The purpose of the article is to analyse missionary tasks carried out by TVP SA. The author inclines towards a conclusion that for many years this television has been set an unworkable task of executing a public mission using means specific to commercial broadcasters. This leads to the fact that TVP SA focuses mainly on productions guaranteeing high ratings and thus interest of advertisers. Programmes which execute the mission of a public broadcaster are pushed out of prime time or end up on thematic channels. They give way to banal and easy-watching productions to which some elements of the mission can only be attributed with extremely good will. Market conditions are the reason why Polish public television performs its statutory tasks to a lesser and lesser extent, while fi ghting for audience. Even consecutive chairmen of TVP SA have doubts whether such actions are advisable and see the chance for reconstructing missionary functions of public broadcaster mainly in a statutory allocation of funds for executing the public mission by TVP SA.

The purpose of the article is to analyse missionary tasks carried out by TVP SA. The author inclines towards a conclusion that for many years this television has been set an unworkable task of executing a public mission using means specific to commercial broadcasters. This leads to the fact that TVP SA focuses mainly on productions guaranteeing high ratings and thus interest of advertisers. Programmes which execute the mission of a public broadcaster are pushed out of prime time or end up on thematic channels. They give way to banal and easy-watching productions to which some elements of the mission can only be attributed with extremely good will. Market conditions are the reason why Polish public television performs its statutory tasks to a lesser and lesser extent, while fi ghting for audience. Even consecutive chairmen of TVP SA have doubts whether such actions are advisable and see the chance for reconstructing missionary functions of public broadcaster mainly in a statutory allocation of funds for executing the public mission by TVP SA.