On the brink of collapse: FTV and RTRS owe BHRT more than 11 million KM

BHRT's report on the implementation of planning documents for 2015, the Financial Plan and program plans for BHR 1 and BHT 1 for 2016, and the Report on the audit of BHRT's financial operations for 2015 will be presented to the deputies of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina on May 11, writes the Patria news agency.

The long-standing problem of declining subscriber numbers and reduced collection of the RTV fee, along with the additional issue of non-compliance with the Law on the Public RTV System by the other two broadcasters and the retention of collected RTV fee funds in their own accounts, have placed BHRT in a state where the continuation and survival of its activities and mission as a public media service of Bosnia and Herzegovina are threatened.

- Regardless of the efforts BHRT has invested in cost rationalization in all segments of operations where possible, without jeopardizing the performance of BHRT's activities and mission (program production), the constant drastic decline in primary revenue from the RTV fee and the inability to collect other services have led to a financial situation below the level of minimal costs and outflows that BHRT must cover to continue operating as a public media service of Bosnia and Herzegovina – states the material submitted to the deputies.

The total losses of the Public RTV System from the decline in subscriber numbers and uncollected RTV fees for the period 2009-2015 amount to approximately 140,000,000 KM, of which BHRT's losses account for about 70,000,000 KM. The rate of decline in subscriber numbers for the period 2009-2015 is 25%.

- As of the date of submission of this report, the situation at BHRT is as follows: Total collected RTV fee in 2015 amounted to 14,250,392 KM, which is 2,302,945 KM less than in 2014, or 14%; uncollected revenues from the RTV fee collected through collection services and retained by RTV F BiH and RTRS amount to 11,089,225 KM, of which RTV F BiH owes 2,534,556 KM, and RTRS owes 8,554,669 KM. We note that RTRS has not even submitted a report for the first three months of 2016 on how much was collected into the broadcasters' transit accounts, so the total obligation that the broadcasters have not settled with BHRT based on the RTV fee is significantly higher than 11 million KM, but BHRT has no insight into this, which is contrary to the Law on the Public RTV System – it further states.

Incidentally, based on services that BHRT provides to RTV F BiH, the outstanding amount of obligations to BHRT, as of the date of submission of this report, amounts to 13,610,527 KM, while RTRS's obligations amount to 284,321 KM.

- Such an attitude towards BHRT has led to a state of impossibility of normal functioning and complete collapse. In addition to suffering losses from the decline in the RTV fee and subscriber numbers (like the other two broadcasters), it is clear from the above that we are also suffering losses from the withholding of funds that the broadcasters kept for themselves. We have regularly settled our obligations to the broadcasters for the entire period of operations, both in terms of paying our obligations to them and in terms of services for which we committed ourselves through the Price List and the Protocol on Mutual Services – states the BHRT Management Board.