EditVučić received 78 percent of airtime devoted to political actors on five television stations
The former President and SNS together accounted for 90.5% of the recorded time, while the Students’ List accounted for about 6.2%
The Bureau for Social Research (BIRODI) said today that Aleksandar Vučić, leader of the “United Serbia” list, accounted for 78 percent of the total airtime given to political actors on RTS 1, Pink, Prva, B92 and Happy between 11 and 30 September.
According to BIRODI’s monitoring, the six political actors it tracked received a combined 4,682.5 minutes of television visibility. Vučić alone received 3,650.5 minutes, or 78 percent of that total. The Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) received 585.5 minutes (13 percent), and the Students’ List received 291 minutes (about 6 percent). The Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) received 65.5 minutes, Authentic Right 51 minutes, and European Serbia 39 minutes.
Vučić and SNS together accounted for 4,236 minutes, or roughly 90.5 percent of the recorded time for the six actors, while the Students’ List accounted for about 6.2 percent. “Vučić alone had more than 12 times the presence of the Students’ List,” BIRODI stated.
Of Vučić’s 3,650.5 minutes, 1,296 were broadcast on Pink, 868.5 on RTS 1, 711.5 on Prva, 649.5 on B92, and 125 on Happy. On RTS 1 specifically, Vučić had 868.5 minutes, SNS 106.5 minutes, and the Students’ List 24.5 minutes—meaning Vučić received about 35 times as much airtime as the Students’ List.
The monitoring also showed high day-to-day concentration of Vučić’s visibility: 420.5 minutes on 11 September, 339.5 minutes on 24 September, and 342.5 minutes on 27 September.
BIRODI stressed that the figures measure time of visibility only, not the quality, tone, or content of coverage, so the minutes alone do not establish that every appearance amounted to political promotion. The data nevertheless serve as an indicator for further analysis of media pluralism and the equality of conditions under which citizens receive information about political actors during an election campaign.
Serbians will vote in snap elections on 25 October. The elections were triggered by Vučić before he stepped down as President, after the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and its allies faced sustained pressure from student-led protests, opposition demands for accountability, and declining public trust following months of demonstrations over governance, media control, and institutional capture.
Serbia’s television market is heavily concentrated and has long been criticized by domestic monitors and international organizations for limited pluralism, especially during election periods. The public broadcaster RTS is formally independent, but private stations such as Pink, Happy, and Prva have frequently been described by watchdogs as closely aligned with the ruling SNS and its leader. Ownership of major outlets is opaque or linked to business figures with political ties, advertising revenue is often state-influenced, and regulatory enforcement of equal access rules has been weak. Independent outlets and investigative sites exist but reach smaller audiences and have faced economic pressure, regulatory scrutiny, and occasional physical or legal harassment. Reports from groups such as BIRODI, the Centre for Research, Transparency and Accountability (CRTA), and Reporters Without Borders have repeatedly documented disproportionate airtime for the incumbent and ruling party relative to opposition lists in successive campaigns.
This article draws on reporting by EUalive’s partner BETA.
Caption: A handout photo made available by the Serbian Presidency shows supporters of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic during a gathering ahead of his resignation in Belgrade, Serbia, 27 September 2026. Vucic announced his resignation ahead of the 25 October 2026 parliamentary elections, paving the way for the Speaker of the National Assembly to assume acting presidential duties as stipulated by the Serbian Constitution. EPA/DIMITRIJE GOLL / SERBIAN PRESIDENCY / HANDOUT
Updated: October 2, 2026 - 11:06
