24. 09. 2013

TV FEE COLLECTION RATE DOWN TO ONLY 16 PERCENT

Belgrade, September 24, 2013 (Media Center, Danas) - While in the first six months of 2013, the average collection rate of TV subscription fee was only 28 percent, according to latest data, only 16 percent of households met this obligation in August, the Radio Television Serbia stated.

Member of the RTS Programming Committee Dejan Gligorijevic told the daily Danas that these data only showed that finansing of RTS was "devalued entirely" and that the state was fully responsible for the financial decline of the public service broadcaster as it had passed the Broadcasting Law providing a bad model for collection of TV subscription fee.

Gligorijevic reminds that the collection rate in 2011 was between 50 and 60 percent, while the decline continued in 2012 and 2013.

Few months ago, the Serbian Government announced the abolition of the TV subscription fee, which would result in financing of RTS and RTV from the budget in the period of next two years, until a better, more permanent model, was found. The Ministry of Culture and Media has postponed the presentation of the Draft Law on Public Service Broadcasters several times, so the law that should regulate this issue has not yet been put to public discussion.

"Perhaps the citizens should be more aware of the fact that abolition of TV subscription fee does not mean that an individual is not providing for the public service broadcasting. The citizen is still financing it, however, in some other manner - with tax payers money (from the budget), through payment slips in the grocery shops, home owners tax, or else", Gligorijevic explains.