Electronic media reluctantly pay their obligations to the Radio Broadcasting Center (RDC) and, as they say in that institution, a significant number of them have already terminated their cooperation. The broadcaster's current debt to RDC is around 340.000 euros.
The media, which often complain that RDC levies are too high, are already turning to signal transmission via cable systems in significant numbers.
"We understand the general difficult financial situation, but the media have to pay us at least the electricity they use, the VAT that we have to pay to the state immediately, and some minimal costs for the signal transmission service. Otherwise this system would not survive. "When it comes to the prices of our services, they were reduced by 20 percent at the beginning of last year, when the government decided to help electronic media," said RDC.
This state operator recently turned off the signal of 16 electronic media, mostly local, from its facilities. A significant part of them, in order to be included again, agreed with the RDC about the payment of the debt.
Of the televisions with national coverage, RDC no longer transmits the signal of Elmag and NTV Montena. Recently, TV Atlas switched from RDC to cable.
In RDC they do not hide that their cable systems represent more than serious competition. They say that they are now being kept alive by TV Vijesti, IN, Pink and Prva.
"If everyone switches to cable systems, RDC will transmit only the signal of Radio-Television of Montenegro, which is why it was founded. However, it would not be good because the RDC would not be able to function with such revenues", they say in that institution.
In general, the media is in a big financial crisis. In an even more delicate situation are those who are used to various subsidies from the government coffers, so now there is a great demand for models of how the state can help "its" media. There are already ideas to determine an item in the budget to help the electronic media, the only problem is that the budget is already overstretched and how to distribute it only to our own.
The idea of deducting something from the euro, which has been taken as a tax on mobile and cable since last month, is also mentioned, and they would not mind taxing radio receivers in cars again. Be that as it may, the Montenegrin media scene in its current form will not be able to survive for a long time because a disproportionately large number of media survives in a small space on very unmarketable rules of the game.
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