The public service broadcasting (PSB) system in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) can be quite confusing for an outsider. It was established with foreign assistance after the 1992-1995 war in BiH and consists of three public service media outlets. These were set up to ensure coverage of the country’s main ethnic groups. However, many experts argue that this complex system was unnecessary for a country with a population of only three million and an extremely politicized media sector.
In a study, the organizational structure of the Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) system in Bosnia and Herzegovina was described as “a prime example of the failure of an ideal model in practice.” The PBS System of Bosnia and Herzegovina consists of one national and two entity broadcasters, as follows:
a) The state-level public broadcaster in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BHRT) operates one television channel (BHT) and one radio channel (BH Radio1).
b) Radio-Television of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (RTVFBiH) operates one television channel (FTV) and two radio channels (Radio FBiH and Radio 202).
c) Radio-Television of the Republika Srpska (RTRS) operates one television channel and one radio channel.
Media assets
Television: BHT 1 (Radio and Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina, BHRT), Federalna televizija FTV (Radio-Television of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, RTVFBiH), Televizija Republike Srpske (Radio Televizija Republike Srpske, RTRS)
Radio: BH Radio 1 (Radio and Television of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BHRT), Radio FBiH, Radio 202 (Radio-Television of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, RTVFBiH), Radio Republike Srpske (Radio Televizija Republike Srpske, RTRS)
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
The Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) System of Bosnia and Herzegovina is an umbrella organization overseeing the country’s three public broadcasters.
According to the PSB System’s Law, a fourth entity, the Corporation, was intended to be established. The Corporation’s role was to manage the technical equipment, develop strategy, coordinate human resources, and collect revenues from ad sales and license fees to redistribute among the three broadcasters.
However, the Corporation was never formed due to opposition from political parties. They were concerned that a unified Corporation would limit political and economic influence. As a result, the three broadcasters operate independently rather than as partners despite being part of the same organization—an uncommon situation. Efforts are being made to bring the broadcasters under a single corporate umbrella, but the timeline for this initiative is unclear, according to our local experts.
The Public Service Broadcasting System (PSB) of Bosnia and Herzegovina has a System Board made up of 12 members: four from the Supervisory Boards of each of the three broadcasters – BHRT, RTRS, and RTVFBiH. Each broadcaster has its own Supervisory Board, consisting of four members – one from each of the three constituencies of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Serbs, Bosniaks, Croats), and one representing “others.”
These members are appointed by the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH based on nominations from the Communications Regulatory Agency, which is responsible for regulating broadcasting in BiH. RTRS and RTVFBiH have the same governing bodies and appointment procedures.
Source of funding and budget
The public broadcasters in the PSB System of BiH have not released a financial report since 2012. These broadcasters are funded through a combination of advertising revenues and financing generated by the license fee, which is a tax imposed on all households in BiH.
It is unclear how much funding the PSB System of BiH has used in recent years. However, according to local journalists, both advertising revenues and revenues from the license fee have declined dramatically. The former is due to market conditions, while the latter results from the poorly implemented license collection process, which was discontinued in 2016. Therefore, the government regularly intervenes and covers the PSB System’s budget deficit, gaining significant leverage over the broadcasters’ operations and editorial coverage.
The broadcast groups in the Public Service Broadcasting System of Bosnia and Herzegovina often face conflicts over budget allocation. There have been allegations that some of the license fee revenue was not distributed within the system as required by law. As a result, BHRT announced plans in Q1 2022 to dismiss several of its journalists.
In January 2024, BHRT announced that it was on the verge of collapse due to mounting debts unpaid by the RTVFBiH and RTRS. The two stations owe money to BHRT, which controls most of the technical infrastructure and secures the signal service for all three broadcasters.
In the spring of 2024, tensions rose and BHRT turned off the RTVFBiH signal on 8 May 2024 due to unpaid debts. However, a court in Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia & Herzegovina, later requested BHRT to restore the signal as there was no legal basis for the cutoff. BHRT claimed that RTVFBiH owed them a total of €820,000, while RTRS owed them about €40m.
According to the law, half of the public service revenue from license fees and ad sales goes to BHRT, and the other half is divided between RTVFBiH and RTRS. As there are no legal consequences for not paying the license fee, the revenue from this source of funding has decreased in recent years.
Editorial independence
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the law requires public service broadcasting outlets to accurately inform the public, ensure balanced radio and television programs, and offer diverse programming.
The broadcasters are also supposed to have editorial independence. However, as local experts and journalists have said in interviews conducted in April and May 2024, they are highly politicized, with politicians exerting influence by appointing governing structures and financing.
The PSB System of BiH has multiple internal policies, and each broadcaster has its own statute. These documents outline the principles that the media outlets under the PSB System should follow in their programming.
However, these rules are seldom enforced as the government heavily influences the editorial policy of the three outlets. As a result, there is no specific statute in place to ensure the editorial independence of the media operating as part of the PSB System.
The public broadcasters that are part of the PSB System of BiH are legally required to establish Editorial Councils. These Councils are intended to reflect the ethnic, cultural, and religious diversity of their audience.
However, experts have noted that these Councils, which are meant to be involved in creating content at each broadcast unit, have often been ignored and do not effectively oversee editorial independence.
August 2024