In a press release issued on Wednesday, A1 service provider said they “remain interested in distributing N1 channel” and that they are open to reaching commercially acceptable conditions to keep N1, part of United Media, in their offer.

United Media reacted to the press release with a statement on Wednesday evening.

The offer to air a channel serving the national interest, such as N1 was sent by the United Media to the operator on February 25, and (the operator) showed no interest in reaching an agreement at that time, United Media said, adding the operator had thanked them for the offer and refused to continue cooperation.

If A1 wishes to continue to air N1, in the best interest of their users, we ask them to agree to the offer submitted to them 20 days ago, United Media said.

We will not respond to insults coming from A1 concerning our company’s business or the work of N1’s reporters. We remain principled in protecting democratic values, freedom of opinion and speech, and it is up to the viewers to judge our work, as they have done for years, the company said.

They added they believe the promises coming from the Croatian government and the Ministry, concerning new legislation and bringing the law on media in line with the European Union, will be fulfilled in the promised time, in the name of liberalisation of the market, healthy competition, and, ultimately, the interest of the people in Croatia.

(Operating in Croatia as part of United Group are the telecom operator Telemach Hrvatska, as well as television channels and websites Sport Klub and N1, Nova TV, Doma TV, and Dnevnik.hr.)