Media assets
Television: Prva, O2 TV
News portal: B92
State Media Matrix Typology: Captured Private (CaPr)
Kopernikus Corporation is a conglomerate founded by businessman Srdjan Milovanovic in 1998. It later expanded into other media segments, including sale of satellite antennas, construction of cable distribution systems and internet.
In 2018, Milovanovic, whose brother is a high-ranking member of SNS, the political party in power, sold Kopernikus’ cable network to Telekom Srbija, a state-owned telco. With the exact sum charged for the sale of Kopernikus’ cable network, roughly €200m, Milovanovic purchased Antenna Group, which runs the television channels TV Prva and O2.
Although the new owner of the two stations promised in 2018 that their editorial line would not be affected by the changes in ownership, local experts and journalists interviewed for this report in March 2023 and May 2024 said that the outlets have adopted a visibly pro-government tone. They described the outlets as clear examples of media capture.
August 2024