Telewizjia Wisla Case Study
Case summary:
Telewizjia Wisla (TVW) is a Polish media company founded by Claire Hurley and Wojtek Szczerba, a young American international finance expert and a Polish freelance television producer, in late 1991. It was right after Solidarity government took office in 1989, and Polish government started working on private television franchise legislation in spring, 1991.
Founders approached investors and began to lobbying Council for license in the following year. After fulfilling Polish capital commitment from Realbud and Efekt, a Polish construction firm and a Polish real estate firm, as Council requested, TVW finally obtained a supra-regional TV license for Poland in 1994. Soon after Polish investors provided initial funding, they replaced Szczerba by Roman Sztorc and Jarek Potasz, a construction engineer and a print media expert.
In March 1996, with neither Realbud nor Efekt willing to invest further, the company now faces the difficult challenge of raising an additional $7 million to fund the start of operations of a TV station. Claire and her partner have to find a substantial new partner in weeks, otherwise, TVW would default on its loans, run out of cash, and quite possibly lose its valuable broadcasting license.
* Challenges of starting a media company in Poland as it was in transition economies.
Until 1989, both print and broadcast media in Poland had been state controlled. Public Television Poland (TVP) was a bureaucratic monopoly with a reputation for delivering drab content while treating advertisers and programming suppliers poorly. In 1993, the Polish government finally enacted legislation to allow independent operators to own commercial television and radio stations for the first time. This legislation gave the TV and Radio Council the responsibility for governing existing state-owned television and radio stations and awarding new commercial licenses. The Polish government planned to award an undermined number of licenses throughout
Telewizjia Wisla (TVW) is a Polish media company founded by Claire Hurley and Wojtek Szczerba, a young American international finance expert and a Polish freelance television producer, in late 1991. It was right after Solidarity government took office in 1989, and Polish government started working on private television franchise legislation in spring, 1991.
Founders approached investors and began to lobbying Council for license in the following year. After fulfilling Polish capital commitment from Realbud and Efekt, a Polish construction firm and a Polish real estate firm, as Council requested, TVW finally obtained a supra-regional TV license for Poland in 1994. Soon after Polish investors provided initial funding, they replaced Szczerba by Roman Sztorc and Jarek Potasz, a construction engineer and a print media expert.
In March 1996, with neither Realbud nor Efekt willing to invest further, the company now faces the difficult challenge of raising an additional $7 million to fund the start of operations of a TV station. Claire and her partner have to find a substantial new partner in weeks, otherwise, TVW would default on its loans, run out of cash, and quite possibly lose its valuable broadcasting license.
* Challenges of starting a media company in Poland as it was in transition economies.
Until 1989, both print and broadcast media in Poland had been state controlled. Public Television Poland (TVP) was a bureaucratic monopoly with a reputation for delivering drab content while treating advertisers and programming suppliers poorly. In 1993, the Polish government finally enacted legislation to allow independent operators to own commercial television and radio stations for the first time. This legislation gave the TV and Radio Council the responsibility for governing existing state-owned television and radio stations and awarding new commercial licenses. The Polish government planned to award an undermined number of licenses throughout