Broadcasting Without a Licence: Kahriman Swiftly Awarded Millions of BH Telecom to Imperia TV

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The management of BH Telecom, headed by General Director Sedin Kahriman (SDA), on 24 July 2019 made a decision, bypassing the Rulebook, to develop the Imperia TV channel into which they are obliged to invest 2,345,069 KM over three years.

Behind Imperia TV are singers Amar Hodžić and Jasmin Fazlić, better known as Buba Corelli and Jala Brat, who are owners of Imperia d.o.o. Sarajevo, and Euromedia broadcasting Limited, whose owner is Nova grupa d.o.o. Sarajevo.

The project was offered at the end of April 2019, and just three months later BH Telecom made a decision on a multi-million investment in Imperia TV.

Required Investments

In addition to being obliged to invest 2.3 million KM, after three years BH Telecom will acquire the right to purchase a 51% stake in the company Imperia TV for one million KM. Thus, BH Telecom committed to allocating 3.3 million KM for the Imperia TV project, for which they do not know whether it will be successful and sustainable, at a time when it is losing market share and subscribers to competing operators.

From BH Telecom they claim that the Imperia TV channel is positioned to have the potential to develop into a regional channel because it is based on and relies on the "brand and subculture" that already exists among the targeted population.

"The channel has the necessary differentiation guaranteed through two popular music stars within the targeted group of viewers, which guarantees a sustainable competitive advantage. Given that the channel will be produced regionally, the potential market for the channel is young people across the entire region, and therefore operators from these areas as well," state from BH Telecom.

No exact number of new users was planned, and how could it be when young people, who are the target group, cannot even enter into a contract because they are not of legal age.

Incidentally, Imperia TV in BH Telecom's offer began broadcasting on 9 September, even though it did not yet have a broadcasting licence, which was confirmed to Patria by the Communications Regulatory Agency.

Channel Viewership

"The Communications Regulatory Agency issued a licence for Imperia TV on 27 September 2019, for television broadcasting carried out via other electronic communication networks," was the response from the CRA.

This business venture by BH Telecom was not carried out based on the Procurement Rulebook – procurement of rights for broadcasting TV and radio programmes, i.e., it was not carried out by the Commission stipulated by the Rulebook, but negotiations were conducted by the Team for the development of a strategy and business plan for establishing a subsidiary company of BH Telecom, appointed on 17 May 2019.

Incidentally, data on the viewership of the Imperia TV channel could not be obtained because it existed only as a YouTube channel, and only an imaginary assessment was made to justify the presented costs.

Incidentally, BH Telecom director Sedin Kahriman was elected last week as head of the SDA Personnel Commission, and he is in close relations with Asim Sarajlić, who, after the publication of a compromising audio recording about the election of the president of the SDA Sarajevo Municipal Board, resigned from all party functions, including vice-president of the SDA and president of the Personnel Commission.

BH TELECOM BUSINESS

According to BH Telecom's report for 2019, it is evident that operating revenues are 20 million lower compared to 2018, and that year BH Telecom's profit was 5.7 percent lower compared to the previous year, 2017.

In 2019, operating revenues amounted to 461,363,149 KM, and in 2018, 480,413,376 KM.

ANALYSIS STILL HIDDEN

The completed in-depth analysis of telecommunications operators BH Telecom remains a secret. The document on the in-depth analysis consists of two reports and the document numbers just over 1,000 pages.

The goal of the FBiH Government was to assess the situation in the company, where they are losing finances, the number of employees, whether there are surplus workers or where labour is needed. But the public was never informed of the results, nor of the final decision on the sale of this telecom operator, for which the in-depth analysis was conducted.

Kahriman signed the decision just three months after the project was offered