IMPACT OF WORLD ECONOMIC CRISIS ON THE MEDIA DIGITALIZATION IN SERBIA

Text topic: Digital Media Technologies

Text author: Маја Пауновић, Љиљана Љ. Булатовић и Данијел Кадарјан

This paper presents a brief overview of the situation with the domestic public service broadcasting, with reference to its past and future development trends. In this paper, a special emphasis is given to the process of media digitalization in Serbia. Due to the negative effects of the global economic crisis, we will try to clarify how and under what financial conditions, the Serbian public service broadcasting sector plans to carry out the digitization process. Having in mind the low standard of living in Serbia, the paper will be focused on the expenditures of the Republic of Serbia (as well as the financial cost to citizens) in the transition to digital signal. The digitalization process in Serbia will be financed by international financial institutions, while the national government will provide financial help only to the socially underprivileged population. Digitalization should be concerned as a long term investment that will improve operations of the domestic media sector. In Europe, the digitalization process is far ahead (in a more advanced stage). In comparison to EU and CEE countries, the digitalization process in Serbia is in delay.