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The week on television

How national television covers elections and politics, week by week. Every week the CRTA Election Observation Mission measures how much airtime national television gives to political actors, in what tone they are portrayed, and whether they speak for themselves or are spoken about. Each edition covers one week of the campaign and is listed below, most recent first.
October

In the week of 5-11 October, the media monitoring of the CRTA Election Observation Mission found that the ruling majority received 77% of the time allocated to political actors on national television, 11 percentage points more than the week before, and the opposition 23%. Aleksandar Vučić alone accounted for 29%, more than the entire opposition. 44% of the coverage of the opposition was negative. The ruling majority's share ranged from 56% on RTS 1 to 84% on TV Prva and TV B92.
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In the week of 28 September - 4 October, the media monitoring of the CRTA Election Observation Mission found that representatives of the ruling majority received 66% of the time allocated to political actors on national television, and the opposition 34%. Aleksandar Vučić, who resigned as President on 27 September and heads the United Serbia list, alone received 31%. On RTS, the ruling majority received 72% of the time, while the opposition appeared only in election campaign blocks and received no airtime in regular programming.
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September

In the week of 21-27 September, the media monitoring of the CRTA Election Observation Mission found that representatives of the ruling majority received three-quarters of the time allocated to political actors on national television, and the opposition a quarter. President Aleksandar Vučić alone received 60%, more than the entire opposition and four times more than the rest of the ruling majority. There was no negative coverage of the ruling majority. On RTS 1 the imbalance was more pronounced still, with 93% of the time going to the ruling majority and 78% to the president alone.
Weekly report
Every week the CRTA Election Observation Mission measures how much airtime national television gives to political actors, in what tone they are portrayed, and whether they speak for themselves or are spoken about. Each edition covers one week of the campaign and is listed below, most recent first.
How to read these figures
The monitoring framework below is the same for every edition in this section.
Unit of measurement
One second of airtime allocated to a political actor. The percentages in each edition show how that time was distributed.
What is monitored
Not only the main news programmes. Within the monitored window, the regular news programming, election blocks, interviews, debates, current-affairs programmes and entertainment programmes are all covered, wherever relevant political actors appear or are mentioned. The window is extended prime time, 18:00 to 24:00, every day of monitoring.
Sample
Ten television channels: the public broadcaster RTS 1, four commercial channels with national coverage (TV Pink, TV Prva, TV B92 and TV Happy) and five cable channels (TV Informer, TV N1, TV Kurir, TV Euronews and TV Nova S). The findings for the public broadcaster are examined separately, given its particular legal and professional obligations to inform citizens impartially, in a balanced and pluralistic manner.
Role of the actor
Active, as a subject: the actor has the opportunity to address the audience directly, in the first person. Passive, as an object: the actor is spoken about by the broadcaster, by another political actor or by another participant.
Tone
Positive, where the actor is presented affirmatively - praise, support, emphasis on achievements. Neutral, where there is no clear positive or negative evaluation and the presentation is factual. Negative, where the actor is criticised, accused, discredited or placed in an unfavourable context. Tone is recorded separately for the active and the passive role.
Frequency
One edition a week, covering Monday to Sunday, published through the campaign for the elections of 25 October 2026.
How the figures are read. A difference in the amount of airtime is not on its own enough to conclude that coverage is biased. It is read together with the role of the actor, the tone, the topics, the format and the opportunity to respond: a large volume of airtime does not mean a favourable position if the actor is predominantly spoken about negatively and without the chance to present their own views directly. One qualification recurs in these editions. Broadcasters are obliged to air the election blocks, in which the lists supply their own promotional clips. That airtime is counted and is almost always positive in tone, so a positive figure for an opposition list often reflects what the list sent in rather than what the broadcaster produced. Each edition states how much of the positive coverage comes from these blocks.
Update
The week on television: 5-11 October 2026
The ruling majority took 77% of political airtime, up from 66% a week earlier, and Aleksandar Vučić alone more than the entire opposition. Two weeks before election day.
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Update
The week on television: 28 September – 4 October 2026
The ruling majority took two-thirds of political airtime, and Aleksandar Vučić alone almost a third. On RTS, the opposition appeared only in election blocks. Three weeks before election day.
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Update
The week on television: 21-27 September 2026
The ruling majority took three-quarters of political airtime and no negative coverage at all. President Vučić alone received more than the entire opposition. Four weeks to election day.
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Update
The week on television: 14-20 September 2026
The ruling majority received nearly two-thirds of political airtime, and President Vučić alone 46%. Five weeks to election day.
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CRTA.Plus is part of CRTA’s work to document developments related to democracy, the rule of law, and accountability in Serbia.
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