RTV Pink

Infobox Network
network_name = Радио Телевизија Пинк
"Radio Televizija Pink"
network_
country = Serbia
network_type = Radio and television
available = National International
owner = Pink International Company
key_people = Željko Mitrović (Owner)
Svetislav Milićević (CEO)
launch_date = 1993 (radio) 1994 (television)
founder =
slogan =
motto =
past_names =
website = [http://www.rtvpink.com www.rtvpink.com]

RTV Pink is a popular TV network based in Serbia with stations in several nearby countries as well as satellite and specialty channels.

The network's controlling entity is called Pink International Company, owned by Željko Mitrović.

From the very beginning TV Pink has offered a light entertainment program, mostly a compilation of movies, American sitcoms, dramas, soap operas, and Latin telenovelas, as well as locally produced talk/variety shows, and lately sitcoms.

Over the years Pink has launched nine more experimental channels via satellite, they include Pink BH, Pink M, Pink Extra, Pink Kids, Pink Nostalgie, Total Pink, Pink Films, Pink Movies, and Pink Music. They further planned on launching a Balkan-wide news network called Pink News on November 1, 2007, but those plans have shelved for the time being.

Programming

Entertainment

Right from its inception in 1994 TV Pink has strongly been oriented towards entertainment programmes. Different talk/variety shows endure to this day. Variety programmes like "City Club" (following the general format of BBC's "Top of the Pops") and much maligned "Grand Show" (mostly featuring turbofolk performers) were the most popular in the beginning with the latter still going strong almost 13 years later.

Following its success with variety format, Pink brass started adding more traditional talk shows with "Jedan pa tri" (hosted by Tanja Vojtehovski-Stefanov), "Svet oko nas" (Ivana Zarić), "Do poslednjeg daha" (Miodrag Popov), "Maksovizija" (Milovan Ilić), etc. leading the pack. Others similarly set programmes that appeared in this period and onwards included: "Svet Plus" (Jelena Bačić-Alimpić), "Pet do dvanaest" (Boško Jakovljević and Aleksadra Kajganić), "Lepota, zdravlje i jos ponešto" (Jelena Bačić-Alimpić), "Sav taj pink" (Boško Jakovljević and Aleksadra Kajganić), and alternately Ognjen Amidžić and Marija Jakšić), etc.

Special mention goes to the short-format programme "City" - sort of a shorter multiple daily version of entertainment news shows in the vein of "Entertainment Tonight" and "Access Hollywood" - which over the years became the network's signature show and launched the careers of many of its presenters who became minor celebrities in the process (Boško Jakovljević, Biljana Obradović, Rada Radenović, Bojana Nikolić, Adrijana Čortan, Aleksandra Kajganić, Ivana Baltić, Ana Pendić, Marija Maćić, etc).

Over the last 5-6 years, following a similar global trend, Pink started putting on a slew of reality and quiz shows, many of which were produced in co-operation with Emotion production company, like "Leteći start" (Milan Kalinić and Ana Mihajlovski), "Potera", "Zvezde ulice" (Miki Perić), "Ruski rulet" (Irfan Mensur), "Pravo lice" (Sanja Radan), "(Ne)moguća misija" (elaborate candid camera show in the vein of "Punk'd"), "Sve za ljubav" (Milan Kalinić and Sanja Marinković), "Menjam ženu" (local version of "Wife Swap"), etc. Also, more talk-shows were added like "Magazin IN" (Sanja Marinković), "Bravo Show" (Jelena Bačić-Alimpić), etc.

RTV Pink is host to a number of popular shows created internationally. Out of all the US based shows broadcast on Pink "Lost" has the highest ratings. Following the surprise ratings success of Croatian telenovela "Ljubav u zaleđu" Pink has bought out rights to broadcast other shows created in the EX-Yugoslav countries.

Internationally created shows currently broadcast by Pink (correct as of September 2008)

Telenovelas do well with older Serbian viewers. Surprisingly telenovelas have a large audience of older viewers however teenage viewers as well, with the lowest number of middle aged viewers. During 2007 the show "Tierra de Pasiones" has been most popular telenovela on Serbian television.

Telenovelas currently broadcast by Pink (correct as of September 2008)

News

Following a regime change in Serbia on October 5, 2000, RTV Pink started assembling its news division headed by Tanja Jordović. At first the entire production was limited to "Infotop", short multiple daily bulletin-type broadcast along with a central 30-minute newscast around 7pm. It mostly consisted of news agency reports as Pink didn't yet develop a traditional network of correspondents.

Around the same time, weekly political panel discussion talk-show "Klopka" hosted by Olivera Kovačević appeared on the network, drawing big ratings but also much criticism for seemingly copying its concept from Olja Bećković's "Utisak nedelje" that aired on Studio B since 1991. Kovačević took her show to BKTV in 2003, while Pink introduced a virtually identical replacement "Zamka" hosted by Tanja Vidojević. However, "Zamka" got cancelled in fall 2005 as it never managed to recover the loss of ratings caused by "Klopka"'s departure.

During fall of 2005, Pink created a lot of buzz in regards to its news division. For months in advance, the network aggressively promoted the October 2005 start of its central daily newscast "Nacionalni dnevnik". It came as a replacement to recently scrapped "Infotop", placed in the 7:30pm timeslot up against RTS' longtime signature newscast "Dnevnik 2". And although it premiered to much fanfare and anticipation from a spacious new studio, "Nacionalni dnevnik" soon became the target of wide criticism, even ridicule, for its amateurish approach and various on-air errors and blunders. Since then, the broadcast somewhat stabilised though it still lags far behind "Dnevnik 2" in the overall viewership. Not too long into the run, its start has been moved 15 minutes earlier to 7:15pm, in order to avoid going head-to-head with "Dnevnik 2"'s most watched initial part. From its inception, "Nacionalni dnevnik" has been hosted by five senior anchors (Aleksandar Crkvenjakov, Mihajlo Kovac, Tanja Jordović, Petar Lazović, and Nenad Ristić) who rotate each day. However this began to change as of September 2007 when the network decided to place some younger anchors into the rotation like Biljana Radeka and Slavko Beleslin.

Parallel to "Nacionalni dnevnik", Pink also started the weekly political talkshow "Piramida" hosted by Branka Nevistić, which has managed to build a sizable viewership base.

Ratings

Since the turn of the century RTV Pink has gained a large following of admirers and critics respectively. It enjoys the highest ratings in Serbia in 2006 and 2007 results look equally promising. The shows which captivate viewers to switch to Pink are shows like "Zvezde Granda", "Sve za ljubav", Serbian version of "Wife swap" - "Menjam ženu" and on some occasions "Agencija za SIS". Pink has taken the number one spot previously held by RTS1 which has now fallen to second best.

On the other hand Pink’s revamped news and current affairs programme have fallen drastically in the ratings and often come as the third most watched channel for news programming being beaten by both RTS1 and B92.

Special events such as the broadcast of "Miss World Serbian selection" and sporting events manage to give a boost to the networks audience. The selection of films broadcast by Pink has also not let the station down.

GRAND Music Industry

"Grand" is a music publications company in Serbia. It is responsible for most turbo-folk music in Serbia and has the greatest share in the turbo-folk music industry. It isn't owned by RTV Pink. Over the years it has evolved and introduced various music shows: "Grand Parada", "Zvezde Granda" and "Grand Show". "Zvezde Granda" which is currently Serbia’s most watched programme based upon AGB Nielsen Media Research. Even though extremely popular the turbo-folk (Grand) industry is heavily criticised for poor music lyrics, skimpy dresses and a large amount of singers who have been involved in sex and drug scandals.

Criticisms

RTV Pink has been criticized as sensationalist and vapid. According to the Open Society Institute, which monitors telecommunications independence within the European Union, as a result of private encroachment in the television industry, stations like Pink have "resorted increasingly to low-quality entertainment and sensationalist newscasts." [ [http://www.soros.org/initiatives/media/articles_publications/publications/eurotv_20051011/volone_20051011.pdf Television across Europe: regulation, policy and independence; Volume 1 ] ] Other criticisms include the granting of equipment and stations to Pink as a result of their alleged support of Slobodan Milošević's government during his time in power. [ [http://www.anem.org.yu/eng/saopstenja/saopstenje5.jsp ANEM] .]

Pink has further critics. It is said that GRAND music shows are "dumbing down" the population and often show a primitive side of Serbia as many of the singers have shady pasts and wear extremely skimpy clothing which is watched by thousands of young children. Its news jingle for "Nacionalni Dnevnik" has been completely stolen from German based network Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen with the only difference the colour of the globe, therefore infringing copyright laws [ [http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=15040799&postcount=624] .] . The amount of advertising on Pink has been cited as "ludicrous" and the network is not keeping in line with EU regulation for advertising, limiting the amount of commercial blocks per hour [ [http://img66.imageshack.us/my.php?
] .] . Due to the advertisement many programmes run over time and at times some programmes that are not rated well are discarded so the network can keep in schedule time. A new term has been derived from all of this criticism - "Pink effect" . The term is used when other TV networks in Serbia start sensationalising and dumbing down their programmes. B92, although still of high opinion among the cultural population is said to be dumbing down with programmes such as Big Brother (a show that is also broadcast on Pink’s sister network Pink BH).

Despite all of this the Serbian media monitoring organisation, which has often had a hard line on networks that do not comply with the rules (an example being BKTV) have been reluctant to react to Pink. Pink is the most watched programme in Serbia and loyal fans would be outraged by any action against the network.

Channels

TV

Terrestrial

*Pink - Serbia
*Pink M - Montenegro
*Pink BH - Bosnia & Herzegovina

atellite

*Pink Plus - Based in Vienna, Austria
*Pink Extra - Broadcasts programs from Pink BH [ [http://www.pinkmediagroup.net/satellite-television/ Pink Media Group official web site, Satellite channels] ]
*Pink Movies - Broadcasts foreign movies and series (available in TotalTV DTH platform) [ [http://www.totaltv.tv/scc/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7&Itemid=7 totalTV Official site for Pink packet] ]
*Pink Film - Broadcast domestic movies and series (available in TotalTV DTH platform)
*Pink News (available in TotalTV DTH platform)
*Pink Kids (available in TotalTV DTH platform)
*Pink Music (available in TotalTV DTH platform)
*Total Pink - Broadcasts the best from Pink production (available in TotalTV DTH platform)

Cable

*Pink Music (available in SBB cable system)
*Pink Kids (available in SBB and IKOM cable system)

Radio

*Radio Pink - Able to be heard all over the world via satellite and internet
*Radio Pingvin - Terrestrial in Serbia

External links

* [http://www.rtvpink.com Official site]
* [http://www.cjr.org/issues/2005/1/manasek-paradox.asp Paradox of Pink (Columbia Journalist Review)]
* [http://www.b92.net/specijal/pink/ Pink Files (by B92 - in Serbian)]
* [http://www.globecastwtv.com Satellite Carrier of PINK in America]
* [http://www.totaltv.tv/scc/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7&Itemid=7 totalTV Official site for Pink packet]

References