Digital Television in Poland - Assignment of Channels in Multiplexes

Assignment of Channels in Multiplexes

Plan from January 2009 included three nationwide multiplexes with seven SDTV channels in each:

• MUX1 – current free-to-air terrestrial analog channels: public (TVP1, TVP2, TVP Info) and commercial (Polsat, TVN, TV4, TV Puls); after analog broadcast switch-off MUX3 will cover all country population and public channels will be moved to it; there will be competition for three freed channels;
• MUX2 – open competition;
• MUX3 – public broadcaster; after analog broadcast switch-off MUX3 will cover all country population and public channels will be moved to it from MUX1; there will be competition for three freed channels in MUX1.

In January 2010 new plan on introducing DVB-T was presented. Assignment of multiplexes was changed:

• MUX1 – public broadcaster channels (including current analog TVP1, TVP2, TVP Info);
• MUX2 – current terrestrial analog commercial free-to-air channels (Polsat, TVN, TV4, TV Puls) plus one additional from each broadcaster – total number of channels in this multiplex: 8.

In June 2010 another change in assignment of multiplexes was made:

• MUX1 – four channels chosen in open competition and temporary three public broadcaster channels (TVP1, TVP2, TVP Info); after analog broadcast switch-off MUX3 will cover all country population and public channels will be deleted from MUX1; there will be competition for three freed channels;
• MUX2 – four current terrestrial analog commercial free-to-air channels (Polsat, TVN, TV4, TV Puls) plus one additional from each broadcaster (respectively: Polsat Sport News, TVN7, TV6, Puls 2);
• MUX3 – five public broadcaster channels (TVP1, TVP2, TVP Info, TVP Culture, TVP History); after switch-off analog broadcast MUX3 will cover all country population and public broadcaster channels will be deleted from MUX1.