RTV Palma (, ''

palm tree The Arecaceae () is a family of perennial, flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are colloquially c ...

'') was a privately owned

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth's s ...

based in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

History

TV Palma was owned by Palma Ltd, a company set up in October 1991 by Belgrade-based lawyer Miodrag Miki Vujović. On 18 March 1993, TV Palma was launched as Belgrade's sixth TV station. Initially, it broadcast on the 39th channel from 17:00 to 02:00, and was one of the first TV stations in Serbia to play

hardcore pornography Hardcore pornography or hardcore porn is pornography that features detailed depictions of sexual organs or sexual acts such as sexual intercourse, vaginal, anal sex, anal, oral sex, oral, or Non-penetrative sex#Manual sex, manual intercourse; e ...

(starting at a quarter to 01:00). The adult segment was later moved to 02:00, but the decision was reversed after public outcry. Vujović had already been running another TV station on the 34th channel, MV Channel Real Times, from 9 January 1992. The channel broadcast mainly business news and satellite reruns (

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia, owned and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through its WBD Sports unit, it operates two main channels—Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...

The Children's Channel The Children's Channel, also known as TCC, was a British-based pan-European children's television channel in Europe, Asia and Africa, which was owned by Flextech in London, England, UK. It began broadcasting on the original Eutelsat satellite ...

) and was sponsored by Jugoskandik, a fraudulent bank run by

Jezdimir Vasiljević Jezdimir Vasiljević (Serbian Cyrillic: Јездимир Васиљевић; born 2 November 1948) is a Serbian convicted criminal and television personality. He is most known for running a nation-wide Ponzi scheme in the Federal Republic of Yugos ...

, Vujović's

groomsman A groomsman or usher is one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony. Usually, the groom selects close friends and relatives to serve as groomsmen, and it is considered an honor to be selected. From his groomsmen, the groom usuall ...

(''kum''). MV Channel Real Times was initially broadcast from the premises of '' Borba'', a newspaper closely aligned with the ruling

Socialist Party of Serbia The Socialist Party of Serbia (, abbr. SPS) is a populist political party in Serbia. Ivica Dačić has led SPS as its president since 2006. SPS was founded in 1990 as a merger of the League of Communists of Serbia and Socialist Alliance ...

. Also, TV Palma's headquarters was initially located on the premises of the SPS near Tašmajdan. Vujović had been renting the office from the party, of which he was also a member. For this reason, it was widely speculated that both TV stations were ideologically closely aligned with the socialists, which was denied by Vujović. By the end of 1993, TV Palma had started broadcasting on the 34th channel, leaving only the

graveyard slot A graveyard slot (or death slot) is a time period in which a television audience is very small compared to other times of the day, and therefore broadcast programming is considered far less important. Graveyard slots are usually situated in the ea ...

reserved for the MV Channel Real Times, which was eventually cancelled altogether. In 1995, TV Palma tried to transfer to the 12th channel, challenging BK Telecom. The two stations went to court in late August 1995. In October 1995, the government officially granted the 12th channel to BK Telecom. On 10 February 1997 Miki Vujović and Dragoljub Milanović, general director of

RTS RTS may refer to: Medicine * Rape trauma syndrome, the psychological trauma experienced by a rape victim * Revised Trauma Score, a system to evaluate injuries secondary to violent trauma * Rubinstein–Taybi syndrome, a condition characterized by ...

, signed a deal stating that the two TV stations would work on the conception and realization of a unified program. Similar deals were signed around that time by other stations, as it allowed them to bypass a public bidding for the bandwidth by aligning their programming with the RTS. Following the renovation of the Magistrate in Zemun, the

Serbian Radical Party The Serbian Radical Party (, abbr. SRS) is a Far-right politics in Serbia, far-right, Ultranationalism, ultranationalist List of political parties in Serbia, political party in Serbia. Founded in 1991, its co-founder, first and only leader is ...

, having signed a lease to the building for 30 years on 4 December 1998, signed a

sublease A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...

to TV Palma. This was considered controversial as the SRS was part of the local government in

Zemun Zemun ( sr-cyrl, Земун, ; ) is a Subdivisions of Belgrade, municipality in the city of Belgrade, Serbia. Zemun was a separate town that was absorbed into Belgrade in 1934. It lies on the right bank of the Danube river, upstream from downtown ...

at the time, and also subleasing was illegal. In May 2000 Vujović responded to accusations that the station was biased toward the SRS saying that any opposition party could pay for a show such as ''Radikalski talasi'', and would be charged half the price. During the

overthrow of Slobodan Milošević The Overthrow of Slobodan Milošević began in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia after the general election on 24 September 2000 and culminated in the downfall of Slobodan Milošević's government on 5 October 2000. As such, it is commonly ...

on 5 October 2000 TV Palma stopped broadcasting at around 19:05, broadcasting only the message "We cannot continue broadcasting while the city is in flames". The first guest following the overthrow was

Dragoljub Mićunović Dragoljub Mićunović ( sr-Cyrl, Драгољуб Мићуновић ; born 14 July 1930) is a Serbian politician and philosopher. As one of the founders of the Democratic Party, he served as its leader from 1990 to 1994, and as the president of ...

. Following investigations by the new local government in Zemun, in June 2001 Federal Minister of Telecommunications

Boris Tadić Boris Tadić, (born 15 January 1958) is a Serbian politician who served as the president of Serbia from 2004 to 2012. Born in Sarajevo, he graduated from the University of Belgrade with a degree in psychology. He later worked as a journalist ...

came out with information that three television networks that were "more than close to the SPS" -

TV Pink Pink is a privately owned, national brand of radio stations and TV channels in Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem ...

, BK Telecom and TV Palma owed 2,1 million DM in total. In April 2006 TV Palma and several other TV stations applied for broadcasting rights on the territory of Belgrade. Four

NGOs A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

, including the

Youth Initiative for Human Rights Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. Youth ...

, put out a statement saying that the council making the decision was "seeming to lose sight of its legal powers and boundaries, manifesting a lack of tolerance and was, akin to earlier ideological commissions, not hiding its intolerance towards media outlets whose editorial policy they did not like". In July 2006 the Republic Broadcasting Agency decided that only TV Most, held by SPS member

Dušan Bajatović Dušan Bajatović ( sr-cyr, Душан Бајатовић; born 29 November 1967) is a Serbian politician and entrepreneur. He has served in the National Assembly of Serbia since 2007 as a member of the Socialist Party of Serbia and is a former ...

, and TV Palma were denied broadcasting rights. The Democratic Party supported this decision stating that both stations were responsible for

hate speech Hate speech is a term with varied meaning and has no single, consistent definition. It is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as ...

and anti-democratic propaganda during the SPS government. The same month, the Law on Broadcasting was amended giving the RBA the power to seize any frequency that was not awarded to a TV station. On 26 December 2006 coercive measures were taken by the Republic Broadcasting Agency to prohibit the broadcasting of TV Palma. During the first half of 2007, and for a short period in May 2008, TV Palma broadcast via satellite. On 14 July 2007 TV Palma started illegally transmitting from its old transmitter in Zemun on the 36th channel, causing distortions to TV Enter, the station occupying that frequency at the time. Authorities took action and stopped the transmission on 18 July 2007 on the count of

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

. In March 2009 Palma Ltd took the Republic Broadcasting Agency to court over the fact that the Council of the RBA did not have the legal capacity to prohibit the broadcasting of a TV station, a task normally deferred to Republic Telecommunications Agency. On 4 June 2009 the Supreme Court of Serbia ruled in favor of Palma Ltd. The RBA was forced to reexamine the request from July 2006 and, despite earlier indications, reiterated their earlier decision on 25 January 2010. TV Palma had been broadcasting during this period, starting in December 2009. Vujović even announced he had been planning on a fresh start with a new slogan - "Srpska, a svetska" ("Serbian, yet world-class"). Starting in late September 2011 TV Palma broadcast via cable (Kopernikus for Belgrade proper, and Avcom for Borča and Krnjača). Its license was revoked on 8 January 2013 as a result of its large accumulated debt.

Programming

Early on, TV Palma's program consisted mainly of

turbo folk In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (also known as a turbo or a turbosupercharger) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake air, forcing more air into the ...

music videos. However, after the launch of

, Palma found it hard to compete and started broadcasting pirated films and satellite TV programs, as well as

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar Drama (film and television), drama genres around the w ...

s. Already in 1994, TV Palma started sporadically broadcasting a number of US TV series including

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

The Colbys ''The Colbys'' (originally titled ''Dynasty II: The Colbys'') is an American prime time soap opera that originally aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from November 20, 1985, to March 26, 1987. Created by Richard and Esther Shapiro and E ...

Barnaby Jones ''Barnaby Jones'' is an American detective fiction, detective television series starring Buddy Ebsen as a formerly retired investigator and Lee Meriwether as his widowed daughter-in-law. They run a private detective firm in Los Angeles, Califor ...

Remington Steele ''Remington Steele'' is an American television series co-created by Robert Butler and Michael Gleason. The series, starring Stephanie Zimbalist and Pierce Brosnan, was produced by MTM Enterprises and first broadcast on NBC from October 1, 1982, ...

The Flying Nun ''The Flying Nun'' is an American fantasy television, fantasy sitcom television series about a community of nuns, which included one who could fly when the wind caught her cornette. It was produced by Screen Gems for American Broadcasting Comp ...

The Big Valley ''The Big Valley'' is an American Western television series that originally aired from September 15, 1965, to May 19, 1969 on ABC. The series is set on the fictional Barkley Ranch in Stockton, California, from 1884 to 1888. The one-hour epis ...

Cagney & Lacey ''Cagney & Lacey'' is an American police procedural drama television series that aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from March 25, 1982, to May 16, 1988. The show is about two New York City police detectives who lead very dif ...

, Tales of the Unexpected,

Charlie's Angels ''Charlie's Angels'' is an American crime drama television series created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts for ABC. It originally aired from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, airing for five seasons consisting of 115 episodes. It was produ ...

M*A*S*H ''M*A*S*H'' (an acronym for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richa ...

The Trials of Rosie O'Neill ''The Trials of Rosie O'Neill'' is an American drama television series which aired on CBS from September 17, 1990 to May 30, 1992. The show stars Sharon Gless as Fiona Rose "Rosie" O'Neill, a lawyer working in the public defender's office for ...

, The Young and Restless,

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that aired on the network NBC from November 8, 1965, to September 9, 2022; the soap has streamed n ...

and I'll Take Manhattan. Later, Palma broadcast a few US teen TV series including Dead at 21 and

Kenan & Kel ''Kenan & Kel'' is an American sitcom created by Kim Bass that originally aired on Nickelodeon from August 17, 1996, to May 3, 2000. Set in Chicago, the series follows mischievous Kenan Rockmore (Kenan Thompson) and his happy-go-lucky best frien ...

. By late 1998, TV Palma shifted its focus to broadcasting a number of political and art shows. Around the turn of 1999, the late-night adult program was cancelled. On 12 December 2000 TV Palma broadcast the first and only interview with

Slobodan Milošević Slobodan Milošević ( sr-Cyrl, Слободан Милошевић, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the President of Serbia between 1989 and 1997 and President of the Federal Republic of Yugos ...

following his overthrow. This was condemned by several MPs from the

Democratic Opposition of Serbia The Democratic Opposition of Serbia ( sr-cyrl, Демократска oпозиција Cрбије, Demokratska opozicija Srbije, abbr. DOS) was a wide electoral alliance of political parties in Serbia, intent on ousting the ruling Socialist Par ...

including

Nebojša Čović Nebojša Čović ( sr-Cyrl, Небојша Човић; born 2 July 1958) is a Serbian businessman, basketball executive, and politician. Since 2011, he has been serving as the president of . Early years and education Čović was born in Belgrad ...

. In late 2001 TV Palma canceled all its political shows and started to orient itself to more commercial content.

Talk show A talk show is a television programming, radio programming or podcast genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show', pp.3-4Erler, Robert (201 ...

host Olivera Miletović confirmed in an interview for Ekspres in May 2001 that this was a precondition set by the US before Palma could be allowed to broadcast via satellite.

Political shows

* ''Dijalog'' (''Dialogue''), a talk show featuring monologues and one-on-one interviews, hosted by Miki Vujović * ''Obračun pod Palmom'' (''Clash under the Palm Tree''), a talk show featuring a panel of guests, hosted by Miki Vujović * ''Radikalski talasi'' (''Radical Waves''), a

propaganda show edited by

Aleksandar Vučić Aleksandar Vučić, (born 5 March 1970) is a Serbian politician serving as President of Serbia since 2017. A founding member of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), he previously served as President of the SNS from 2012 to 2023, Deputy Prim ...

and hosted by Ksenija Vučić * ''Pitanja i odgovori'' (''Questions and Answers''), usually one-on-one interviews, hosted by Olivera Miletović, the show later switched to TV Palma Plus * ''Mon Blan'' (''

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (, ) is a mountain in the Alps, rising above sea level, located right at the Franco-Italian border. It is the highest mountain in Europe outside the Caucasus Mountains, the second-most prominent mountain in Europe (after Mount E ...

''), a

conspiracy theory A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...

show hosted by

Third Position The Third Position is a set of neo-fascist political ideologies that were first described in Western Europe following the Second World War. Developed in the context of the Cold War, it developed its name through the claim that it represented ...

artist

Dragoš Kalajić Dragoš Kalajić ( sr-Cyrl, Драгош Калајић; 22 February 1943 – 22 July 2005) was a Serbian painter, philosopher, art critic, writer and member of the Senate of Republika Srpska. He was one of the most prominent Serbian nationalist ...

* ''H2O'', a talk show hosted by Blažo Popović * ''Kompromis'' (''Compromise''), a talk show hosted by Marko Janković, who transferred from Studio B in 2001 following a controversial episode

Cultural, religious and entertainment shows

* ''Subotom na Palmi'' (''Saturdays at Palma''), a cultural show promoting the Faculty of Dramatic Arts at the

University of Belgrade The University of Belgrade () is a public university, public research university in Belgrade, Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it me ...

, edited and hosted by Maja Volk, switched to ART TV in 2000 * ''Čudesa stvaranja'' (''The Miracles of Creation''), a

creationist Creationism is the religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of divine creation, and is often pseudoscientific. Gunn 2004, p. 9, "The ''Concise Oxford Dictionary' ...

show hosted by Miroljub Petrović * ''Približavanje Hilandaru'' (''Approaching

Hilandar The Hilandar Monastery (, , , ) is one of the twenty Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Mount Athos in Greece and the only Serbian Orthodox monastery there. It was founded in 1198 by two Serbs from the Grand Principality of Serbia, Stefan Neman ...

''), a cultural show about the Hilandar Monastery hosted by Dušan Milovanović, Milutin Stanković and Dragan Tanasijević * ''S blagoslovom u Treći Milenijum'' (''With Blessings, into the Third Millennium''), an Orthodox Christian show hosted by Dušan Milovanović and Milutin Stanković * ''Minimaksovizija'' (''Minimaks-o-vision''), a daytime talk show hosted by

Milovan Ilić Minimaks Milovan Ilić (; 5 November 1938 – 10 February 2005), better known by his nickname and stage name Minimaks ( sr-Cyrl, Минимакс), was a Serbian radio and television personality. Early life He was born on 5 November 1938 in the village o ...

, transferred from TV Pink in 2000 following a dispute with the owner * ''Nešto obično, nešto lično'' (''Something Ordinary, Something Personal''), a daytime talk show hosted by

Lidija Manić Lidija Vera Manić (Pirot, 1953) is a Serbian model and beauty queen who became the first woman from Yugoslavia to win a major international title after being crowned Miss International 1975 in Motobu, Japan. Miss International Manić was succ ...

* ''Peta brzina'' (''Fifth Gear''), a

motor sports Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific terms ''automobile ...

show hosted by race car driver Peca Dobrohotov * ''Putna torba'' (''Travel Bag''), a travel show hosted by Ivan Krivec * ''011'' (the name refers to the calling code for

), a news show covering local politics and cultural events in Belgrade hosted by Aleksandar Ćirić * ''Oaza'' (''The Oasis''), a

nature documentary A nature documentary or wildlife documentary is a genre of documentary film or television documentary, series about animals, plants, or other non-human living creatures. Nature documentaries usually concentrate on video taken in the subject's nat ...

series filmed in Serbia, hosted by Gordana Andrić * ''Visoke potpetice'' (''High Heels''), a fashion show hosted by Ivana Rajković * ''Vitalis'', an

alternative medicine Alternative medicine refers to practices that aim to achieve the healing effects of conventional medicine, but that typically lack biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or supporting evidence of effectiveness. Such practices are ...

show hosted by Vesna Marinković Mičić

Telenovelas

* ''Čipke'' (''

Lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is split into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

'') — 1994-1996 * ''I bogati plaču'' (''

Los ricos también lloran ''Los ricos también lloran'' ("The Rich Also Cry") is a popular telenovela produced in Mexico in 1979, starring Verónica Castro, Rogelio Guerra and Rocío Banquells. Castro also sang the theme ''Aprendí a Llorar'' ("I learned to cry"), a so ...

'') — 1995-1997 * ''Sebične majke'' (''

Madres egoístas ''Madres egoístas'' (''Selfish mothers'') is a Mexican telenovela produced by Juan Osorio for Televisa in 1991. Enrique Novi, Julieta Rosen, Chantal Andere, and Orlando Carrió starred as the protagonists, while Alberto Mayagoitia and Mar� ...

'') — 1996-1997 * ''S one strane mosta'' (''

Más allá del puente ''Más allá del puente'', is a Mexican telenovela produced by Carla Estrada for Televisa in 1993. It is a sequel of the telenovela, '' De frente al sol'' produced in 1992. María Sorté and Alfredo Adame star as the main protagonists. Cast ...

'') — 1996 * ''Zabranjena ljubav'' (''

Sentimientos Ajenos ''Sentimientos Ajenos'' (English: ''Feelings of Others'') is a Mexican telenovela produced by José Alberto Castro for Televisa. It aired on Canal de las Estrellas from Monday August 19, 1996 to Friday January 3, 1997, and it is based on radionov ...

'') — 1996-1998 * ''Gušterov osmeh'' (''

O Sorriso do Lagarto ''O Sorriso do Lagarto'' (The Lizard's Smile) is a Brazilian television series that first aired on Rede Globo in 1991. Cast * Tony Ramos - João Pedroso * Raul Cortez - Angelo Marcos * Maitê Proença - Ana Clara * Carlos Augusto Strazzer - Pe ...

'') — after 1996 * ''Ljubavne veze'' ('' Lazos de Amor'') — 1997-1999 * ''Krivica'' (''The Guilt (1996)'') — 1997-1998 * ''Mali grad Infijerno'' (''

Pueblo chico, infierno grande ''Pueblo chico, infierno grande'' (English: ''Small town, big hell'') is a Mexican historical telenovela set in the Pre-Mexican Revolution period, produced by José Alberto Castro for Televisa in 1997. From Monday, January 6, 1997 until Friday, A ...

'') — 1998-1999 * ''Antonela'' ('' Antonella'') — after 2000 * ''Suze i ljubav'' (''Yo amo a Paquita Gallego'') — 2001 * ''Sve za ljubav'' (''

Aunque me Cueste la Vida ''Aunque me Cueste la Vida'' (English title:Though It Might Cost Me My Life) is a Venezuelan telenovela written by Salvador Garmendia and Martín Hahn and produced by Radio Caracas Televisión in 1998. This telenovela ran for 126 episodes and was d ...

'') — 2001 * ''Plima ljubavi'' (''Marea brava (1999)'') — 2002

In popular culture

In December 2015

Serbian hip hop Serbian hip hop is an umbrella term for all genres of hip hop music in the Serbian language. It sometimes also refers to any hip hop music made by Serbs, including instrumental hip hop, and rap songs by members of the Serbian diaspora, often ...

artist Mimi Mercedez released a music video for her single ''Suši'' (''

sushi is a traditional Japanese dish made with , typically seasoned with sugar and salt, and combined with a variety of , such as seafood, vegetables, or meat: raw seafood is the most common, although some may be cooked. While sushi comes in n ...

''). The logo of TV Palma was featured prominently, and the image was distorted to resemble turbo folk music videos as an homage to 1990s pop culture in Serbia.

References

External links

* {{Television in Serbia Television stations in Serbia Music television channels in Serbia Mass media in Belgrade Defunct mass media in Serbia Defunct television networks Television channels and stations established in 1993 Television channels and stations disestablished in 2006