04. 09. 2012

Fees threaten broadcasters’ survival

Belgrade, September 4, 2012. (Pregled) - "Serbia has the highest fees for broadcasting in the region", the owner and director of Pink International, Zeljko Mitrovic, said today at the Group of Broadcasting Organizations' session held in the Serbian Chamber of Commerce (SCC). Mitrovic said that a national television in Serbia had to pay one million euros for regulators' fees annually, while this sum amounted to 200,000 in Slovenia and 100,000 euros in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He also said that in some countries of the region there is a single fee that broadcasters pay while Serbian broadcaster pay fees to three bodies - RRA, RATEL and ETV. "While determining the amount of fees, GDP, the standard of living and the state of the advertising market has to be taken into account. If this amount remain the same, it will threaten the existence and survival of broadcasting in Serbia," said Mitrovic.

Reduction of fees for broadcasting by 25 to 50 percent was proposed at this session.