Bosnia & Herzegovina’s state-level public broadcaster BHRT warned on December 30 it is facing an imminent financial collapse in 2024 due to its difficult situation as it has no contract to collect radio and television tax on the territory of the Muslim-Croat Federation where two-thirds of the population lives.

In a letter to local authorities and international organisations, BHRT’s board of directors said that even the current income from the fee on radio and TV broadcasting is also uncertain and is too low, forcing the state broadcaster to accumulate losses.

The BHRT's contract with Elektroprivreda BiH, the state-owned electric utility company, on the collection of RTV tax on its bills, expired on the last day of 2023, and BHRT's management has requested that the new contract include the distribution of revenues based on the Law on the Public Broadcasting System in Bosnia. According to that model, BHRT should get 75% of the RTV tax collected in the Federation entity.

The public broadcaster of Bosnia’s other entity – Republika Srpska – has accumulated significant debt to BHRT, which exceeded €37.5mn by the end of 2023. The Federation’s public broadcaster also has unpaid debt to BHRT of €7.5mn.

Bosnia has three public broadcasters – BHRT, RTRS in Republika Srpska and RTVFBiH in the Federation.

“RTRS completely ignores the legal obligation to distribute revenue from the collected RTV tax, and since mid-2017 it has not paid a single mark to BHRT's account. The RTV tax in the Federation of BiH is charged only in the area where the Elektroptivreda BiH charges the delivery of electric power,” BHRT said.

The board of directors and management of BHRT called on the local authorities and the international community to permanently resolve the financing of public broadcasting services.

BHRT has repeatedly approached financial collapse in recent years, as its financial situation deteriorated.