Bosnia-Herzegovina´s media landscape – electronic media

Public sector radio broadcaster

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, 65 public radio stations are registered. In addition, there is one more for each of the two different entities in the country (the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Srpska). On a national level, however, there is only one state-wide radio station: BH Radio 1 (www.pbsbih.ba). BH Radio 1 is part of the public sector broadcasting system (PBSBiH) and started broadcasting on the frequency of 612 KHz on 7 May 2001 with the slogan “Radio for everybody”. It is the first radio station to broadcast nationwide. BH Radio 1 is the most popular station in Bosnia with an audience share of over 90%. The editors endeavour to provide quality journalism.

Together with the television channel BHT 1, the radio station BH Radio 1 is part of the country’s public broadcasting system. The Public Broadcasting System of Bosnia and Herzegovina comprises three public sector broadcasting services: the national public sector broadcaster (BHRT), the broadcasting corporation of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (RTV FBiH), and the broadcasting corporation of the Republic of Srpska (RTRS).

Private radio stations

The boom in the number of private radio stations in Bosnia started during the war in the Balkans. Since then, this trend has continued. Currently, 80 radio stations can be counted in the entire country. The public sector broadcaster is confronted with growing competition from private, mostly local stations. The local private stations form two networks: Radio 27 (organised around the US-funded Radio Free Europe) and Bosanska Mreza – BORAM (www.boram.ba), an association of about 20 local radio stations which only began broadcasting throughout the country a short time ago.

Among the private radio stations, the Sarajevo radio station Radio Stari Grad (RSG – www.rsg.ba), which was founded in 1993, stands out from the rest. It is the leading commercial private radio station. In 2003, RSG was the most popular station in the Federation, while for the whole of Bosnia, it lay in second place. Its popularity is ever-increasing.

Ranking list of the most popular radio stations

The top 5 positions in the ranking list of the most popular radio stations in Bosnia and Herzegovina are mostly contested by Radio Stari Grad (www.radio-osm.com), Radio Kalman (www.kalmanradio.ba), Radio BN (www.radio-osm.com), Radio M (www.radiom.net) and Radio Istocno Sarajevo (www.sarajevo-rs.com). According to the latest figures of the leading organisation for public opinion polls and media research, Mareco Index Bosnia, the most popular station nationwide is Radio Stari Grad with an audience share of 8%, followed by Radio Kalman (7%), Radio BN (6%), Novi Radio (5%) and Radio Big (5%). In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Stari Grad is also in first place, ahead of Radio Kalman, Novi Radio, BH Radio 1 and Radio Kameleon. In the canton and capital city Sarajevo, the ranking list of the most popular radio stations changes. The top stations in the Federation also occupy the top spots in the canton. OSM, Radio M and Radio Istocno Sarajevo are in places three, four and five. Other popular stations in Sarajevo are Radio FBiH, Radio 202 (www.radio202.ba), Radio Alfa (www.alfasarajevo.net), Radio Hayat (www.radiohayat.com), Radio Ask (www.radioask.co.ba) and EFM Studentski radio (www.efm.ba).

Public sector television broadcaster

The TV broadcasting system in Bosnia and Herzegovina has its own special rules and divisions. According to the Communications Regulatory Agency, the term ‘public broadcaster’ refers to those in the cantons and municipalities, whereas the term ‘public service’ or ‘public system’ refers to the public sector broadcasting organisations in the Federation, Srpska or in the entire country.

Within the public sector broadcasting system PBSBiH, there are three television broadcasters: BHT 1 on a national level and two broadcasters for the different entities in the country (RTV FBiH in the Federation and RTRS in Srpska: www.rtrs.tv). A total of 45 TV channels are registered in Bosnia, including 15 public ones. An additional specification is that the television broadcasters are regionally distributed. Each canton has its own television broadcaster. For Sarajevo Canton, this is TVSA (www.tvsa.ba).

Public broadcasters are constantly losing audience share

The three public broadcasting organisations dominated the market for a long time, but in 2005, their audience share fell to 32%. This downward trend looks set to continue. On the other hand, the share of the commercial channels is ever on the increase. Currently, the private channels control more than 50% of the Bosnian TV media market.

BHT 1 is the television channel of the national broadcasting service BHRT (www.bhrt.ba/lat) and is the only member of the European Broadcasting Union from Bosnia and Herzegovina. From 1992 until 1998, the broadcasting service was known under the name RTVBiH, receiving its current name in 1998. On 1 January 1993, RTVBiH was accepted as an active member of the European Broadcasting Union. Its membership was then transferred to the broadcasting organisation PBSBiH in 2000. RTVBiH was created in 1992 out of RTV Sarajevo, which was one of the eight broadcasting centres of the former Yugoslavia, and has been broadcasting programmes under its new name, BHRT, since 2002. BHT 1, as the public sector TV channel, broadcasts 24 hours a day and can be received in 97% of Bosnia.

The first news programme, with which the Federation television broadcaster FTV officially began broadcasting, was shown on 27.10.2001. At the beginning, FTV comprised two channels (FTV1 and FTV2). Since April 2003, these have been combined as one channel. FTV had the highest audience figures in the first months of 2008. In February 2008, FTV had an audience share of 14.8%, making it the market leader. The public sector television broadcasters (BHT 1, RTRS, FTV) earn an estimated 65.8% of the total revenue of the Bosnian TV market (as of the end of 2006). According to the latest available figures of the GfK market research company, a survey of 1000 people showed that 34% prefer FTV. This puts it in first place on the GfK ranking list of the most popular television broadcasters. Just behind FTV are Pink BiH with 30% and BHT with 26%.

The break-up of Bosnia into ethnic groups

The TV channels reflect the ethnic break-up of Bosnia. In areas with a Bosniak majority, for example, FTV, BHT and OBN are most popular. In areas with a Croatian majority, on the other hand, people prefer channels from neighbouring Croatia, such as HRT 1, HRT 2, HRT RTL and Nova TV, which can be received via cable or satellite. In areas with a Serbian majority, Pink BH, BN and RTRS are popular.

BHT and FTV are part of the public sector broadcasting system of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is financed by a licence fee of 6.90 KM/€ 3.52, paid via the monthly telephone bill. The second important source of income is advertising. Currently, 85% of revenue comes from the RTV licence fees and 15% from advertising. The Federation broadcaster (RTVFBiH) generates almost twice as much advertising revenue as BHRT or RTRS. The state-wide BHRT receives 50% of the licence fees, with the two entity broadcasters RTVFBiH and RTRS receiving 25% each.

Private TV broadcasters

According to the latest figures, there are in total 30 private TV broadcasters in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with 17 in the Federation and 13 in the Republic of Srpska. They receive broadcasting licences from the Communications Regulatory Agency (RAK). The licences are valid for different periods of time, usually between 2 and 10 years. Currently, the private TV market is experiencing a boom. The private broadcasters are, however, still fighting for a stable position in the media market. The RAK is working hard to ensure that the private channels also stick to certain standards. As far as the frequency goes, only 2 private TV channels can currently be received in each of about 100 towns, reaching an audience of about 2 million people. These two are OBN and Pink BH. The TV channel OBN broadcasts films and educational programmes. It also works together with the private channels Nova TV and RTL from Croatia, which can also be received across Bosnia and Herzegovina.

TV Pink also exists in Serbia. It has been on the Bosnian market since 2003 and is doing very well. Editors in Sarajevo and Banja Luka work together with colleagues in Belgrade and Montenegro.

7 TV channels can be received in up to 50 towns, with audience figures of about a million, while a further 21 channels can be watched in fewer than 16 towns, reaching about 500,000 viewers. No private or public broadcaster, apart from the public sector one, has a broadcasting frequency for the whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina. At most, some of them reach 70-80% of the entire country.

6 private TV channels are based in Sarajevo: NTV Hayat (www.hayat.ba), Pink BH (www.pink.co.ba), OBN (www.obn.ba), Televizija Alfa (www.tvalfa.ba), Nezavisna televizija Studio 99 (www.ntv99.ba) and Televizija X (www.tvx.ba).

Only NTV Hayat can be received worldwide via satellite

The independent television channel NTV Hayat was founded in May 1991 and grew to be one of the most popular private channels across the country. The channel has great financial clout and follows the latest international trends in television business. NTV Hayat is predominantly aimed at people seeking light entertainment. Actual information is of secondary importance. NTV Hayat is the only channel from Bosnia and Herzegovina that can be received worldwide via satellite.

Nezavisna televizija Studio 99 is a channel founded in 1991, and continued to broadcast throughout the war. It campaigns for multiculturalism, tolerance and peaceful coexistence in Bosnia.

The three channels with the highest audience figures are Hayat, Pink BH and OBN. They have an audience share of 19.1%. A further 15.1% is accounted for by other local TV channels (as of the end of 2006).

The audience share of OBN, Pink and Hayat continues to rise. For the last four years or so, they have increasingly been attracting viewers away from the public sector channels. OBN, Pink and Hayat have now gained a 30% share of the TV advertising market.

Other private TV channels in the country are: Televizija Kiss, Hrvatska televizija Oscar-C, Muslimanska televizija Igman, Nezavisna televizija IC, Nezavisna televizija Amna, Nezavisna televizija Jasmin, Televizija Maglaj, Televizija Mostar, Nezavisna televizija 101, Alternativna televizija (www.atvbl.com), Televizija Vikom (www.vikom.tv), Televizija Bel Kanal, Televizija Kanal 3, Televizija Simic (www.tvsimic.net), Nezavisna televizija Studio Arena, Televizija Hit (www.rtvhit.com), Televizija OSM (www.osmtv.com), Obiteljska televizija Valentino (www.valentinobh.com), Balkan televizija, Herceg televizija (www.neimarstvo.com), Televizija Slon extra (www.rtvslon.ba), Televizija Dzungla and Televizija Slobomir.

News agencies

Bosnia only has a few news agencies. These are ONASA Sarajevo (www.onasa.com.ba), FENA (the Federation News Agency – www.fena.ba), SRNA (Serbian Agency for Radio and Newspaperswww.srna.co.yu) and the SENSE Tribunal news agency (www.sense-agency.com).

ONASA Sarajevo is the best-known and most influential independent news agency and has a good business service. News is sent to subscribers by email. Every day, up to 200 reports are published, both in Bosnian and in English. ONASA is the only agency in the whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina to be based in Sarajevo, with correspondents in Banja Luka and Mostar.

The Federation News Agency FENA (www.fena.ba) was created in October 2001 from the merging of two news agencies, BHPRESS and HABENA, which had been founded in the early 90s by the Bosniak and Croat parties then ruling. The Serbian News Agency SRNA (www.srna.co.yu) was established in 1992 by the government of the Republic of Srpska.

The SENSE Tribunal news agency is considered the second-best agency after ONASA. It currently reports from the whole of Europe, including from the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague. Sense Tribunal serves print and electronic media.

Internet

Internet media are gaining more and more importance in Bosnia and Herzegovina, even if the country is considered to be among the least developed in Europe in terms of internet access. For the majority of Bosnians, the internet is still an unknown field. The number of internet users in Bosnia is, however, increasing significantly. While in 2006, 21% of people were registered internet users, this proportion rose to 29% in 2007. It can be assumed, therefore, that about a third of Bosnians now use the internet.

Almost all daily newspapers in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Dnevni avaz, Oslobođenje, Nezavisne novine, Dnevni list) also have an online version. The number of hits on their websites is constantly increasing, though it is still relatively low by international standards. Topping the list of the most-visited websites are messaging sites like Dernek.ba. News websites and business services, such as sarajevo-x.com, biznis.ba, bljesak.info, pincom.info and 24sata.info, are also popular. Croatian websites like Index, Dnevnik or Iskon are also visited.



The most common reason in Bosnia for using the internet is surfing the internet. 90% of internet users simply browse the web, 25% of them doing this every day. Gathering information and sending and receiving emails are the second most common reason. About 56% of Bosnian internet users chat online. 54% download music, films and photos from the internet. On the other hand, online digital telecommunications is not yet as popular in Bosnia as in other countries. Only 16% of users also use digital photography from the internet.

Work is still in progress on a shared, representative information website for the whole of Bosnia.


Bosnia-Herzegovina´s media landscape - overview
Bosnia-Herzegovina´s media landscape - print media