Media Study - Medija centar Beograd

Serbia is also a country of national broadcasters with 2 public service and 6 commercial channels sharing a
relatively small market.
The national public service broadcaster in almost all EU Member States is a dominant voice and platform in the
public sphere and a crucial transmitter of national cultural heritage. Even though it is important to allow a diversity
of voices to be heard in the public debate, Serbia has too many national TV-channels for the limited Serbian
advertising market. This market is characterized by a high share of TV advertising typical for post-communist
countries with less developed media markets and the subsequent arrival of Internet media. Serbian advertisement
constitutes 0.5 of GDP; half of a “desired” value close to 1% of GDP such as is the current status of media markets
in Germany, Denmark and Austria. For this reason the advertising market in Serbia is expected to grow despite the
recent fall in 2009, which exceeded the world average, but equaled the three selected EU Member States.
However, revenue from advertisement alone will be insufficient to maintain the present number of national
broadcasters in the long run. Renewal of broadcast licenses should follow the beauty contest principle, where
licenses are given according to the programme content rather than the price. The purpose of the tender is to
ensure that the chosen broadcasters deliver the best possible programmes. The fee for the frequency should
remain minimal to begin with and only if the media market develops in Serbia should it be considered to let the
chosen broadcasters bid on pricing for the right to broadcast.
RTS should continue as an independent public service broadcaster. At present RTS follows EU standards in its mixed
economy of users’ subscription fees and advertisement income but only collects approximately 49 % of its
anticipated income from users’ subscription fees. An efficient collection model would diminish RTS’ need to
develop a commercial profile. The private, commercial broadcasters that remain will broadcast more quality
programmes of public interest, making them an alternative voice contributing to the democratic discussion in
Serbia. From a commercial perspective this legislation may make the Serbian national broadcasting market less
attractive to soldiers of fortune but in the future it will sustain serious commercial broadcast companies. At present
almost all commercial broadcasters seem to lose money, making this an opportune moment to change the
legislation concerning national licenses without harming investors unnecessarily. The implementation of digital
distribution makes it possible to change the current situation where all actors are accumulating deficits to a
situation with stronger public and private broadcasters.
From a rational perspective RTV’s current position is unclear. It has a comprehensive structure of 2 TV and 3 radio
channels, broadcasting in the province of Vojvodina, but is under-financed, has outdated equipment, cannot report
on the whole spectrum of national issues and has only a very limited part of the audience in the province. RTV
should be transformed from running 5 channels to take the role of a major regional broadcaster contributing
significantly to the foundation of a regional radio and TV-system in Serbia. This would boost the regional system
and ensure quality productions for the national programme schedule at RTS. RTV should encourage quality of
minority programmes across the public broadcasting system thus diminishing the need for separate minority media
and increasing the dialogue on shared platforms. By building on its extensive experience with reporting on
minorities it should further engage in collaboration with the national and regional broadcasters in neighbouring
countries, and contribute to regional stability and peace.
The switch to digital broadcasting in 2012 demands and opens opportunities for correcting possible malpractices
and increasing the implementation of EU standards by the regulatory bodies. RATEL should ensure a timely
preparation of the digital switch in collaboration with RBA and the Ministries for Culture and Telecommunications
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