DirecTV is expanding its international programming platform, WorldDirect, with new Polish-language programming tiers PolishDirect and PolishDirect II, officials said Monday.
The two packages offer a robust lineup of leading Polish-language video and radio programming.
Starting Wednesday, the PolishDirect package will be available for $21.99 per month and will include TV Polonia, TVP3 and Polskie Radio 1 and 3. DirecTV customers can also subscribe to PolishDirect II, which will be available for $29.99 per month and include TV Polonia, TVP3, Tele5 and Polskie Radio 1 and 3.
“We understand the important role that traditional Polish culture plays in the lives of the more than 650,000 Polish-speaking Americans living in the United States,” DirecTV vice president of international Aaron McNally said in a prepared statement. “We believe our new Polish-language programming packages will offer a unique and compelling lineup that will help customers maintain their Polish heritage and strengthen ties between family members of all ages.”
TV Polonia is the premier Polish-language channel broadcast by Telewizja Polska in Warsaw for millions of Poles living abroad. It was the first 24/7 Polish television channel broadcast in America and today, more than one decade later, it still remains the most sought-after Polish television channel in America. TV Polonia offers programming such as Polish news service Wiadomosci, soap opera M jak milosc and sitcoms Klan and Zlotopolscy.
TVP3 offers programming geared toward news and current affairs. The channel delivers interesting news broadcasts that highlight various regions of Poland. Its flagship program, Kurier, is an hourly news program that focuses on local news that is “close to the people.”
Tele5, only available in PolishDirect II, is a Polish-language channel that offers programming from different parts of the world, all in Polish. Viewers will see movies, miniseries and popular cooking shows.
Polskie Radio 1, and Trojka, Polskie Radio 3, of Polskie Radio in Warsaw are considered the “best of the best” radio channels in Poland. Both channels bring an “old country” flavor to their broadcast of news, current affairs, nationally acclaimed radio theater and classical and contemporary Polish music.
The WorldDirect platform has launched 46 channels that deliver a wide variety of new programming in multiple foreign languages -- including Arabic, Russian, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Bengali, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Korean, Italian and Ukrainian -- to underserved ethnic markets throughout the United States.
