Digital Deadline Threatens Bosnia TV Stations

Bosnia's Communications Regulatory Agency for, RAK, is receiving first requests to halt the broadcasting of local television stations whose analog signal is troubling neighbouring countries that have all moved over to digitalization.

RAK spokesperson Amela Odobasic told Balkan Insight added that around 50 per cent of households that watch television programme using analog signal will soon have problems with their viewing - or not have any channels at all.

"After June 17, there will he step-by-step shutdown of TV transmitters, on the demands of neighboring administrations," she noted adding that there was already a demand from Serbia to turn off the analog signal from Veliki Zep covering Eastern Bosnia, with signal for state television, BHRT. Areas around Bijeljina, Zvornik, Srebrenica and Visegrad have already lost this station.

"We expect to receive similar demands for shutdown in the upcoming period, which, we hope, will prompt the country to start implementing digitalization as soon as possible," she added.

Under the 2006 Geneva agreement of European region emitters, June 17th was the final deadline for all television stations in Europe to upgrade their programming to digital signal.

Despite repeated warnings from international officials, Bosnia's governments in the past years missed deadlines and failed to undertake the required reforms to allow digitalization of local television stations.  

Most officials put most blame on the Serbian-dominated entity of Republika Srpska, where the main public broadcaster, Radio Television Republika Srpska, RTRS, refused to accept any reform which they saw as undermining their entity's powers and empowering a state-level public broadcasting system.

Mehmed Agovic...