The United Media company told the state-owned BH Telecom that it can still accept the offer, even for a shorter period of time, the company stated on Monday

The United Media company informed the BiH public that on August 1, it sent its final offer to the BiH state-owned BH Telecom for continued cooperation on their “Moja TV” platform, reducing its prices by 50 percent compared to the previous contract.

“Wanting to do everything in the interest of the viewers, we offered improved distribution conditions, which BH Telecom refused,” the United Media company said in their Monday statement which you can read below:

“In a wish to provide access to our programs to as many citizens as possible, the United Media company, within which channels Sportklub and N1 operate, had drastically reduced the prices of channel packages from 1.97 Euro to 0.98 Euro per user, i.e. by 50 percent. The package includes, among others, 12 sports channels, as well as N1 TV – a professional, independent television channel that is CNN's partner for this part of Europe and employs over 100 media workers in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The United Media company has always been guided by good business principles and tried to find the best cooperation model with operators. The contract with BH Telecom expires at the end of August, and as we have already reduced the prices twice, we are publicly offering another advantage – that the cooperation contract lasts for one, instead of the current three years.

The United Media's offer is extremely fair and in the interest of viewers in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We do not want to believe that, when announcing the cancellation of the N1 and Sportklub channels, BH Telecom was guided by some other motives that are not of a business, but of a political nature.

We would like to reiterate that Sportklub is the holder of media rights for some of the most important sports competitions in the world, and among the most anticipated is certainly the European Basketball Championship. In addition to the performance of the BiH basketball national team (Dragons as they are affectionately called) at Eurobasket, spectators will be able to watch the qualifications for the 2023 World Championship, as well as the World Basketball Championship itself at Sportklub, because this channel is the exclusive holder of the broadcasting rights for all FIBA competitions until 2029. We will also broadcast the Women's World Basketball Championship, which is expected to begin in September, after which the Euroleague and Eurocup will start.

Sportklub also broadcasts all the ATP and WTA tennis tournaments, Wimbledon, Davis Cup, Moto GP and Formula 1 races, as well as NFL and NHL competitions, and German Bundesliga, Turkish League and the FTA Cup are part of the program offer. On our sports channels, viewers can watch athletics, the European Water Polo Championship, the World Volleyball Championship for men and women, as well as the Pre-Olympic qualification tournaments for women and men. We believe that everyone can see for themselves how impressive Sportklub’s list of sports rights is and that it certainly cannot be called “unattractive,” as BH Telecom tried to call it in a negative media campaign.

On the other hand, regional information television N1 is, as research shows, the most trusted channel on which citizens are most often informed about daily events, which has resulted in it being the most watched cable channel in Bosnia and Herzegovina for many years, according to measurements by TV Beat. We do not know whether N1 suddenly became “unattractive” for BH Telecom.

That is why BH Telecom's decision not to extend the distribution contract of this media house is surprising, especially as the decision comes right before the start of the General Election campaign in BiH. This fact raises numerous doubts as to whether there are political reasons behind everything, bearing in mind the fact that the BH Telecom management are high-ranking officials of the ruling Democratic Action Party (SDA) party.

N1 has always been guided by professional principles of impartial and objective reporting, thus gaining the viewers’ trust. The United Media expresses its suspicion that by refusing to broadcast at twice the lower price, BH Telecom is trying to reduce the reach of the television that works in the interests of citizens, not political parties, in such a delicate time in which we live.

We believe that it is now clear to the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina that we are open to cooperation, that we have offered BH Telecom a fair and competitive offer, but that the final decision is still up to them. We hope for a positive outcome, due to the interest of the viewers, who will be able to watch and cheer for their national team on Sportklub but also those who get informed about all the important events on N1.”