Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has been using a series of different but seemingly innocent means to achieve his political goals, both literally and figuratively, Serbian journalist Darko Čačić Report EURACTIV Bulgaria.
Since 2019, the state-owned Telekom Srbija has purchased the broadcast rights of the world’s top sports events through its subsidiary Arena Sport, a regional television network in all six former Yugoslav countries.
Telekom Srbija recently paid 100 million euros per season for the Premier League for the next six years. This is approximately eight times the amount previously paid by its main competitor, United Group’s Sport Klub regional network.
They also paid the price for the UEFA Champions League, Europa League, Spain, Italy, France top league and NBA odds.
But why does the Serbian National Broadcasting Corporation spend hundreds of millions of euros on sports broadcasting rights?
Economically infeasible
Professor Marko Milosavljević from the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Ljubljana said that in such a small and relatively poor market, such investments cannot be economically rewarded.
“Considering all aspects, I don’t think there is an economic reason behind the deal reached by Srbija Telecom,” Milosavljević told EURACTIV.
Instead, he believes this is a move that harms the private conglomerate whose cable operator Serbia Broadband (SBB) broadcasts important government TV channels such as N1, Nova S and Newsmax Adria.
Author and economic reporter Mijat Lakićević also believes that this is mainly to drive independent media out of the market.
“The purpose is to distract users from watching the SBB news channel. N1 and Nova S. Vučić have been doing this for many years. During this period, Srbija Telekom Srbija acquired several smaller cable providers and TV stations, paying a significant price. Higher than the market price,” Rakicevic told EURACTIV.
He pointed out that the Serbian government is willing to use state funds to suppress competition or weaken leading independent television stations.
“Telekom Srbija has not been used to suppress competition in the entertainment sector; this has nothing to do with football or TV series. The aim is to allow citizens to watch independent news channels as little as possible, and financially weaken these TV stations, and prevent them from spreading and investing in new programs and Show,” Lakićević pointed out.
A sort of Recent report The Balkan Free Media Initiative found that Telekom Srbija was used to “manipulate the commercial market”, “strengthen the state’s control over private media,” and gain influence.
By offering extremely popular content, such as the best football match in the world, Telekom Srbija clearly wants to dig out the customers of SBB’s cable provider. Once they sign the dotted line with Telekom Srbija, they may be exposed to non-critical news while being protected from political and corruption scandals.
Soft power grab
Milosavljević sees this investment as a way to position Telekom Srbija as an important player in the region and strengthen Serbia’s soft power.
“By purchasing the rights to the Premier League, Srbija Telekom Srbija has gained influence throughout the region, because telecom operators, such as those in Croatia and Slovenia, if they want to include the Premier League in their packages next season, they must Negotiations with the company. Six years,” Milosavljevic explained.
Milosavljević said that fierce market competition may also occur in other countries in the region where there are joint group cable TV operators, such as the competition between Serbian Telecom and SBB.
“This issue has regional consequences. Due to the friendly relationship between Vucic and Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, it is possible to reach an agreement between Slovenian Telecom and Slovenian Telecom, especially if we remember that both companies are very Under the control of a powerful state,” he said.
A similar result may occur in Croatia. In this way, the potential economic loss of the United Group will not only be caused in Serbia, but also in other countries where it has cable operators,” Milosavljević pointed out.
Due to increased bargaining power, Srbija Telekom Srbija may require the purchase of other programs in the package and the Arena Sport channel.
“For example, a higher-priced package might include the Euronews Serbia channel, and its partner is Telekom Srbija. Through Euronews Serbia, you can have a certain influence in the region, because people in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and even Slovenia know These news reports, as far as I know, these news are strongly influenced by the Serbian government,” Milosavljevic said.
In its report on Serbia’s accession to the European Union last week, the European Commission pointed out that “the political and economic impact on the media remains worrying”.
[Edited by Alice Taylor/Zoran Radosavljevic]
