Serbian TV Stations Halt Broadcasts, Claiming Media Freedom Stifled
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Loading... - Gordan Buvac
- 07 Feb 2023
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Two TV channels owned by United Media, which were denied a national broadcasting frequency in Serbia, stopped broadcasting regular programmes and replaced them with the message "Darkness in Serbia without free media"
United Media-owned N1 and Nova S stopped broadcasting their regular programmes at midnight on Tuesday and since then have been displaying the message “Darkness in Serbia without free media” on a black background.
The outlets posted the same message on their social media accounts without additional information. Their websites have continued to operate normally.
The reasons why they have stopped broadcasting remain unclear. BIRN contacted United Media’s CEO Aleksandra Subotic but received no answer by the time of publication.
Earlier this year, the two television stations participated in a bid to obtain one of four national frequencies in Serbia, but without success.
In a subsequent bid for a fifth frequency, the company decided to pursue just Nova S’s application. However, the November 26 deadline passed without a decision by the regulatory body for electronic media, REM has not set a new deadline yet for reasons unknown. Read More…
