N1 and Nova S have applied for one of four permits for national TV frequencies which the REM allocates. The frequencies are currently held by four pro-regime TV stations. The REM (Regulatory Body for Electronic Media) invited applications for the frequencies with 14 stations submitting applications.
N1 Program Director Igor Bozic said that the news is the station’s mainstay but that it will have all other content – science, children’s, culture and education. “We should get the national frequency because all of Serbia’s deserves to see our independent reporting and credibility. N1 journalists have more than 40 journalism awards and that sets us apart from other TV stations,” he said. Bozic replied to REM Council Chair Oliver Zekic’s qustion about objectivity, saying that the audience can testify to the station’s lack of bias.
University political science professor Rade Veljanovski told the presentation that N1 news will be cut down to make room for culture and arts content as well as content for children and science programs with the aim of N1 reaching as much of the public as possible.
Bozic said after the presentation that N1 had to adapt to the conditions set out in the competition by the REM. “That will not upset what viewers are used to seeing,” he said.
Speaking at the Nova S presentation, United Media CEO Aleksandra Subotic said that the station’s reporting is unbiased and credible.
Nova S editor in chief Predrag Pavlovic said that the station wants to be number one in Serbia with programs for all segments of the public while program director George Makris said that the station will air reality shows which are not based on violence such as the Survivor show which it currently broadcasts.
Media expert Ana Martinoli (one of the authors of the Nova S presentation) said that the station has recorded growth since its launch, motivating other media to improve with the aim of providing varied content for its audience.
Two pro-regime TV stations (Pink and Happy) also presented their new program schemes to the REM on Wednesday.
