The State Council of Ministers of Bosnia & Herzegovina have agreed to provide over 3 million Euros to support the financially strained public broadcaster BHRT.
The Government of Bosnia & Herzegovina is set to allocated just over 3 million Euros to BHRT to help support the struggling public broadcaster. The decision was part of a wider package, which sees more than 5 million Euros allocated to a number of public media measures. Minister of Communications and Transport of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Edin Forto, commented:
“Two years ago, we secured a record BAM four million for the BHRT. Today, we are raising that record to a new level by allocating an additional BAM six million, bringing the total support for BHRT during this mandate to a historic BAM 10 million. A stabile public broadcasting service is not merely a matter for a single institution, but is in interest of all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that is why we have decided to take this unprecedented step forward”
While the additional funds have been welcomed, the total value makes little difference to the overall debt level that BHRT currently has. The public broadcaster of Bosnia & Herzegovina has debts of nearly 50 million Euros, including nearly 34 million Euros in unpaid taxes and contributions, and a debt to the European Broadcasting Union of over 11 million Euros.
BHRT’s financial difficulties are a result of two factors. The first being Radio Television of Republika Srpska (RTRS) failing to split the share of the RTV fee in Bosnia & Herzegovina to BHRT for nearly a decade. As of December 31, 2025, RTRS owed BHRT 104,137,380 KM (53,246,806 Euro). The second factor is the RTV fee which funds public broadcasting in Bosnia & Herzegovina, has not been adjusted for inflation since 2013, meaning in real terms, BHRT has been losing funding for over a decade.
In February, the broadcaster has appealed to the Parliament of Bosnia & Herzegovina to intervene to ensure that the country does not lose its public service broadcaster. They have proposed that Parliament provide 100 million KM in credit to BHRT, as well as the urgent implementation of changes to the law regulating the distribution and collection of the RTV fee.
Should this debt be cleared, it could allow BHRT to repay the debt it owes to the EBU and return to Eurovision. BHRT has been sanctioned by the EBU since December 2016 due to these unpaid debts and has been unable to return to Eurovision ever since. Earlier this week, BHRT confirmed it would not compete in Eurovision 2027 due to the current financial difficulties.
Bosnia & Herzegovina has a rich history in the Eurovision Song Contest and wider competitions. It made its debut in 1993, represented by Fazla with “Sva bol svijeta”, who had fled Sarajevo under the cover of night during the Bosnian War to perform at the Song Contest in Millstreet. The band received a standing ovation from the audience. They would go on to compete in the contest nineteen times, including six top ten finishes.
Outside of the Eurovision Song Contest, Bosnia & Herzegovina would compete once in Eurovision Young Musicians in 2012, and attempt to compete in Junior Eurovision twice. BHRT also aired the Eurovision Dance Contest and last aired a Eurovision show in 2020 when Eurovision: Europe Shine a Light was held.
Bosnia and Herzegovina last participated in the 2016 contest, in which returning artist Deen represented the country with the song “Ljubav Je” along with Dalal, Ana Rucner and Jala. The group just missed out on qualification chances, ending in 11th place in the semi-final with 104 points.
