The HDZ promoted itself on Slavonsko-brodska television for the 2024 parliamentary elections, a local media outlet owned by their representative Pero Ćosić, who was also one of the donors to HDZ for electoral promotion. The television is also funded by means from the state budget, reports the portal Oštro.
“Advertising is not an expense, but a thoughtful investment, and promotion on the SBTV program is an optimal choice,” clearly states the website of Slavonsko-brodska television, a local media outlet predominantly owned by parliament member Pero Ćosić.
In this year’s parliamentary elections, Ćosić won 4.14% of the votes on the HDZ list in the 5th electoral district, securing his fourth parliamentary mandate.
During the campaign, two candidate lists utilized the services of his television: the Croatian Right List, the HDSS and HSP list, and the HDZ list. Other lists and candidates did not send inquiries or request offers, responded Marizabela Mijakić, the director of Slavonsko-brodska television, to Oštro.
“In previous years, they used to order at least some shows or spots to air… Any elections so far have meant significant financial contributions for us, but unfortunately, the last elections show a different trend in the reshuffling of media influence,” said Mijakić to the Oštro portal.
The coalition led by HDZ paid almost 8,000 euros for advertising to Slavonsko-brodska television. This is relatively small compared to the total amount that HDZ paid to all media service providers—almost 925,000 euros.
Many parties and candidates cover their electoral promotion with donations. HDZ has thus raised more than 790,000 euros for electoral promotion, with Ćosić among the donors. He personally donated 1,500 euros to the party, and the same amount was donated by his wife’s company, Poliklinika Ćosić, as stated in the report submitted to the State Election Commission.
In addition to electoral promotion, Ćosić’s television has been funded with public money over the past few years—data from the State Treasury show that various public institutions have used their services. For example, in 2024, the Public Institution Port Authority of Slavonski Brod paid 800 euros to Ćosić’s television for promotion and information services. The year before, Slavonsko-brodska television earned more than 2,000 euros for the same type of service, while in 2022, that amount nearly reached 15,000 euros.
“I do not participate in the work of the assembly of the mentioned company, while the management of the company is responsible for the operations (…) along with other employees, including sales, marketing, and programming,” Ćosić responded to Oštro’s inquiry.
You can read the full text on portal-ostro.hr.