The Newsroom

N1: A new, CNN-backed channel for Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia

The Launch (October 30, 2014) (March 2014)

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WW
WW Update
N1, a news channel for Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina is set to launch in April.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v302/az2si/n1-2014-1a_zps44146a6a.png
Image: SBB Serbia Broadband

This is what we know so far:

* N1 will be majority-owned by the United Group (website), a major cable/satellite provider in the region .

* The channel has signed an expertise- and content-sharing deal with CNN, which will make N1 "the exclusive news channel affiliate of CNN in the region."

* The channel will be headed by Brent Sadler, a former CNN and ITN correspondent.

* Several well-known Croatian and Serbian news anchors have already joined N1.

* N1 will be based in Belgrade, with production facilities in Belgrade, Sarajevo, and Zagreb.

* An American company, Renderon (website), will design N1's on-air identity.
Last edited by WW Update on 8 March 2014 7:21pm

11 days later

WW
WW Update
The first cap of N1's graphics is making the rounds on Twitter:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v302/az2si/BiHRCk6CIAAO-l2_zps421d2b79.jpg
Image: Zoran S. (Twitter) via rtvforum.net
Last edited by WW Update on 30 October 2014 4:50pm - 2 times in total
AG
AxG
It looks like something from the 90s, but hey Serbia is famous for using retro for their news titles.
WW
WW Update
AxG posted:
It looks like something from the 90s, but hey Serbia is famous for using retro for their news titles.


According to media reports, N1's graphics are being designed by Renderon in the U.S. -- a country also known for its frequently retro-looking news graphics. Smile
Last edited by WW Update on 18 March 2014 4:30am
WW
WW Update
Here is N1's programming grid (in English). It was published way back in September, so I wouldn't be surprised if the actual launch-day schedule is different:

http://oi43.tinypic.com/28t9js2.jpg

58 days later

WW
WW Update
There isn't too much news to report, but this is what we know about the channel so far:

* No official launch date has been announced, but June now appears to be the most likely month.

* In addition to its deal with CNN, N1 has also joined Enex, an international content-sharing cooperative that includes these broadcasters:

http://www.enex.lu/public/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/members_635c.jpg

* In April, most of N1's staff met in Sarajevo:

*
Image: Z. Sprajc / Twitter

* Among the personalities are Maja Zezelj, formerly one of the main anchors at RTS in Serbia, and
Zoran Sprajc, formerly one of the main anchors at HRT in Croatia:

http://www.pressonline.rs/sw4i/thumbnail/thumb?thumbId=825501
Image: pressonline.rs

http://www.jutarnji.hr/multimedia/archive/00232/zoran__prajc_232916S1.jpg
Image: jutarnji.hr

*
Image: Z. Sprajc / Twitter
Last edited by WW Update on 18 May 2014 11:28am - 2 times in total
RI
Richard
What language is it broadcasting in? In the old days the language of Yugoslavia was Serbo-Croat but there was a fair degree of variation between Serbian and Croatian dialects. The languages have apparently diverged somewhat since then. Also, Serbian uses the Cyrillic alphabet (like Russia) whilst Croatia uses Latin like us. They seem to be using Latin on those images.
WW
WW Update
What language is it broadcasting in? In the old days the language of Yugoslavia was Serbo-Croat but there was a fair degree of variation between Serbian and Croatian dialects. The languages have apparently diverged somewhat since then. Also, Serbian uses the Cyrillic alphabet (like Russia) whilst Croatia uses Latin like us. They seem to be using Latin on those images.



Based on media reports, N1 may have some programming targeted specifically at Croatia and Serbia, but otherwise, I assume the channel will use a linguistic mix, much like Al Jazeera Balkans. On AJB, each anchor and reporter uses his/her own form of BCS (Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian), while lower-thirds and other graphics tend to use a hybrid of some sort. This isn't as confusing as it may sound: While the difference between Serbian, Bosnian, and Croatian is greater than the difference between British and American English, it's not that much greater, and the three languages -- their spoken forms -- are mutually intelligible. For instance, Croats appearing on Serbian television are never subtitled -- there's just no need.

The channel will certainly use the Latin alphabet. Serbian can be -- and often is -- written in Latin in addition to Cyrillic, whereas many Croats -- especially those educated after 1991 -- aren't able to read Cyrillic at all.

Macedonian and Slovenian are different. They are also Slavic languages, but they are substantially different from the BCS group, and aren't mutually intelligible with BCS. That's the main reason why N1 doesn't consider Slovenia or Macedonia as it target markets, even though the channel will probably be distributed there as well.
Last edited by WW Update on 18 May 2014 11:11am
RI
Richard
Thanks WW for that very comprehensive response.

I sort if wonder whether if Scotland becomes independent whether there will be some sort if limited linguistic divergence.

Obviously things are different given that English is a global language, but there are some differences anyway, might these be formalised? Going back to the Balkan, the term "Montenegran language" was never used in the past, just Serbian or the alternatives. Now Montenegro is independent, the term is apparently gaining usage.

So could the term "Scottish language" see prominence? There is obviously the "Scots language" as well...
Last edited by Richard on 18 May 2014 12:18pm
MO
Mouseboy33
They havent launched yet and CNNi is attributing reports to "CNN affiliate N1). Of course we know they are news gathering at this moment. They probably wished to be on air to report the devastating flooding happening right now.
KT
KT4YU
Being a native speaker of BCS/Serbo-Croatian I compare the different variations of the language to variations of English we hear across the isles, for instance the difference between speakers from London and Newcastle (speaking not only in terms of accent but regional preferences in sentence structuring, aspects of grammar etc). In Serbo-Croatian there isn't a mutually accepted language standard for neither the written or spoken form, not at all because the languages are 'different', but rather due to the complex nature of relations between the former Yugoslav states. No one country can say that the root of the BCS language originates there, thus there isn't a mutually accepted language authority. Finally, to help breakdown the general mentality of these states to you, even during the time of the SFR Yugoslavia (when we all got along) they could never agree on a name, the language was referred to as Serbo-Croatian in the Serbian Socialist Republic and Croat-Serbian in the Croatian Socialist Republic.

Essentially it comes down to this: if we look at the word "scone" in English, everybody knows that people tend to pronounce this in two distinct ways. Phonetically I might say it as 'sk-on' or 'sk-own' (though we would always write it as scone in English) in BCS if this were a word, the nation which pronounces it as skon would also write it as such, those who pronounce it as skown would write it as skown and hence you have two ' distinct ' langauges, even though essentially its the same thing Rolling Eyes

Now the issue with these BCS langauge stations, such as AJB is that the people of these nations may find listening to, or reading other variations of their langauge distasteful, simply due to the relatively recent civil war. Viewership numbers for such stations thus vary significantly throughout the former Yugoslavia. This is why MTV Adria ended up creating individual feeds for each country a few years after launching it's regional channel.
Last edited by KT4YU on 20 May 2014 1:52am
WW
WW Update
They havent launched yet and CNNi is attributing reports to "CNN affiliate N1). Of course we know they are news gathering at this moment. They probably wished to be on air to report the devastating flooding happening right now.


Someone on a Croatian forum remarked how unusual it is for a channel that doesn't even have an official launch date yet to be providing in-depth news coverage (reports, video, etc.) to CNN!

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