THE POLISH TV MEDIA INDUSTRY – EU IMPLICATIONS A CASE STUDY OF THE MTV MASTIFF GROUP, THE INDEPENDENT TELEVISION CONTENT PRODUCER

Abstract

The first of May 2004 was an important day for the European Union. On this day the Union grew larger with ten new member states. It is the most complex enlargement the EU has ever seen, both concerning the amount of countries entered and the cultural and economical diversities. Now when these countries are members of the Union, barriers to entry for western European companies have diminished. One of the industries that is especially internationally-oriented is the TV industry. It is one of the largest industries within the EU, not only in an economical sense, but also in social and cultural issues. Television is the most important source of information and entertainment in the EU, with the average EU citizen watching around three hours of television a day. Looking at the new member countries, Poland is the most important country in many ways, including economically and size. For this reason, Poland was quickly recognized by multinational companies who established businesses there relatively early. Recently the market has been discovered by a number of independent television producers, including our case company, the MTV Mastiff Group. This research examines the impact on the Polish television content producer market due to Poland’s recent accession to the European Union. Following this path, predictions regarding the entrance of new European competitors to the Polish market are given. In addition, a thorough description of the entire Polish TV market is given including future forecasts. In order to foresee the future we have used the scenario method, which provided different possible outcomes for the coming three-to-five year period. The most probable future market outcome within the frame of the selected variables is identified. After the in-depth analysis of the Polish TV market, European competitors and the EU environment and the most probable path of change, we have recommended a strategy for the case company to pursue in order to get a foothold into the Polish market.