Popular Turkish series are gradually losing out to content from the former Yugoslavia region, says Daliborka Šiljegović-Gajić, programme manager at Republika Srpska’s RTV BN
Daliborka Šiljegović-Gajić
Keeping up with viewers’ tastes is the key to success for all broadcasters irrespective of the country they operate in.
In Republika Srpska, which is one of the two entities that make up the country of Bosnia & Herzegovina (BiH), it is certainly something that is followed by RTV BN. Based in the city Bijeljina and the market leader, its commercial TV service BN Televizija (BN TV) has until now, according to the company’s programme manager Daliborka Šiljegović-Gajić, enjoyed considerable success with imported Turkish series. Those that have appeared in its schedule recently include Hercai (Flower), Presuda (Verdict), Zarobljena (Trapped) and Osveta (Revenge).
However, she adds: “I think the situation now is not like it was before. Turkish series were previously the most watched but now many people want to see music shows from ex-Yugoslavia. I think this is a normal situation.”
RTV BN was established in 1998 and the first commercial broadcaster in Republika Srpska, with BN TV one of the first commercial TV stations in BiH and Southeast Europe as a whole. Owned by the Trišić family and employing some 200 people, it operates three TV channels – the flagship BN BiH, satellite-delivered BN Sat (BN2) and thematic BN Music – and in the case of its satellite service reaches the diaspora in Europe, the Americas and Australia.
It is also distributed by all major cable networks in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, while closer to home all three of its channels are carried by a large number of cable operators in BiH and Serbia, as well as in Croatia (A1) and Montenegro (Mtel MNE).
Comedy series Dobro Jutro, Komšija (Good Morning Neighbour)
Alongside this, RTV BN operates a radio station named BN Radio, which broadcasts news, talkshows and folk music and is distributed via satellite and IPTV platforms, as well as BN Music, a record label and media distribution company.
Šiljegović-Gajić points out that although BiH is effectively a divided country (the other entity that makes it up is called the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina), “TV channels work together. That means when we want to buy some content, like Turkish series, from another country, we buy with someone from FBiH (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina).” While this was previously not the case, “now we are buying series with OBN or TV Hayat, both of which are in [the capital of BiH] Sarajevo.”
She adds that Bosnia has a proliferation of TV channels for a country with a population of only between two and two a half million people. Although they offer different genres, with music, politics, movies and series among the most common, some degree of cooperation is almost inevitable.
Looking specifically at BN TV, Šiljegović-Gajić says that politics, information and music programmes all feature strongly in its line-up. The latter include BN Koktel, while one of its best performing shows is the comedy series Dobro Jutro, Komšija (Good Morning Neighbour), produced in house “but working with artists from Banja Luka, Prnjavor and Bijeljina,” she explains.
Dobro Jutro, Komšija was launched in 2019 and as of 2024 had run for five seasons. It is based on a film released in BiH in 2012.
Osveta (Revenge)
Meanwhile, political and current affairs-based programmes in the station’s line-up include Globalno, Mat and Izazovi. Significantly, RTV BN says it is “still an independent media outlet that is not subject to political blackmail and pressure from political structures and organisations.”
Its owners Jela and Vladimir Trišić, who hold 66% and 33% stakes in the company respectively, have frequently clashed publicly with Milorad Dodik, the President of Republika Srpska, and his family. Dodik is pro-Russian and has long advocated Republika Srpska secession from BiH. Both he, his two adult children Igor and Gorica Dodik and a network of companies they control currently find themselves under US sanctions.
According to Šiljegović-Gajić, BN TV also shows a large number of programmes produced in Croatia and especially Serbia. “We have many series from Serbia, and recently they have had higher ratings than those from Turkey,” she adds. Indeed, while BiH is a small country and “with little money”, in Serbia “there are many production companies making good series, coproductions with [public broadcaster] RTS and Mtel [aka Telekom Srbija]. There is very good support for such companies, and they supply us with so many programmes.”
At the same time, she adds: “I’m afraid to say that series or shows from other countries don’t have such a good future in BiH.”
Hercai (Flower) has aired recently in Bosnia & Herzegovina
BN TV’s programming certainly appears to resonate with viewers. According to the media agency Audience Measurement, it was the most watched TV station in Republika Srpska in April 2024, with an all-day audience share of 16.54%. This placed it well ahead of second placed RTRS (11.38%), followed by Nova (7.83%), Pink (6.23 %) and OBN (4.53%).
Meanwhile, BN TV’s main news programme Dnevnik 2, had the highest rating in the category with a share of 32.8%, followed by those of RTRS (21.88%) and ATV (10.92%). BN TV’s main morning programme, broadcast between (06:30 and 09:30) was also in first place (22.99%), ahead of RTRS’s (17.23%) and ATV’s (1.77%), and significantly BN TV performed well in BiH as a whole. With an all-day share of 6.05%, it found itself in third place behind Hayat (6.55%) and the market leader Nova (15.97%), which is owned by United Media.
Šiljegović-Gajić says these ratings are particularly important for the station as it seeks to boost its revenues in what is a saturated market dominated by a few large players. Although the traditional TV advertising sector is still performing well – data company Statista forecasts it to grow from US$14.65m (€13.85m) in 2024 to US$15.07m in 2029 – it remains small even by regional standards.
Furthermore, while Šiljegović-Gajić concedes BN TV has an older audience profile, with young viewers generally favouring the internet and streaming services, she also points out that in BiH as a whole, viewers still prefer to watch TV services. This is likely to continue for the foreseeable future.
