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Between 5 and 11 October, the ruling majority's lead on national television widened again. Representatives of the ruling majority received 77% of the time allocated to political actors, and the opposition 23% - 11 percentage points more for the ruling majority than in the previous week, when the split was 66 to 34. Across the five channels, 82,653 seconds of airtime were allocated to political actors in total.
Coverage of the ruling majority was predominantly positive (61%) or neutral (39%); negative coverage accounted for 0.2% of its time. For the opposition, 44% of the time was negative, 36% neutral and 20% positive. Representatives of the ruling majority addressed the audience directly in 86% of their airtime, opposition representatives in 54%.
All of the positive coverage of the opposition appeared in election campaign blocks and paid political advertising - material the lists produce themselves to win voters, not reporting by the broadcasters. Paid political advertising accounted for 11,234 seconds across the five channels, and 98% of it promoted the ruling majority.
Coverage of the ruling majority was predominantly positive (61%) or neutral (39%); negative coverage accounted for 0.2% of its time. For the opposition, 44% of the time was negative, 36% neutral and 20% positive. Representatives of the ruling majority addressed the audience directly in 86% of their airtime, opposition representatives in 54%.
All of the positive coverage of the opposition appeared in election campaign blocks and paid political advertising - material the lists produce themselves to win voters, not reporting by the broadcasters. Paid political advertising accounted for 11,234 seconds across the five channels, and 98% of it promoted the ruling majority.
Chart
The ruling majority received 77% of the airtime, and 44% of opposition coverage was negative
Share of political airtime in prime time, tone of coverage and role in coverage
Ruling majority 77%Opposition 23%
Tone of coverage
Ruling majority
Negative 0.2%Neutral 39%Positive 61%
Opposition
Negative 44%Neutral 36%Positive 20%
Role in coverage
Ruling majority
Active 86%Passive 14%
Opposition
Active 54%Passive 46%
All of the positive coverage of the opposition appeared in election campaign blocks and paid political advertising - material produced by the lists themselves, not by the broadcasters.
Source: CRTA Election Observation Mission media monitoring, extended prime time (18:00-24:00), 5-11 October 2026. Sample: RTS 1, TV Pink, TV Prva, TV B92 and TV Happy.
↑ chart · the analysis continues below
Aleksandar Vučić alone accounted for 29% of the time allocated to political actors. He alone received more airtime than the entire opposition (23%). Most of his coverage was positive and the rest neutral, with virtually no negative reporting.
The Student List received half of the time allocated to the opposition, and almost three-quarters of its coverage was negative. It was mostly spoken about by others, rather than given the opportunity to address the audience itself.
The ruling majority's share differed considerably from one channel to another. It was highest on TV Prva and TV B92 (84% each), followed by TV Pink (78%) and TV Happy (73%), and lowest on RTS 1 (56%). Coverage of the opposition was predominantly negative on TV Pink (72%), TV B92 (68%) and TV Prva (66%), and far less so on TV Happy (14%) and RTS 1 (11%).
He alone received more airtime than the entire opposition (23%).
The Student List received half of the time allocated to the opposition, and almost three-quarters of its coverage was negative. It was mostly spoken about by others, rather than given the opportunity to address the audience itself.
The ruling majority's share differed considerably from one channel to another. It was highest on TV Prva and TV B92 (84% each), followed by TV Pink (78%) and TV Happy (73%), and lowest on RTS 1 (56%). Coverage of the opposition was predominantly negative on TV Pink (72%), TV B92 (68%) and TV Prva (66%), and far less so on TV Happy (14%) and RTS 1 (11%).
Chart
The ruling majority's share ranged from 56% on RTS 1 to 84% on TV Prva and TV B92
Share of political airtime by channel, and how much of each channel's coverage of the opposition was negative
Ruling majorityOpposition
TV Prva
Coverage of the opposition negative: 66%
TV B92
Coverage of the opposition negative: 68%
TV Pink
Coverage of the opposition negative: 72%
TV Happy
Coverage of the opposition negative: 14%
RTS 1
Coverage of the opposition negative: 11%
On RTS 1 the opposition's airtime was confined to the election campaign blocks.
Source: CRTA Election Observation Mission media monitoring, extended prime time (18:00-24:00), 5-11 October 2026. Sample: RTS 1, TV Pink, TV Prva, TV B92 and TV Happy.
↑ chart · the analysis continues below
On the public broadcaster the gap was the smallest of the five channels: the ruling majority received 56% and the opposition 44%, against 72 to 28 in the previous week. As in the previous week, however, the opposition's airtime on RTS 1 was confined to the election campaign blocks. RTS 1 covered the ruling majority positively in 51% of the time, with no negative coverage, and covered the opposition mostly neutrally.
This is the fourth edition of the weekly review. The figures come from the media monitoring of the CRTA Election Observation Mission, which covers extended prime time, between 18:00 and 24:00, on RTS 1, TV Pink, TV Prva, TV B92 and TV Happy. How airtime is measured and how the figures should be read is explained on the section page.
This is the fourth edition of the weekly review. The figures come from the media monitoring of the CRTA Election Observation Mission, which covers extended prime time, between 18:00 and 24:00, on RTS 1, TV Pink, TV Prva, TV B92 and TV Happy. How airtime is measured and how the figures should be read is explained on the section page.
