Polsat overtakes Warner Bros. Discovery to top Polish video rankings

Polsat captured 19.05 per cent of Poland's total household video audience in September 2026, overtaking Warner Bros. Discovery at 18.41 per cent to take first place in Nielsen's distributor rankings for the first time this year. The figures come from Nielsen's All Screens Video Landscape report for Poland, which measures combined reach and time spent across four screens: TVs, PCs and laptops, smartphones, and tablets.

Live sport did the heavy lifting. Polsat broadcast four of the ten and eight of the twenty most-watched programmes of the month, and every one of them was a live volleyball match. The Poland versus France clash on September 26th drew more than 4.8 million viewers, ranking as the second most-watched broadcast of the month.

What shifted in the wider rankings?

The September data shows movement beyond the top spot. SPI International entered the distributor top 10, edging out Netflix. The report does not give exact shares for either company, but the displacement marks a rare instance of a traditional distributor pushing a global streaming platform out of the leading group in Poland.

Overall video consumption rebounded in September compared with August. Higher linear television viewing coincided with the launch of autumn programming schedules, lifting total household engagement. Streaming moved in the opposite direction, with declines in both reach and total viewing time month-over-month.

Why does live sport still anchor linear TV?

The Nielsen data underlines the appointment-to-view power of live sports, a pattern broadcasters across Europe have leaned on as streaming platforms take share of on-demand viewing. Eight of the top twenty broadcasts on Polish screens in September came from a single sport on a single broadcaster.

Lucyna Koba, Market Leader at Nielsen Poland, said: "The shifting rankings in September highlight just how fiercely competitive the Polish video landscape is right now. The rebound in traditional television viewing – driven by strong autumn schedules and massive live sporting events—shows that the battle for audience attention is fluid."

Koba added: "Seeing a local powerhouse like Polsat reclaim the number one spot, and traditional distributors challenging global streaming platforms for top 10 positions, demonstrates that broadcasters who invest in premium, unmissable moments can actively win back screen time."

The September result suggests the contest between linear broadcasters and streaming platforms in Poland will stay tight through the autumn schedule, with the next Nielsen reports showing whether Polsat can hold the lead once the live volleyball season's peak audiences pass.