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Polsat is a Polish free-to-air television channel that was launched on 5 December 1992 by Zygmunt Solorz-Żak. As of 2019[update], it is the most watched television channel in Poland with a market share of 11.30%
 Logo used since 30 August 2021 | |
| Country | Poland |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | ul. Ostrobramska 77 04-175 Warsaw |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | Polish |
| Picture format | 1080i HDTV (downscaled to 16:9 576i for the SDTV feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Telewizja Polsat |
| Sister channels | TV4 TV6 Polsat Café Polsat Play Polsat Doku Polsat News Polsat News 2 Polsat News Polityka Polsat Music Polsat Film Polsat Film 2 Polsat Seriale |
| History | |
| Launched | 5 December 1992 |
| Former names | PolSat (with a capital "S") (1992–1994) |
| Links | |
| Website | www.polsat.pl |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| Digital terrestrial television | Channel 4 |
| UPC | Channel 5 |
| Polsat Box | Channel 1 |
| Orange | Channel 5 |
| Vectra | Channel 105 |
Polsat belongs to Grupa Polsat Plus (WSE: CPS), which also owns other channels.
On 27 February 2019, the longest-running graphic design (2006–2019) was changed to a new one, but the station's logo remained virtually unchanged until 2021 when the logo was changed again as part of a major overhaul; however, the sun concept of the logo has remained.
A high-definition simulcast feed of Polsat HD was launched in 1 September 2009.
History
editPolsat began test transmissions on 1 December 1992, and started regular broadcasts on 5 December 1992 at 16:30 CET via the Eutelsat II-F3 satellite. The first programme broadcast by Polsat was the Polish animated series Wędrówki Pyzy. It originally broadcast from a studio in Hilversum, the Netherlands, and imported programming had to come by plane to prevent licensing issues.[1] Its initial broadcasting reach was very small at only 20% of the population, but was considered to be attractive for advertisers, as most of its viewers were found in larger cities, had a significant overrepresentation of under-50s and had higher incomes.[2] The owner and main founder of the channel, Zygmunt Solorz-Żak, originally planned that after the regulation of radio and television regulations, the television headquarters would be located in Wrocław, but ultimately they were located in Warsaw.
In late January 1994, talks emerged of a possible buying by News International, owned by Australian-American media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, shortly after the network was awarded the right to broadcast terrestrially nationwide. No final decisions had been taken under the grounds that Murdoch was not a legal member of the consortium. Had Polsat accepted, Murdoch would take up to 33% of the shares. Polsat had said that its bid for the national license were under the grounds that its license was a "purely Polish bid with no foreign links".[3]
Branding
editThe name Polsat was thought up by Polish satirist Tadeusz Drozda, at a time when the channel broadcast from the Netherlands by satellite. The first logo, made up of an S formed by two arches, and to the left the word Polsat divided in two separate syllables (with the second below the first) was designed by Jacek Błach, and the music for the ident was composed by Grzegorz Ciechowski. In 1994, after achieving its terrestrial license, the channel rebranded and adopted a sun as its logo. In an interview given to Super Express in 2011, Zygmunt Solorz-Żak was believed to be "superstitious", with the sun being created by a friend - the golden Aztec sun - to assure the success of the channel.[4]
Programming and schedule
edit- Programming
- Schedule
Logo history
edit
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| 1992–1994 | 1994–2003 | 2003–2006 (3 versions) | 2006–2021 | 2021–present |
References
edit- ^ "Poland exercises the right to channel surf". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
- ^ "Polsat wita na stronach WWW!". Polsat (in Polish). Archived from the original on 21 May 2000. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
- ^ "News International confirms talks to join Polish TV group". The Business Times. 31 January 1994. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
- ^ "Zygmunt Solorz-Żak: Rekin biznesu o wrażliwym sercu. Jak Najbogatszy Polak dorobił się fortuny?" [Zygmunt Solorz-Żak: a business shark with a sensible heart. How did the wealthiest Pole gain fortune?]. Super Express (in Polish). Retrieved 10 May 2021.