HDZ MP’s TV Station Funded by Public Money

Ana Čelar
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During the 2024 parliamentary elections, HDZ promoted itself on Slavonski Brod TC, a local media outlet owned by their MP Pero Ćosić, who was also one of HDZ’s donors for the election campaign. Meanwhile, the television station is funded by the Croatian state budget.

Graphic: Mashoni

»Advertising isn’t an expense, but a strategic investment, and advertising on SBTV is the optimal choice,« reads the website of Slavonski Brod Television (SBTV), a local media outlet majority-owned by MP Pero Ćosić.

In this year’s parliamentary elections, Ćosić, running on the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) list in the 5th electoral constituency, secured 4.14% of the votes, earning his fourth term as a member of national parliament.

During the campaign, two election slates used services from his television station: the slate of Hrvatsko bilo, Croatian Democratic Peasant Party (HDSS), and Croatian Party of Rights (HSP), and the HDZ slate. No other slates or candidates sent inquiries or requested offers, SBTV’s director Marizabela Mijakić told Oštro.

»In previous years, they would at least order a show or a commercial to air... For us, any election so far has been a significant financial contribution, but unfortunately, the latest elections show a shift in media influence,« said Mijakić.

Circular Funding

The HDZ-led coalition paid SBTV almost €8,000 for advertising – a relatively small amount compared to the nearly €925,000 HDZ paid to all media service providers.

Many parties and candidates finance their election campaigns through donations. HDZ collected over €790,000 in donations for its campaign, with Ćosić among the contributors. He personally donated €1,500 to the party, and the same amount was contributed by his wife’s company, Ćosić Polyclinic, as per the report submitted to the State Electoral Commission.

In addition to the election campaign, Ćosić’s television station has been funded by public money over the past few years. Data from the State Treasury shows that various public institutions have used their services. For instance, in 2024, the public institution Port Authority of Slavonski Brod paid the station €800 for advertising and information services. The previous year, Slavonski Brod Television earned more than €2,000 for similar services, while in 2022, that amount reached nearly €15,000.

»I do not participate in the assembly meetings of said company. The company’s management (…), along with other employees, is responsible for sales, marketing, and programming,« Ćosić replied to Oštro’s inquiry.

In addition to state budget funds, SBTV’s programming has been financed by the Agency for Electronic Media (AEM) through the Fund for the Promotion of Pluralism and Diversity of Electronic Media.

As per the Agency’s decision on April 25 this year, Ćosić’s television was awarded €101,000 out of the €130,000 requested. The year before, SBTV received €86,000 out of €126,000 requested, and in 2022, it was granted approximately €114,000 out of €153,000 requested.

In 2018, SBTV received just over €100,000 from the Fund. Later that year, they were among six broadcasters penalized with a temporary suspension of their licenses for violating the Electronic Media Act. The Electronic Media Council banned the broadcast for 24 hours due to »hateful, discriminatory, and derogatory discourse towards migrants«  aired in the show Bujica, which the broadcasters later replayed.

Not an Isolated Case

However, it’s not just the television station that does business with state institutions. One of the four companies listed in Ćosić’s Asset declaration is the Ćosić Polyclinic, owned by his wife Vesna Ćosić. According to the State Treasury, this medical institution received just over €11,000 in state budget funds in 2023, while the total amount exceeded €15,000 the year before.

»The clinic occasionally provides medical services to state bodies and institutions based on public procurement procedures conducted according to the Public Procurement Act, but I do not know who their owners are. However, the clinic has not received and does not receive payments from the state budget,« Ćosić’s wife told Oštro.

The third phase of the Asset Detector project shows that this is not an isolated case among current MPs. Oštro’s journalists examined State Treasury data for 48 companies owned by MPs and their partners and found that 11 of them received nearly €1.9 million in state budget funds in 2023 for various services, ranging from medical and promotional services to official trips and visits, and the procurement of car tyres.