.S. Agency for Global Media (Alhurra-Iraq), and seven are owned by the state broadcaster Iraqi Media Network. In March 2011, Al Jazeera was granted rights to resume operations after being banned in 2004. Plans were established to set up a free-media zone based in Baghdad, the Baghdad Media City, by the end of 2014.
Terrestrial television or over-the-air television (OTA) is a type of television broadcasting in which the signal transmission occurs via radio waves from the terrestrial (Earth-based) transmitter of a TV station to a TV receiver having an antenna. The term terrestrial is more common in Europe and Latin America, while in Canada and the United States it is called over-the-air or simply broadcast. This type of TV broadcast is distinguished from newer technologies, such as satellite television, in which the signal is transmitted to the receiver from an overhead satellite; cable television, in which the signal is carried to the receiver through a cable; and Internet Protocol television, in which the signal is received over an Internet stream or on a network utilizing the Internet Protocol. Terrestrial television stations broadcast on television channels with frequencies between about 52 and 600 MHz in the VHF and UHF bands. Since radio waves in these bands travel by line of sight, reception is generally limited by the visual horizon to distances of 64–97 kilometres (40–60 mi), although under better conditions and with tropospheric ducting, signals can sometimes be received hundreds of kilometers distant.
Television broadcasting in Greece began in 1966, preceded in 1951 by statute 1963 permitting television broadcasting.
TX Network (TXN) is a commercial television network in Japan owned by Nikkei, Inc. The "TX" is taken from the callsign of its flagship station, TV Tokyo. It is also known as TV Tokyo Network.
Commercial broadcasting is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship. It was the United States' first model of radio during the 1920s, in contrast with the public television model in Europe during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, which prevailed worldwide, except in the United States and Brazil, until the 1980s.
Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. Munhwa is the Sino-Korean word for "culture". Its flagship terrestrial television station MBC TV broadcasts as channel 11.
Polsat is a Polish free-to-air television channel that was launched on 5 December 1992 by Zygmunt Solorz-Żak. As of 2019, it is the most watched television channel in Poland with a market share of 11.30%
Digital terrestrial television in Australia commenced on 1 January 2001 in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth using DVB-T standards. The phase out of analogue PAL transmissions began on 30 June 2010 and was completed by 10 December 2013.
Television in Pakistan started in 1964 and the first live transmission of Pakistan Television began on 26 November 1964, in Lahore.
TV 4 is a Polish free-to-air television channel. It was created through the merger of Nasza TV and Polsat 2 and started broadcasting on 1 April 2000. The station belonged to company Polskie Media. Polskie Media was a subsidiary of Polsat Group. In August 2013 Polskie Media was acquired by Polsat Group, and from 2014 Polsat Group is a direct broadcaster of TV4.
TV Puls is a Polish commercial television channel, which was based on Telewizja Niepokalanów with the support of companies such as PKN Orlen, KGHM Polska Miedź, PZU Życie, Prokom and which started broadcasting in March 2001. Due to financial problems, it ended broadcasting on 1 April 2003. With the help of the private company Antena 1 and of the owner of Polsat, Zygmunt Solorz-Żak, TV Puls resumed broadcasting in June 2003. Until recently, the station's programming was largely devoted to Catholic issues, as the majority of the company's stock was owned by the Franciscan Order.
Television in the Philippines was introduced in October 1953 upon the first commercial broadcast made by Alto Broadcasting System, making the Philippines the first Southeast Asian country and the second in Asia to do so. Even before that, during the late 1940s, a number of academic experiments had been done and replicated by Filipino engineers and students.
Television in Poland was introduced 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 becoming the first private station in Poland.
Television is the most popular medium in Russia, with 74% of the population watching national television channels routinely and 59% routinely watching regional channels. There are 3300 television channels in total. Before going digital television, 3 channels have a nationwide outreach : Channel One, Russia-1 and NTV.
Television in Malta was first introduced in 1957. The first person to sell televisions in Malta was The Most Noble Count Consiglio D'Amato.
Polsat Sport News was the first Polish TV station aimed at sports news. Polsat Sport News was launched on May 30, 2011, at 7:00.
TV6 (Six) is a Polish free-to-air television channel, owned by Polskie Media. From 1 January 2014 Telewizja Polsat is a direct broadcaster of TV6. It was launched on 30 May 2011.
A generalist channel is a television or radio channel whose target audience is not confined to a particular set of people, but instead aims to offer a wide range of programs and program genres to a diverse general public. In radio, this is sometimes referred to as "full-format programming".
