No changes – until further notice

The cable war is over. State Telecom won. The fight was long, with high stakes and the expected outcome. The one who had behind him the power of the state and a practically unlimited budget won. However, United Group's majority owner, the White-World investment fund BC Partners, was not defeated. They marketed, fertilized the capital and sold, earning one and a half billion euros.

Will the audience, that is, the citizens, be defeated? When the shifting of the tectonic plates in the market of cable operators is added to the games about the composition of the Council of the Regulatory Body for Electronic Media (REM) and the turning of the faucet of American donations, the interlocutors of "Vremen" say that the media landscape of Serbia could take on an even darker shade of black.

WHAT HAPPENED?

After a year of speculation and rumours, the United Group, a large media and telecommunications concern, has sold SBB, Serbia's golden cock. While it is not easy to make money from advertising in a disrupted and controlled market, the cable operator SBB brought in stable revenues from television and internet offerings. According to the latest data, about 43 percent of households in Serbia use SBB's cable offer. SBB's growth was impeded a few years ago by a major offensive by the state, i.e. Telekom, so that Telekom held slightly more than half of the households. The customer of SBB is e&PPF Telecom, created by the merger of the Czech PPF Group, which in Serbia owns Jetel, and the Emirates Telecommunications Group from Abu Dhabi.

Pride United Group sold all rights to sports broadcasts for the entire region to Telekom. In practice, this means that the Sports Club is shutting down, and that all broadcasts will be broadcast on Telekom's Arena. Telekom will also become the owner of Net TV Plus, which will dominate guest workers' televisions.

The matter will be on the table of the Commission for the Protection of Competition and everyone expects it to be approved in the first half of the year. Insiders say that it is not a question of if, but only when. Since it is unlikely that a business of this scale is not politically hidden. Both United Group and Telekom bragged about the business in unsolicited announcements. But who has more reason to be happy was evident from the performance of Vladimir Lučić, director of the state operator.

"With this move, the company now controls over 60 percent of the market, which has created a completely new ecosystem in the telecommunications sector," Lucic said in an interview with Juronjuz, one of Telekom's financed television stations.

"INFORM" TO EVERYONE!

While Lucic brings futuristic good news about the 5G network, artificial intelligence, filming of series and movies, the mood among journalists and editors of United Group media is far from good.

Officially, key media, such as television N1 and Nova S, do not change hands. According to the company's announcement, they will remain offered by SBB and on the EON platform, and will also be offered to Jetel's cable television network. Except for Sport Club, which remains a shell without the right to broadcast sports. However, it was announced that journalists and commentators there will be accommodated on N1.

In order for cable television to have a point, it must be transmitted somewhere. According to several "Vremena" sources, their contract with SBB is valid for about five more years, regardless of the change of owner. During that period, television stations will receive money per connection from the operator.

"As far as the editorial policy is concerned, we were told to work as before, that there are no changes," reported one journalist. Other journalists say the same. But how long it will last and how the smaller media will be financed - they don't know. In addition to two prime-time TV stations, the United Group in Serbia owns Grand, Cinemania, children's channels, newspapers and portals "Nova", "Danas" and "Radar", then the portal "Forbes" and some smaller ones.

"Regardless of the assurances that N1, Nova S and others that have been under the same roof with SBB until now will remain the same and that the editorial concept will not change, I am afraid that it will last for a while, and then we will see certain changes. "Telekom has become a monopoly company, the likes of which in the field of media do not exist in Europe", says Professor Rade Veljanovski.

Officially, cable remains a duopoly, as SBB with its new owner remains a competitor to Telekom. But Czech-Arab capital has had an open door with the Serbian authorities until now. Jetel leases Telecom's infrastructure. It was also announced that all Telekom channels will be available to everyone, including SBB. So - in addition to being able to watch all sports at the Arena - the other half of Serbia will soon see Juron News, K1, Tanjug, and the gallery of televisions launched by tabloid newspapers close to the authorities. They are directly or covertly financed by Telekom.

"Vreme" has an insight into an as yet unpublished research, according to which Telekom is the biggest advertiser in the regime's press - it has twice as many ads as the second-placed one. As much as 15 percent of advertisements in daily newspapers come from Telekom, and that is not counting Telekom's television ads.

photo: a. Angel

VUCIC WANTS TO "HELP"

It is unclear whether Telekom will "consolidate" the overpriced and redundant television offer. Most of the channels he owns are bordering on statistical errors in viewership. If that happens, the inflation of the media could come to an end, which overinflated the number of journalists, but also brought them the joy of higher salaries - if they are ready to follow a certain "editorial policy".

The circle is closing - Telekom is expanding with the help of the people's money, bringing regime propaganda to the people. Nothing stands in the way of the concept of one leader - one editor of the portal.

President Aleksandar Vučić and his tabloids are jubilant, because Dragan Šolak allegedly sold off his assets, although Šolak has long been a minority owner of United Group. Vučić predicted that the situation on the N1 and Nova S will worsen by November or December. "Because they didn't manage to secure additional financing, so they're going to lay them off a bit, so we're going to help hire some of those people here, there, hire someone for PR," said Vučić.

Cruelty aside, the future of the two critical television stations will be determined by whether there will be a wave of departures of TV personalities and editorial stars to televsions from Telekom's universe, which until now, offering fat salaries, knew how to arrange spectacular transfers.

THE SAME WITH AND WITHOUT REM

Despite the student and popular uprising in the streets, the regime's propaganda in the media sphere does not have to fear interference. Especially not since the election of the new REM Council. He currently does not exist, since the team around Olivera Zekić was retired by force of law, whose last move was to give TV "Informer" a Belgrade frequency because it has the "best report".

There is no doubt that Zekić will get equal successors, to keep quiet about the rampage from national frequencies. The procedure was carried out so that the government can choose a comfortable majority of loyal people, among whom this time political analyst Dejan Vuk Stanković and journalist Sanja Lubardić, both prominent in the regime's propaganda, are offered. Or Leontina, who composed songs for SNS. "REM, the body that should guarantee media freedom and public interest, has been a symbol of political control, not independence, for years. Instead of the process of electing new members being an opportunity to strengthen the institution, it has become a farcical display of abuses", Maja Stojanović, director of Civic Initiatives, recently wrote for "Vreme". That new REM Council, when it exists and arrives, could deal with the famous fifth national frequency, which has been vacant for years. Insiders say that it has long been intended for "Blic" Television.

SMALL MEDIA IN SURVIVAL MODE

If the game of elephants has been decided, in which power and billions of euros are at stake, how are the small, independent and local media, which have been among those elephants and have had a hard time living up to now? And the answer is the same - ugly.

A heavy blow came from Washington, where Donald Trump, who returned to the White House, ordered to freeze almost all the money distributed by USAID from the American budget, for various trainings, education, strengthening of democracy, and for the media around the world. And this was met with jubilation by the authorities in Serbia, even though the state and local governments are the biggest beneficiaries of the money. The president of the Assembly, Ana Brnabić, who has long been the thorn in the side of USAID in Serbia, rejoiced.

In the United States, there is a tug-of-war before the courts, but the consequences are already being felt. "Small independent media that are not part of corporations are affected. Maybe two or three are of national importance, and the rest are local media", a journalist from Belgrade tells us, whose media is shaken by the absence of previously approved donations.

At the same time, donations, mostly from Western funds, are extortion on a broken market anyway.

The anecdote that the late editor-in-chief of "Vremena" Dragoljub Žarković told about how this weekly was left without an advertiser overnight after Vučić disproved the fabricated story that it was a "tycoon's paper" of Miroslav Mišković is well-known. Advertisers were offered that "Vreme" publish at least one more ad for free as a sign of gratitude for their cooperation, and they said: "Please don't!"

Advertising money flows to major pro-government media outlets.

"Some small media are not visible enough to attract ads. In others, which are critical, many companies do not want to advertise out of fear", says our interlocutor from an independent media.

This is the habit of the domestic audience that the media is "free". And only the audience can save their interest in being informed. If she does not buy newspapers, subscribe or regularly donate money to the media she trusts - she will be left to the chaos of social networks and TV "Informer", which has the best report.

Capitalists and entertainers