Television

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to the register of the Communications Regulatory Agency, there are almost 80 television stations, including those that are part of the public service at the state, entity, district and canton levels.

Television in Bosnia and Herzegovina is assessed as a high-risk category of media in relation to possibility of political control, political influence of persons or parties connected to the owners of TV stations which influences the content of TV programs. This influence can come both from ruling parties and opposition.

The top ten most watched TV stations in Bosnia and Herzegovina also include public broadcasters, which further complicate the picture of potential political control, especially when it comes to the entity Republika Srpska and its public broadcaster. Their financial power surpasses the power of private media due to the fact that financing of public services is done through direct participation of citizens, i.e. RTV tax.

Nevertheless, despite the revenue exceeding 100 million convertible marks (50 million Euro) for the three public radio and television services in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the viewership share rewards private media, primarily Nova BH owned by United Group. According to the Audience Measurement agency Nova BH is by far the most watched TV station in Bosnia and Herzegovina with 10.43 percent of share. The owner of the most watched television in Bosnia and Herzegovina is also the owner of one of the largest distributors, cable operators, Telemach.

BN TV from town of Bijeljina in the south-east part of the country is owned by the Trišić family, which has audience share of 5.99 percent, but its share is significant because it is a media not under control of the ruling party in Republika Srpska. Moreover, the most prominent ruling politician Milorad Dodik was recorded to call and threaten owner Vladimir Trisic accusing him of promoting only the opposition narrative.

One of the most watched television programs in Republika Srpska is under sanctions of the United States. Alternativna televizija is on the list of sanctions because, according to the US State Department, it has close ties with the authorities in Republika Srpska, whose leadership has been under pressure from Western countries for anti-state activities. Some of the consequences for ATV, which can be felt by viewers, is the inability to consume content on platforms owned by American companies, such as Google and YouTube. Alternativna televizija denies these allegations.