Development of Media Industry in Serbia

The report covers the period 1 September 2023 - 31 August 2024, which corresponds to USAID's fiscal year. The Mediji.Inovacije project is structured as a challenge fund, since it addresses a development issue in an innovative way by engaging new actors and mobilizing private capital for development purposes. It also fulfills the competitive requirement of the challenge fund definition, as it uses open competition to trigger innovative and cost-effective solutions to development challenges that are otherwise not addressed by market forces. The program focuses on the digital market value chain, exploring the potential of the market for growth through professionalization and monetization that can create value for the companies themselves and investors. It seeks to assist the beneficiaries from the broader digital market ecosystem to better monetize their content and identify new audience-sourced revenue streams. They are offered tailor-made solutions to optimize their business models and monetization strategies with the ultimate goal to position them for third-party investment. The basic premise is that economic and financial independence is the key prerequisite for media pluralism and freedom of expression. The project aims to enhance Serbia's information ecosystem and offer innovative support to independent media outlets by helping them become economically independent, in order to cushion them against undue influence and improve their editorial resilience. Partner organizations thus receive support to strengthen their businesses in order to be able to amplify independent voices and offer a more diverse content to audience in Serbia. During the reporting period, the project continued with significant strides towards nurturing a financially sustainable and diverse digital information environment. The key target, to help develop financially sustainable and viable media-focused businesses into resilient, democratic actors that promote constructive dialogue and provide fair, accurate and relevant information to the public remains, albeit the level of ambition requires some restraint and moderation in approach. The report includes an annex with condensed Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning results listed. It is based on the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan Performance Reports. It notes the following trend: the client cohort is making steady progress toward organizational resilience, which is associated with the project's engagement. While performance targets remain challenging, there are positive signs for organizational growth and market influence among the partners. It continues to list the key results as of 30 September 2024: - To date, the cohort has generated 808,608 USD of impact revenue. Approximately 65% (526,643 USD) was contributed by the new media and media-adjacent cohort partners, including Tampon Zona, Alesto, Agelast, Podcast.rs (Podrska), and Podmedia; - Although the project has achieved 584,328 USD in leverage investment (91% participation of private sector), the final target of approximately 1.3 million USD presents a significant challenge going forward; - The project clients have mobilized 158,964 USD in commercial finance; this includes two project-sponsored cash collateral-backed loans; - 15 out of 19 clients have increased their primary market share indicator by more than 10%. Cohort members that employ the #users as their primary market share indicator, however, continue to encounter market volatility, which explains variations in the total number of beneficiaries who have increased their market share. As of August 2024, the pfoject beneficiary (client cohort) has included: legacy media (national news agency FoNet, weekly magazine Vreme, Boom93 from Poarevac, and 021 from Novi Sad); media-adjacent ICT companies (AI Software and Just Start); digital media (June Vesti, a local digital daily covering southern Serbia); and new media actors that are capitalizing on the latest trends in the media market (Podcast Podrska, Agelast podcast, Tampon Zona podcast, Biznis Price podcast and Podmedia). June Vesti leads a broader group of independent outlets from across Serbia that includes Glas umadije, Bujanovake, and Ozon Press, while 021 works closely with SoInfo from Sombor, 013info from Panevo, IN Media from Inija, and Zrenjaninske from Zrenjanin. The project has also finalized a grant agreement with SHARE Foundation to promote business development and innovation pertaining to AI for independent media actors, as well as to facilitate the creation of a Talent and Media Innovation Network. During the reporting period, the project supported nine media and media-adjacent organizations with expertise and structural redesign to guide their transformation towards financially sustainable and viable media-focused businesses. 10 grants were issued. Overall, the beneficiary cohort saw an increase across performance indicators, surpassing 58.6 million USD in total revenue from the start of the project. The number of donations and grants received by the cohort members has also increased, boosting the audience reach and market share. New grants were issued to the SHARE Foundation, Alesto AS, Glas Sumadije, Bujanovacke, Ozon Press, Podcast Podrska, FoNet, and Just Start. 25 consultants have been deployed to provide tailored technical assistance, help analyse the Serbian media market and digital advertising potential and to ensure that clients take full advantage of business growth opportunities. The growth of legacy media, FoNet and Vreme continued with support to resolving the long-standing issues. Vreme has expanded its product portfolio with two digital newsletters and transitioned to a digital-first outlet. This has resulted in over 1,000 subscribers to its first newsletter, the launch of a new website, establishment of a digital newsroom, and the introduction of modern ad technology and payment systems. The news agency FoNet has completed a year-long business transformation grant that led to a 63.9% increase in total revenue, a 39.21% increase in clients, establishment of new business departments, and launch of an updated website featuring a new brand logo. They have backstopped an advertising campaign that has enhanced their market presence and influence. The continued growth of Tampon Zona, a podcast promoting women's empowerment has been demonstrated by 29,845 USD generated from commercial contracts, 12 sponsorship deals, and investments from companies and marketing agencies. Merchandise sales have brought in 16,893 USD. Podcast Podmedia has secured 36,400 USD of revenue through sponsorships, events, and studio rental fees. This revenue amounts to 72.8% of the grant received by the project. Podcast Podrska has reached a revenue of 100,000 USD, which is a good indicator of their transformation towards a sustainable business entity. With project support, Boom93 has expanded into seven new markets, engaged a team of correspondents, introduced geolocation technologies, and saw a 30.47% increase in visitors and a 49.92% increase in pageviews on their redesigned portal from January to May 2024. Another podcast, the Agelast Group, has completed the grant by assembling a professional team, doubling its number of sponsors, increasing its monthly revenue to 40,000 USD, maintaining 10 commercial clients, and raising YouTube viewership to 2 million. Mediji.Inovacije has also supported two regional networks: the Joint Revenue Stream (JRS) Network in the south and the Vojvodina Media Network (VMN) in the north. The JRS Network has launched a centralized sales platform for local JRS products, resulting in earnings of 16,555 USD in April 2024. Meanwhile, 021's initiative to create the VMN has led to the establishment of a regional media network, increased market share and revenue generation, adding nearly 10,000 new users, and producing a 20.3% growth in social media followers. In terms of promoting partnerships, Mediji.Inovacije has engaged with other donors and media development organizations in Serbia and the region, inter alia: the Delegation of the European Union in Serbia; OSCE Mission to Serbia; the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO); Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (German Agency for International Cooperation); Internews; the National Endowment for Democracy; the British Council, and others. The project was promoted in donor coordination meetings. It has also supported showcase events for Tampon Zona, Just Start, and Boom93 to promote community engagement and highlight media advancements, further underscoring its role in driving growth and innovation for Serbia's independent media sector. Finally, Mediji.Inovacije has launched a Talent and Media Innovation Network to promote youth involvement across Serbia's independent media scene. To enhance beneficiaries' access to finance (A2F) capacities and their investment readiness, the project has implemented a range of technical assistance activities geared toward cohort's development priorities and business growth needs. Notably, a collateral-backed loan scheme has been introduced to mitigate lender risks in order to improve access to capital for media outlets. The media-adjacent organization Just Start has received a 10,000 USD collateral-backed loan to invest in its City&Me application and explore expansion into new markets. During the reporting period, FoNet secured two commercial loans with assistance from the project. These loans have been used to restructure their debt portfolio and help address cash flow challenges. The project has also provided tailored support to clients such as Tampon Zona, Glas umadije, Alesto AS, and members of the VMN to help them optimize their business operations. Lastly, the project has explored the creation of an A2F digital marketplace to streamline investment opportunities for media and media-adjacent sectors. The effort did not come to fruition; however, an investment fund managed by the Media Development Investment Fund (MDIF) that caters to media and adjacent organizations has filled this void offering financing options to Serbia's media sector. The project includes a Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) and Youth Action Plan, which serves as a critical tool in evaluating the program from the perspectives of GESI and youth. It is a living document and it is adjusted annually in line with future activities and GESI and youth assessments. During the reporting period, the investment in training and analytical tools like SmartOcto have enabled media clients to produce content that resonates with audiences and is gender-sensitive. A total of eight GESI and youth training sessions have been organized for Bujanovake, SoInfo, 013info, IN Media, Zrenjaninske, Vreme, Alesto AS, and FoNet, leading to increased diversity, which is demonstrated by a significant increase in GESI and youth content across the cohort. Increased capacities to reach diverse audiences is attractive to potential advertisers and opens new markets, enhancing media's social impact and revenue opportunities. Efforts to advance AI integration and familiarity for Serbia's media sector have continued. In October 2024, the project conducted a ChatGPT training for Boom93 staff, showcasing its applications in journalism, including topic identification, document summarization, social media content creation, and promotional campaigns. The annual "Digitalk: Media Days" conference held in October 2023 in Ni that brought together over 200 participants to discuss digital media trends has featured a panel on AI tools as well as presentations on AI regulation. Digitalk is an industry hub that connects media and media-adjacent companies to promote networking across Serbia's media sector and to catalyze partnerships. Additionally, a masterclass on AI regulation, organized between October and December 2023 in collaboration with SHARE Foundation and academic institutions, has helped enhance national and regional understanding of AI's legal and ethical implications. Finally, in the last quarter of the reporting period, the project provided support to FoNet, Tampon Zona, and Glas umadije to integrate AI in their respective operational workflows. This assistance has improved these clients' capacities to generate promotional activities and increased the efficiency in areas where they lack dedicated staff.

The overall objective of this contribution is improved economic sustainability and business development of Serbian digital media, information and communications sector stakeholders. Specific objectives are: 1. Implementation of business and technological development. Improvement of beneficiaries’ capacity; 2. Leverage of project funds with third party funds (commercial or development assistance partners) to incentivize firm-level investments, or secure better access to loans for beneficiaries; 3. Improve beneficiaries' access to finance and investment readiness and 4. Outline of the design and investment partnerships for the establishment of a stand-alone Fund for Media, Information and Digital Environment Innovation.