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🇷🇸 Serbia /Elections & Politics

EPuS: Dropping Zoran Kesić’s show is an attempt to ‘discipline’ Nova S

From N1 Serbia · () Serbian

Translated from Serbian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • The European Movement in Serbia said Nova S’s decision to cancel the satirical program “24 Minutes with Zoran Kesić” was intended to discipline the station ahead of elections and reduce its influence on voters.
  • The broadcaster’s owner, Adria News Network, said the program was too expensive, costing more than 500,000 euros annually for fewer than 30 hours of programming.
  • Kesić rejected that explanation, saying the show’s team had presented official figures showing it generated solid annual revenue for the station.

The European Movement in Serbia says the cancellation of “24 Minutes with Zoran Kesić” is not a matter of cost, but part of an effort to bring Nova S into line before Serbia’s elections.

The decision to remove ‘24 Minutes with Zoran Kesić’ from TV Nova S’s schedule is apparently not motivated by economic reasons, but is part of a broader action by the new management of the ANN media group to ‘discipline’ this television station and reduce its influence on Serbia’s electorate ahead of the forthcoming elections.

· European Movement in SerbiaEPuS’s statement on the cancellation of the program.

EPuS said it received the news with disbelief, noting that Kesić’s program had won its “Contribution of the Year to Europe” award. The organization argued that the owner’s claim that the show was too expensive was not a convincing explanation for the channel’s most-watched program in its Saturday prime-time slot.

The movement praised Kesić for showing since 2013 that serious social issues could be discussed without hatred, that criticism could remain sharp without losing its humanity, and that public speech could stay free despite pressure, labeling and attempts at discrediting.

Zoran Kesić has proved from 2013 to today that serious social issues can be opened without hatred, that criticism can be sharp without losing its humanity, and that public speech can remain free even when the person uttering it faces pressure, labeling and attempts at discrediting.

· European Movement in SerbiaEPuS praised Kesić’s approach to social and political commentary.

The show will leave Nova S after its team failed to reach an agreement with Adria News Network, which owns the channel and recently came under new management after Portuguese investment fund Alpac Capital took it over. ANN said an analysis found the program was among the most expensive items in the channel’s schedule, with an annual cost above half a million euros for less than 30 hours of content.

The claims about ‘weak numbers’, an ‘expensive show’ and measures of ‘financial discipline’ are nothing more than an excuse.

· Zoran KesićKesić rejected ANN’s stated financial reasons for ending the program.

Kesić dismissed references to weak ratings, an expensive production and financial discipline as excuses. He said he had shown Nova’s management official figures proving the program produced solid annual revenue. The team, he added, believed the important numbers were the days, weeks and months remaining before Serbia’s elections. EPuS similarly said the decision appeared aimed at reducing the station’s influence on the electorate.

The only numbers that truly matter in this whole story are the numbers of days, weeks and months we are counting until the date of the elections in Serbia.

· Zoran KesićKesić argued that the timing raised questions about the decision’s real motivation.
About this summary

Originally published by N1 Serbia in Serbian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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