TV Republika plans to launch an English-language channel that is to be co-financed by investors linked to the MAGA movement. In an interview with the Financial Times, the station’s head, Tomasz Sakiewicz, emphasized that an English-language channel “could fill a gap in continental Europe when it comes to media sympathetic to the MAGA ideology.” He added that “many people in conservative circles are already familiar with our success and understand that our brand is very strong.”
TV Republic’s English-Language Channel
The Financial Times writes about TV Republika’s ambitious plans in an article titled “Polish broadcaster plans Maga-backed international TV channel.” In his conversation with the FT, Sakiewicz noted that there is a lack of a similarly profiled channel on the European continent.
“In the UK, there is GB News, but in Germany, for example, what do they have?” he said.
The head of TV Republika indicated that talks are currently underway with investors from the United States and Europe regarding financing for the channel, which is expected to launch next year.
Sakiewicz declined to disclose the identities of the potential investors, while noting that some of them have “media experience” and are close to the Trump movement. He also expressed hope that the negotiations would be concluded quickly.
“It’s not Elon Musk, but these investors are well known. Many people in conservative circles already know our success and understand that our brand is very strong,”
he stated.
Jarosław Olechowski, TV Republika’s head of publishers, said in an interview with the portal wirtualnemedia.pl that “the channel will be available worldwide, although its main market will be the European Union.”
“It will be an English-language news television channel with a significant share of English-language conservative commentary. It will not be a channel about Poland in English, but rather a television channel speaking in English about events and issues common to Europeans and Americans,”
he explained.
FT on TV Republika’s Success
The Financial Times also recalled the sharp increase in TV Republika’s viewership that occurred in December 2023, shortly after the takeover of public media carried out by the so-called December 13 coalition.
“Among Polish all-news channels, TVP Info currently ranks third, behind another private channel, TVN24. TV Republika, often compared to the American Fox News, reached a 5.5 percent share of television viewership in Poland in November, according to data from the National Broadcasting Council,”
the article states.
The article also mentions that in May of this year, TV Republika co-organized and broadcast the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), during which U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem urged the country’s voters to support Nawrocki and described his rival, Rafał Trzaskowski, as “a total disaster.”