15-02-2018

TVP to Build New Sound Stages

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    WARSAW: Polish public broadcaster TVP plans to significantly expand its production halls in order to create more local content.

    "We are missing our own halls and equipment to launch big productions; our space is limited and we need to outsource the production of major shows like The Voice Kids or Wheel Of Fortune. That is why by the end of 2018 we will begin building professional, multifunctional production halls at our headquarters on Woronicza, where we will be able to produce two or three shows at once thanks to modern soundproofing systems," TVP president Jacek Kurski said in a statement.

    TVP received 192 m EUR / 800 m PLN in a special government loan in July of 2017 and plans to spend half of it for technical development. The loan came in addition to the 203.6 EUR / 860 m PLN annual budget assigned to the broadcaster in 2017.

    In 2017 TVP undertook several new local series, with a leading major project The Crown of Kings, a costume TV series directed by Wojciech Pacyna about the life of Casimir III the Great. The show is a local attempt to tap into the costume drama soap opera genre, which became very popular in Poland thanks to the Turkish production The Magnificent Century: Kösem, a big hit for TVP in 2016. The Crown of Kings premiered on 1 January 2018 with a strong average of 3 m viewers per episode.

    In 2016 TVP noted 209.2 m EUR / 872 m PLN of advertising income. In 2017 the broadcaster had a large decline, with 132.4 m EUR / 552,1 m PLN in advertising revenue.