Originally, the text was published on February 6, 2020, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of PTV Echo.
Contrary to appearances, the beginnings of private television and the collapse of the TVP monopoly began during the communist era. The first wall was demolished in 1987 when the authorities relaxed the regulations. To have a satellite dish, you no longer needed a permit from the Ministry of the Interior and evidence that the dish was used “for the practice of the profession”. The times were sad and poor, but white antennas began to appear on Polish houses and apartment blocks. In March 1988, Ursynat, the first cable television in the Polish People’s Republic, was launched in Ursynów in Warsaw. The choice of channels, to put it mildly, did not bring you to your knees – there were only four: Super Channel, Teleclub, SAT1 and RTL-Plus.
Polish “Top Gear”
TVP itself knew that the forbidden fruit of the rotten West tastes best. In 1984, she showed the “Fair” program once a month. Almost Polish “Top Gear”, but without testing the cars – Krzysztof Szewczyk, Włodzimierz Zientarski and Wojciech Pijanowski overtook Clarkson and the company, showing something that has not existed so far – a square ball match, a competition for the most beautiful legs, and “borrowed” music videos from foreign television or Formula 1.
Installation of the transmitter on the roof of the ‘Arka’ dormitory Youtube.com
TVP’s exclusivity for Polish information and entertainment had to end. The cut-off date is February 6, 1990. Then, in Wrocław, PTV Echo started broadcasting – the first private television in Poland, but also in demolition countries.
Quick agreement
There were four fathers: Andrzej Zygmunt (during martial law he made illegal transmitters for the underground television “Solidarity”), Marek Młynarczyk (an employee of the State Institute of Telecommunications), Ireneusz Orzechowski (owner of electronics stores) and Henryk Pacha (journalist and avid radio amateur). The first transmitter, with a power of 20 W, was placed on the roof of the “Arka” dormitory.
Those were wild times. Piracy was not prosecuted by law, and there were no licenses. In the fall of 1989, the enthusiasts wrote a letter to Andrzej Drawicz, the head of the Radio Committee. They wanted to run a “private experimental radio and television broadcasting station.” Drawicz wrote back briefly: “I agree”. – The biggest surprise was that we were able to get approval so quickly. It seems easy today, but launching the first private television east of the Elbe was not easy –
Report from the hole
The festival of freedom has started. Maryla Rodowicz sang at the opening, the city and church authorities appeared. PTV Echo broadcast daily, but only from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Then the rebroadcasts of German programs began, as well as original formats – a studio on the roof of the building, or weekly talks with the then president of Wrocław, Bogdan Zdrojewski. Viewers asked questions by phone. The thing today, unfortunately, is unthinkable.
When the first war in the Persian Gulf broke out, Radosław Sikorski helped – he arranged the possibility of legal broadcasting from British stations, he helped translate them. The Germans were not translated – the station could not afford it. – There was no unimportant matter for us. We drove to every ditch that had been dug for too long and to holes in the bridges. We were called by a lot of people with various urban problems – recalled editor Piotr Plebańczyk.
Berlusconi’s man
The station grew in strength. The transmitters were transferred to the Poltegor building, new programs and formats were added: cabarets, the cult “Teletombola” game show, or the TV car market “Buy a car”. The inhabitants of Wrocław (but Echo could also be seen within a radius of 50 km) fell in love with the novelty. There was no market research then. Plebańczyk recalls that viewers were once asked to turn off and turn on the lights in the apartments. – Entire neighborhoods began to flash. We were afraid that we would cause an energy disaster – he reminded.
The consent to broadcast expired in June 1990. The inhabitants of Wrocław took to the streets (at least twice). They wanted Echo to continue. An extension of the license for three months was won, with the start of the end of the station being the purchase of a third of the shares by Berlusconi-related businessman Nicola Grauso. These were the foundations for the Polonia 1, which is still operating today, famous for “Tsubasa”, “Yattamana”, Italian B-movies and sex-phone commercials.
Echo television logo Youtube.com
Continuation
When Polonia 1 was launched (it had twelve local broadcasters, including Echo), many journalists left the station. The echo was finished by the Broadcasting Act – after a long process, the broadcasting license in Wrocław was awarded to Telewizja Dolnośląska TeDe in 1995. The echo ceased to exist.
PTV Echo ended broadcasting on March 8, 1995. Journalists, cinematographers and technicians joined the staff of other television stations. In 2016, Echo24, the successor of TeDe, was launched in Lower Silesia. It closed two years later, but it reactivated in 2019.
Source: Gazeta
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
