Bosnian power firm Elektroprivreda BiH and the country’s public broadcaster BHRT have reportedly signed an agreement that could save the broadcaster from collapse. 

The previous model for collecting the licence fee through telephone bills expired almost a year ago and the two telecoms companies operating in the country were gathering it voluntarily. According to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), this situation was threatening the survival of the public broadcaster, which has accumulated around €20mn of debt.

Now Elektroprivreda BiH will collect licence fees for the state-level BHRT and the public broadcaster of the Muslim-Croat Federation – RTV FBiH — through electricity bills as of the beginning of August, which should guarantee more stable financing for BHRT, Indikator.ba reported on August 2.. Identical agreements are expected to be signed with the other electricity distribution firms in the country.

Neither BHRT nor the EBU have commented on the deal yet. 

The financial situation of BHRT has been deteriorating for years due to the insufficient level of funding caused by the “progressive erosion of the licence fee, a weak collection system and substantial payment arrears from regional partner broadcasters Radio-televizije Federacije BiH and Radio-televizije Republike Srpske”, according multiple statements by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). 

BHRT’s problems worsened gradually during 2016. In May 2016, the broadcaster’s management board said it would temporarily shut down all services the following month after it failed to collect BAM25mn (€12.8mn) debt from the broadcasters of Bosnia’s two entities, the Muslim-Croat Federation and Republika Srpska. However, as the date approached, the EBU once again extended the deadline for BHRT to start repaying its debts.

In April this year, the EBU urged Bosnia to save the broadcaster, joining the European Federation of Journalists and the International Federation of Journalists.

The following month, a group of 24 MEPs expressed concern that the broadcaster will collapse unless the parliament took steps to ensure that it was financed adequately.