The television network Al Jazeera Balkans (AJB) announced over the weekend that it will cease broadcasting, with the channel set to officially shut down by the end of July. This marks the end of Al Jazeera’s fourteen-year presence in the Balkans.
The channel, headquartered in Bosnia and Herzegovina, aired its final news broadcast on Saturday. Pre-recorded programs will continue to be shown until the signal is permanently turned off in the coming weeks. All network offices, including those in Sarajevo, Zagreb, Belgrade, Skopje, and Podgorica, are also being closed.
“This was the last news program of Al Jazeera Balkans. Thank you for nearly fourteen years of trust,” anchor Dalija Hasanbegović-Konaković told viewers at the end of the broadcast.
The closure will result in the loss of around 200 jobs and the end of one of the few regional television stations known for investigative journalism and cross-border reporting.
Closure Due to Internal Issues
Al Jazeera Media Network has not issued an official statement regarding the reasons for the closure, but several sources cite “financial reasons,” while Bosnian media report deeper internal issues.
The Sarajevo-based portal Dnevni Avaz reports that the network’s headquarters in Doha sent an audit team to Sarajevo last month to investigate longstanding rumors of mismanagement and irregularities at AJB.
According to the portal, the auditors failed to resolve the problems and, following meetings with senior regional officials – including General Director Tarik Dodić and high-ranking official Edhem Fočo – decided to shut down the channel. Both reportedly displayed a notably defiant attitude during the process.
