The ruling overturning the terrestrial licence of Telewizja Republika is not final, because the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT)’s cassation appeal is still awaiting consideration at the Supreme Administrative Court (NSA). Until a decision is made, the station continues to broadcast on the eighth multiplex.
What the dispute is about
On 21 June 2024, the National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT) decided that the eighth multiplex (MUX 8) would be allocated to the news and current affairs channels Telewizja Republika and wPolsce24. The licences were signed on 2 July 2024. Republika began terrestrial broadcasting in July 2024, and wPolsce24 in September.
The competition was challenged by the company Polskie Wolne Media, the broadcaster of the Polska24 channel, which was refused a licence. In April 2025, the Voivodeship Administrative Court in Warsaw (WSA) overturned KRRiT’s decisions. The court found that the Council’s chairman had violated procedural rules to an extent that could have affected the outcome of the competition. Among the allegations were, among others, the delayed delivery to the complainant of the minutes of a KRRiT meeting, and the basing of the decision on letters of intent and support from the station’s supporters.
Cassation appeal and waiting
KRRiT filed a cassation appeal against the ruling with the NSA. After the ruling was announced, the Council’s chairman, Maciej Świrski, argued that the licences remain in force until the judgment becomes final, and that Republika stays on the multiplex. If the NSA dismisses the appeal, the WSA ruling will become final, and the licence decision will be overturned.
According to findings by Onet, published on Friday, 13 November, the NSA has not even set a hearing date for this case in a year and a half. Onet writes that, had the case been considered faster, the station could no longer be broadcasting terrestrially today. We have not found an official statement from the NSA or KRRiT confirming these findings.
Background: oversight and complaints
KRRiT member Prof. Tadeusz Kowalski said in recent weeks that the matter “has not been resolved and we are waiting for a decision”. He also pointed to around 100 complaints concerning Republika’s programming. The Council has also received complaints about the station’s coverage of events in Kraków, including a complaint from Culture Minister Marta Cienkowska.
On Thursday, officers of the Central Cybercrime Bureau (CBZC) entered the station at the request of the District Prosecutor’s Office in Szczecin. The request concerned a recording of the programme from 16 October and licensing documentation. We wrote about this in our article on the police visit to Telewizja Republika.
More than half a year has passed since the WSA ruling, and the wait for the NSA is longer than the “more than a year, even two years” predicted in 2025 by legal adviser Wojciech Szymczak of the MEDIA law firm.
