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Experts Say Yettel’s Removal of N1 and Nova from Some SBB Packages Was Political, with Election Timing Revealing the Pla
🇷🇸 Serbia /Elections & Politics

Experts Say Yettel’s Removal of N1 and Nova from Some SBB Packages Was Political, with Election Timing Revealing the Plan

From N1 Serbia · () Serbian

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

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Yettel removed N1 and Nova from some SBB customers’ television packages after acquiring SBB, where the channels had been a distinctive offering.
  • Customers who want the channels restored must contact Yettel, despite a promised 300-dinar reduction in their subscription fee.
  • Media experts Rade Veljanovski and Slobodan Cvejić criticized the move as politically coordinated and potentially misleading toward customers.

Yettel has removed N1 and Nova from the television packages of some SBB customers, despite the two channels having helped distinguish SBB from other operators since Yettel acquired the company.

The company describes the change as a “pilot project.” Customers who still want to watch N1 and Nova on SBB must contact Yettel and request that the channels be restored. Their subscription is supposed to fall by 300 dinars, but the requirement to take an extra step could mean that some customers simply do not bother.

In the coming period, we can expect elections that will not all take place at once, but over several months. It will be a drawn-out period.

— Rade VeljanovskiHe linked the timing of the channel removals to the expected election period.

Rade Veljanovski, speaking to N1, linked the timing to a coming election period that he said could stretch over several months. He argued that N1 and Nova are among the channels that contribute most to professional and objective information for citizens in Serbia. Veljanovski said the decision appeared to be a coordinated action by Yettel and the authorities, rather than a commercial experiment.

They chose the two television stations that contribute most to informing Serbia’s citizens in a professional and objective way.

— Rade VeljanovskiHe explained why he viewed the decision as politically motivated.

He noted that both channels are carried only through cable and are not broadcast terrestrially, adding that Yettel could have temporarily removed other channels, including Informer, Studio B or Niš TV. Slobodan Cvejić, a former member of Serbia’s electronic media regulator and a lawmaker, questioned both Yettel’s contractual obligations and its treatment of customers. He said the company should arguably have notified customers and sought their consent before removing the channels, describing the move as manipulation.

On social media, SBB customers have responded ironically by asking Yettel to enroll them in a modular pilot project that would remove pro-government media instead. Some users said they would even pay for that option.

I think the second option applies. So this is a malicious move and manipulation.

— Slobodan CvejićHe questioned whether Yettel should have notified customers and obtained their consent before removing the channels.
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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