Media expert says TVN24 unlikely to become 'Polish Fox News’ after Paramount deal

A planned Paramount Skydance takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery has raised questions about the future of Poland’s TVN network.

Photo:PAP/Darek Delmanowicz

A media scholar has said she does not expect TVN24, one of Poland’s main private news channels, to turn into a Polish version of Fox News after Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders approved the takeover by Paramount Skydance.

The deal, worth about USD 110 billion, would give Paramount Skydance control of Warner Bros. Discovery, the owner of CNN, HBO and Poland’s TVN group among other media properties. The transaction still faces regulatory scrutiny.

Prof. Alicja Jaskiernia of the University of Warsaw told Poland’s PAP news agency that the merger was highly controversial in the United States because it would create another media giant.

She noted that David Ellison, the head of Paramount Skydance, is the son of Larry Ellison, the cofounder of the software company Oracle. Larry Ellison is one of the world’s richest technology entrepreneurs and is seen as politically close to US President Donald Trump.

“Control over news media undoubtedly opens the field for political maneuvering,” Jaskiernia said, adding that the political sympathies of both men were known to be on the right.

Jaskiernia said changes already taking place at CBS News, including staffing changes and shifts in news formats, showed that similar moves could eventually affect TVN24.

She said a correction in the channel’s editorial line was possible, especially if Poland became politically important to the White House.

She added, however, that it was still unclear whether Paramount Skydance would keep TVN in its portfolio.

Jaskiernia said there were two possible scenarios. The new owner could retain its news operations, including CNN, CBS and TVN. It could also decide that news is an expensive and less profitable part of the business and put some assets up for sale.

Asked whether TVN24 could face a similar scenario, she said corporate logic would normally argue for keeping its current profile because the station has a loyal audience attractive to advertisers. Its financial results are solid, and its broadcasting license runs beyond 2030.

At the same time, she said, the same economic reasoning could lead Ellison to sell TVN.

The Polish government would have a say in any sale. In December 2024, Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that TVN and Polsat, another major private broadcaster, would be added to a list of strategic companies protected against acquisitions deemed hostile or dangerous to national interests.

The measure means that a sale or takeover of those companies requires government approval.

“If the government does not decide to use this option, a shift in the editorial line is very possible,” Jaskiernia said.

She added that she would not assume “the transformation of TVN24 into a Polish Fox News.”

Poland already has right-wing news outlets, while TVN24’s loyal viewers could move to public broadcaster TVP or Polsat if the channel changed direction too sharply.

Jaskiernia said such a move would also make little business sense. A more strongly right-wing TVN24 could either lose its clear audience or become a direct competitor to existing right-wing media.

She said she did not see a major threat to next year’s parliamentary campaign in Poland, even in the event of changes at TVN24. Corporate decisions of this scale take time, she said, and Poland is not likely to be the first priority for the new media group.

She also noted that television is no longer the main source of information for many voters, which reduces the risk to political pluralism.

Still, Jaskiernia said a significant shift in the media landscape remained possible in the future. Much would depend on developments in US politics after this year’s midterm elections to Congress, she added.

She said the market would probably remain uncertain for many months, including in the United States.

Ellison has publicly said that CNN and CBS are “incredible brands” and that he wants to protect their editorial independence.

Jaskiernia said those assurances had not removed concerns about the future direction of the company.

(rt/gs)

Source: PAP

Radio Poland