Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
The lack of transparency of ownership data and information on business results are still the trend in the media business in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Macedonia. This was confirmed by the results of research conducted by Media Net, a member of the MCA Group, in September this year. According to the research results, after a turbulent period, television and radio show signs of stabilization and stagnation, while radio audience is surprisingly growing in most countries in Central and Southeast Europe.
“The traditional media – print, television and radio – once had a significant impact on public opinion. A lot has changed since then, so the online media have become much more powerful. New providers, portals and social networks are now the main source of information for the younger generation. Although the traditional media is still very important in our part of Europe, the global trends are turning us to the internet. The research industry is going through the same changes. 14 years ago most companies that monitor and analyze media used to cut out articles from newspapers with scissors, then glue the clippings on sheets of paper which were then sent to customers. Today, this process is performed digitally. This trend of digitalization poses many challenges for companies that provide services of media intelligence, since the number of sources of information is increasing dramatically,” said Magdalena Horanska, CEO of MCA Group and vp of FIBEP, explaining the changes that have taken place in the media industry and the impact of these changes on the research industry in the past two decades.
Magdalena Horanska pointed to the global trends in media such as media convergence, audience fragmentation – with more and more new and traditional media, it becomes increasingly difficult to reach audience – consolidation of the media market, buying of media by large companies, and the frequent involvement of politics in mergers and acquisitions.
When it comes to the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the MCA’s study found that the total turnover of 35 observed most influential media outlets in BiH declined over the past six years. Of the 35 of the most influential media companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, seven of them showed a negative financial result for 2015.
The overall review indicates that the total income of the most important media is falling each year, and in 2015 they achieved 86% of the revenue made in the base year, 2010. Data on financial results of media operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina show large changes from year to year, where the best year was 2014, and the worst was 2013.
When it comes to trends in Central Europe, there is a tendency of foreign owners buying up national media, which is true for most of the countries. In Central Europe, the markets are stable and most of the information on ownership and performance are transparent. Internet is growing faster than in Southeastern Europe, and investment in advertising are mainly growing in the segment of the internet, television and radio, while print media are losing market share.
The long-term crisis of print media in Southeastern Europe is reflected in their declining number, lower revenues and negative financial results, while the prevalence of the internet is growing in all markets, in parallel with investments in internet advertising. A number of cases were observed where digital companies buy traditional media because they know how to reach the audience, but they lack content and need traditional media.
When it comes to the region, the media environment in Serbia is turbulent and dynamic, with 414 new media companies founded in the last 3.5 years, while 178 of them were removed from the registry.
In Macedonia, there is a large number of television channels, so Macedonia tops the global charts in the number of television stations per household. In addition, there is a negative trend in the radio market amid lower number of local and regional radio stations.
Magdalena Horanska described the Slovenian market as transparent, saying that the number of media in this market is growing since 2007. Total revenues of the print media are in decline, while revenues of radio and television media showed the opposite trend. The media market in Slovenia clearly shows where the future of media lies – online, although revenues from internet advertising are not growing as fast as expected.
The Croatian market is stabilizing around the lower level of income, while the media environment is quite turbulent due to changes in ownership.
The fastest progress in the industry of media intelligence and research among the countries in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe was recorded by Poland, says Horanska, and adds: “If we talk about media research of new types of media such as social networks, then the answer is Poland. The use of online channels and social networks and related services, such as research and analytics of social media, is highly developed in Poland. Demands of Polish users in relation to online media and social networks are more advanced compared to other countries. However, if we talk about innovation and technology in the study of media, which enables the delivery of new products and higher quality of existing products, then I would say Croatia and the Czech Republic are at the top. These two countries are the technological center for the exchange of experience and knowledge within our group.”