The Great Époque of the Consumption of Imported Broadcasts: West European Television Channels and Polish Audiences during the System Transition

This article discusses how Polish audiences “domesticated” West European television content that was made available through satellite dishes and semi-legal cable television channels at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s. Based on the analysis of viewers’ memoirs and content of magazines dedicated to satellite television, the article explores the way Poles considered channels available thanks to Astra satellite broadcast as an attractive entertainment juxtaposed with dull content offered by TVP, the national broadcaster. As this article shows, they primarily “domesticated” German late night erotic shows symbolized by Tutti Frutti and music videos from MTV Europe. In order to understand why satellite and cable television systems became popular in Poland during the system transition, it is necessary to take under consideration the reasons of Polish audiences’ interest in such broadcasts. It is also vital to analyze the role of cultural intermediaries such as private entrepreneurs who were offering satellite television receivers and access to cable television.

• View at Publisher