06. 06. 2013

PTT TO PROVIDE FOR PUBLIC SERVICE

Belgrade, June 6, 2013 (Danas) - PTT Serbia is currently working on possible ways of providing for the public service broadcasters through the network of the company's cable television and internet.

"Our aim is to increase the number of users of cable TV and internet from 130 thousand to more than 500 thousand households. Only then we will be able to allocate part of our funds to financing of RTS and RTV, in order to take them off the state budget", Mihailo Jovanovic, director of the Directorate for IT and Electronic Communications of PTT Serbia, said yesterday.

Speaking at the conference of the Danas Conference Center "Cable programs and advertising market in Serbia" about the trends of cable television in the country, Predrag Lozovic from the agency Nielsen Audience Measurement Serbia presented the data according to which there was an increase of the number of households using cable TV, IPTV or some other platform that enabled a larger number of TV channels. Lozovic also said that this number had been increased for 60 percent, while the number of households with cable and terrestrial television was equal.

"The largest number of users of television with more channels is 87 percent of households in Belgrade, 66 in northern Vojvodina and 60 percent of households in central Serbia", Lozovic stated.

Advisor at the Ministry of Culture and Media Aleksandar Gajovic said that people with cable TV wrongly believed that they were paying two TV fees. According to him, cable operators are being paid for "bringing the service to every consumer", while TV fee for public service broadcaster is "a requirement applicable in all European countries".

Mihailo Jovanovic also presented the new project of the PTT Serbia "PostNet", which integrated cable TV and internet, namely KDS and PTT Net. This offer is available since June 1, 2013. Jovanovic also said that as of September, the citizens would be able to apply for this service on all PTT counters across the country, and that by the end of the year, the connection will be on promotion, costing only 1 RSD.