RTV BK Telecom

Infobox Network
network_name = TV BK Telecom
network_
country = SRB
network_type = Defunct Broadcast television network
available = national; most of Serbia and surrounding countries
owner = Bogoljub Karić
key_people = Aleksandar Tijanić (2000)
Goran Marić (2001-2004)
Bojana Lekić (2004-2006)
launch_date = December 5, 1994
closure_date = May 9, 2007 | founder =
brand =

Radio-televizija Braća Karić Telekom (Serbian Cyrillic: Радио Телевизија Браћа Карић Телеком, "RTV BK Telecom") was a privately-owned radio-television company based in Belgrade, Serbia. It functioned as a privately-owned, revenue generating media outlet with a "G" rating (general audiences or general interest station) and without editorial or content restrictions.

Prior to its license revocation in late April 2006 and subsequent folding during May 2007, BKTV had significant viewership all over Serbia. According to Nielsen Research data for the year 2005 (its last year of regular terrestrial broadcasting), BKTV held 11.2% of the Serbian TV audience with a daily average of 3.2 million people tuning in to its programmes, which meant it was the third most watched TV network in Serbia at the time behind Pink (22.5% market share and 3.7 million daily viewers on average) and RTS1 (22.4% market share and 3.9 million daily viewers on average). [http://cs.agbnmr.com/Uploads/Serbia/2005.pdf p3]

History

The company started broadcasting a TV signal on December 5, 1994.

As of April 2004, BKTV covered more than 90% of the territory and reached about 90% of the entire population.

It aired the Serbian versions of the "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" quiz ("Želite li da postanete milioner?"), "The Weakest Link" ("Najslabija karika"), as well as two seasons of the local Idol series - "Idol" that also included contestants from Macedonia.

"Telefakt", BKTV's main news programme was shown several times a day, while a shorter news bulletin programme "Naslovi" ran every hour on the hour. BKTV's morning show was named "Budilnik".

RTV BK Telecom was on the cusp of new technologies. It was the first TV station in Serbia to start broadcasting on the internet by making selected news programmes available for download and streaming on their website. It eventually introduced the BK Player, a media player designed to play BK TV program live on the Internet 24 hours a day. The latest version was BK Player 2.

Channels

*BKTV (BK 063) - terrestrial channel
*BK Sat - Available in the USA via GlobeCast World TV (uses Intelsat Americas 5 satellite) and Dish Network, Canada via Intelsat Americas 5 satellite, Australia via TV Plus, and Europe via Hot Bird 3, Atlantic Bird 2, and Euroasiasat 1 satellites. (BKTV Sat is broadcasting FTA (unencrypted) via Hot Bird)
*DTV (Dečija Televizija, "in English": Kids TV); this channel was originally called Eksperimentalni (Experimental) and was the first channel oriented towards kids in Eastern Europe.

License Revocation and Shutdown

On April 25, 2006, the Serbian state agency for airwaves control (Republička radiodifuzna agencija) decided to revoke BKTV's broadcasting license for 30 days. The reason given was "violation of broadcasting regulations". Shortly after midnight on April 26, BKTV's physical location was raided by the police and the station ceased broadcasts. Around 11 a.m. the same day, most of the cable operators stopped carrying the station. It nevertheless continued to broadcast via satellite, and television sets have been set out televising the channel in Knez Mihailova Street in Belgrade for passers-by to watch.

May 2006 allocations of broadcasting frequencies by the Republican Broadcasting Agency's (RBA) of Serbia sparked a national controversy, and many called foul play. RBA did not award a frequency to several companies, including RTV BK Telecom. The company's bank accounts were blocked and BKTV had been taken off the air terrestrially.

BKTV commenced transmition over satellite with stripped down programming consisting mostly of SMS messages and music videos. Throughout 2006, most of BKTV's staff and on-air personalities left. The station eventually folded for good on May 9, 2007.

External links

* [http://www.bktv.com Official Website]
* [http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2006/05/16/feature-02 Television frequency awards in Serbia spark controversy]
* [http://www.iwpr.net/?p=brn&s=f&o=261486&apc_state=henpbrn Battle for Serbian Airwaves]