Cable operators in Serbia pay much more in copyright fees than their counterparts elsewhere in Central and Eastern Europe despite achieving a major reduction this year.
Speaking at Media Platform 2015, Andrija Bednarik, chairman of the board at the Serbian cable association PUKOS, said that prior to the beginning of July they were required to pay 8.8% of their income, based on the number of subscribers and subscription fee.
Now, royalties for copyright and related rights amount to just over 3% of their income, with the societies Sokoj, OPPS and PI, and OFA receiving 2%, 1% and 0.158% respectively.
Speaking generally about the market in Serbia, Bednarik added that despite growing in the previous few years, the number of pay-TV homes fell from 1.55 million in 2013 to 1.5 million last year, with penetration down from 62% to 60%.
Cable homes fell from 1.09 million to 931,000, while DTH homes rose from 216,000 to 246,000.
IPTV homes accounted for the remainder and grew by 5% last year.
Meanwhile, pay-TV revenues increased from €120 million in 2013 to €123 millon last year, with cable accounting for 64% of the total.
Source; Broadband TV News