RSF - Reporters sans frontières
RSF - Reporters sans frontières
07/20/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/21/2026 03:41
Poland: Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger may put editorial independence of TVN24 at risk, RSF warns
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is warning that the proposed acquisition of media group Warner Bros. Discovery by multinational conglomerate Paramount Skydance poses a direct risk to the editorial independence of TVN24, Poland's second most-watched news channel, which is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. This risk remains unaddressed even though the European Commission's decision deadline approaches on 22 July.
"TVN24 has spent years proving its independence in the face of political pressure at home. Poland cannot afford to see those hard-earned, trustworthy journalism standards quietly eroded by a corporate merger decided in Los Angeles. We are concerned about the risks that this merger poses to the editorial independence of TVN24, particularly in light of the composition of the new shareholders. Mergers of this scale require a thorough assessment of their impact on editorial independence - something that competition law alone cannot provide. We call on the European Commission, as well as the European Board for Media Services, to examine this case pursuant to Article 23 of the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) and to require Paramount to provide safeguards that preserve the editorial independence of TVN24.
Pavol Szalai
Director, RSF Prague
On 22 July, the European Commission is expected to decide about the Paramount-Warner Bros. transaction following Paramount's offer of undisclosed structural remedies. The deal, worth 110 billion US dollars, would make Paramount the new parent company of Poland's most trusted news channel, TVN24.
RSF has already drawn attention to Paramount owner David Ellison's record of editorial interference at US broadcaster CBS News and warned of the risks the merger poses to the news ecosystem in the US and worldwide. There is no indication TVN24 would be treated differently once under the same ownership.
In December 2024, the Polish government decided to list TVN group as a strategic asset protected against acquisitions deemed hostile or harmful to national interests. The sale or takeover of any entity on this list requires government approval should the government decide to invoke this right, which has not happened to date.
In addition, the merger would place TVN24 under the control of a US media conglomerate whose shareholder base includes sovereign wealth funds from Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, countries that have consistently ranked near the bottom of the RSF World Press Freedom Index for many years. Poland, on the other hand, ranks 27th out of 180 countries and territories in the 2026 edition. Though Paramount said that they would not carry governance rights - they stated they would remain "passive shareholders" - the risk of editorial interference, which includes indirect pressure on journalists or their self-censorship, remains.
The TVN24 case illustrates that this large-scale operation is more than a competition problem. As much as ownership transparency is important, it does not provide sufficient guarantees that editorial independence will be preserved. For this reason, RSF calls on the European Commission and the European Board for Media Services to:
- Explicitly assess the merger's impact on TVN24's editorial independence, and on media pluralism in Poland, pursuant to Article 23 of the EMFA, before any decision is finalised, recognising the negative effects it could have beyond competition and distribution;
- Require binding, enforceable guarantees for TVN24's editorial independence as a condition of approval.
This call is consistent with the coalition letter RSF supported in June, alongside more than two dozen organisations, addressed to European Commission Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera and the European Board for Media Services (EBMS), calling on them to reject the merger over its risks to media pluralism, competition and Europe's creative industries.
Published on 20.07.2026
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