National broadcaster of Poland – Telewizja Polska S.A. decided not to participate in Eurovision Song Contest which will take place in Malmö, Sweden in May 2013. We have been waiting for the official decision for a while as it was promised to be made till the end of October 2012. Unfortunately, it has been decided that Poland will not take part in the contest for a second year in a row.

As it was explained by the spokesperson of TVP – Joanna Stempień-Rogalińska – the official decision has been made after much of consideration, though she did not state the exact reason for withdrawal. - After detailed analysis of pros and cons of participation, management of TVP decided that Telewizja Polska S.A. will not take part in Eurovision Song Contest next year. We have already informed the organisers about this fact. – said Rogalińska in an official statement.

She also added that Eurovision Song Contest will not be broadcasted by any of TVP channels – which is nothing new to Eurovision fans in Poland, as it was the same this year when we had no Polish representative in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Explanation is unfortunately quite unclear, as we don’t know what pros and cons have been analysed and which one of them was decisive about the resignation. We are aware of the fact that it would be very hard for TVP to find money for the participation fee, but Polish television is not the only one in Europe struck by debt and in need of financial cuts. Some other broadcasters have equal or even bigger problems. In this case they are trying to find other solutions – such as sponsors, who could add some money for the fee.

We are also very surprised that Polish TV did not see the potential that Eurovision gives to the participants right now. For the past three years Eurovision Song Contest’s winning songs were promoted on the radio and TV stations in Poland. Both Lena with “Satellite” and Loreen with “Euphoria” were huge hits in Polish media. This year, even though Poland did not participate, Eurovision has been widely available in news and media. All of these only confirms that Eurovision can be popular in Poland and it is not “below standards” – as TVP stated a while ago.

Our absence in Eurovision 2013 has not been left without any comment. Jarosław Burdek, who was leading the entertainment section of TVP2 channel in the past, commented on this issue for wirtualnemedia.pl – one of the leading media portals in Poland. – Eurovision Song Contest, doesn’t matter how is the artistic quality of it, is a long-lasting tradition for Europe and also a huge occasion for promoting Polish music. Format of the contest is definitely timeless, as it generates plenty of emotion, so the decision about participation should be quite obvious – he said.

Burdek, who worked for TVP while our country won Eurovision Dance Contest in 2008, also added: - It really doesn’t need a lot. What is enough, is to gather a group of people whose primary goal is a good result. After that – they need to work according to their plan to achieve some success. It was exactly like this while Poland succeeded in Eurovision Dance Contest – we got 4th place in 2007 and we won in 2008 with Edyta Herbuś & Marcin Mroczek. Artur Orzech who commented the contest back then, did not have to explain anything, show was amazing and also a record number of people watched it.

Our last participation was in 2011, when Magdalena Tul sang “Jestem” (“I am”) in Düsseldorf. She finished last in her semi final, but she still wanted to participate in Eurovision Song Contest 2013 – by submitting her entry to the selection of Switzerland.

Even though the chances of it are close to none – we are still hoping that TVP would change their mind about participation in Sweden. We will surely keep you updated on this issue.

As we all remember, TVP decided to withdraw from Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku. The reasoning for that was mostly the fact that TVP is the co-host broadcaster of EURO 2012, organised together with Ukraine, what requires a major financial contribution, leaving no possibility to pay the participant fee for Eurovision Song Contest. However, in its letter to the Polish National Broadcasting Council (Krajowa Rada Radiofonii i Telewizji, KRRiT), the reasoning is quite different:

Poor results of the Polish singers, as well as the fact that the Polish music market opened for world-famous stars, led to a decrease of interest in Eurovision Song Contest among the Polish public. As a result, the profitability and importance of the event dropped below the standards accepted at the Polish Television. Hence the decision of withdrawing from the Eurovision Song Contest.

Surprisingly enough, nowhere in the letter one can read about financial reasons, maybe because TVP does not want to reveal for its governing body that it has problems with handling an extra job, EURO 2012. We find however that:

…the public is less and less interested in song contests. So are the Polish artists. It can mean that this kind of events is in a crisis. Finding new and attractive forms of entertainment is a challenge for national broadcasters, including TVP. 

The letter was a response to an inquiry from National Broadcasting Council about the withdrawal from Eurovision in Baku. It seems that TVP is using one argument at the national level and completely different at the European level. Does EBU know that Eurovision Song Contest is below TVP standards?