discop link • #11

CEE dossierTHE YOUNGEST, BUT NOT THE WEAKESTBy Milica VasicOnly a year and half was enough time for TV Atlas to establish itself in themarket and become one of Montenegro's more popular channels, mostlybecause they have chosen their programmes according to the needsof the audience.Atlas TV, from Podgorica, is theyoungest commercial TV networkin Montenegro. In merely year and ahalf in business, they managed to positionthemselves reasonably high andwith the fastest rating increase.The marketing manager, SrdjanFilipovic, says that the licenced programmesfit into the Atlas TV programmeconcept perfectly. The maincriteria which must be met whenchoosing programmes are their qualityand their attractiveness for theaudience, and in establishing partnershipswith copyright owners, theychose assertive subjects with goodreferences, such as, Filipovic says,Croatian Television (HRT) and MotionAvenue.According to Filipovic, "Radio TVAtlas has a clearly defined path aheadof it, and that is toward the leadingposition in the market. According toour goal, our main priority is not makingprofit, but investing in high techequipment, innovations and creatingcapable personnel, which after all areour network's most valuable asset."The secret of success is, accordingto ATV management, in good programmingstrategy. There are a fewprogrammes which stand out andshould be mentioned. We should startwith the most popular one.The game-cum-talk show PIRAMI-DA (PYRAMID), cretaed by DubravkoMerlic, the manager of the Croatianindependent film company CastorMultimedia, is the most popular showin the region for the second year running.In May 2007 at the KKL hall inLucerne, Switzerland, PIRAMIDA wonthe Golden Rose in the category ofShows, one of the world's most prestigiousTV awards, the equivalent of anOscar in the TV industry.In short, the PYRAMID is an interactivegame-talk show, with a competitivestructure and rules that providethe participants with equal opportunitiesof vying for viewer votes throughbeing original, concise and interestingin their treatment of topics.There are three participants oneach show, all three public figures,and while time is strictly measuredthey talk about five topics from thepast week as selected by the editors.The events are not limited to any onefield, but are selected according to themain criterion of their interesting andtopical nature. It is aired weekly andduring the show, viewers vote for theirfavorite and their votes decide the winnerwho moves to the next level of thePYRAMID, namely the next round ofshows that bring together winnersfrom other PYRAMID shows from thesame level.SAVRSEN PAR (THE PERFECTCOUPLE) is a new reality show on TVAtlas in which everyone is a potentialparticipant: the young ladies and menwho apply for the show, the audiencein the studio cheering and supportingthe contestants, and the audiencewatching at home who can send smsmessages with questions for the contestants.In doing so, they are eligibleto win one of numerous prizes. Theshow is hosted by Silvija Vucinic.Another show worth mentioning isFIGHT CLUB. An hour long quiz TVAtlas considers to be suitable for all. Itis produced and hosted by VericaLjesevic and Darko Prascevic. Duringthe one hour long programme, theaudience themselves have a chance towin prizes, as well as the various contestants.In November of this year, TV Atlashas started broadcasting anotherattractive show - TELEFON (THE TELE-PHONE). The biggest and the mostcomplex reality show we've ever had achance to watch in this region. Theproduction company Rikoset, in cooperationwith Dutch Park Lane Productions,has started filming the first seasonof the show TELEFON throughoutthe cities of Montenegro.Rikoset, production companyfrom Belgrade, plans to bring this realityshow to life on the territory of fiveformer Yugoslavian republics.TV Atlas also aims to make theirfilm and series programming rich anddiverse. The main sources of AtlasTV's film content are Paramount andUniversal, which guarantees themwith long-term top quality film programmingwith high ratings. Theschedule includes blockbusters andclassics, comedy, science fiction, horror,thriller and drama.The series broadcast on TV Atlasinclude BBC sitcoms such as MENBEHAVING BADLY, a forty four episodelong comedy premiered in 1992,which had great success in the territoryof the former Yugoslavia. There isalso Dick Wolf's LAW & ORDER:CRIMINAL INTENT, the popular, EmmyAward-winning legal crime drama, andTHE HUNGER, a TV series producedby the Scott brothers' Scott Free company.TV Atlas' schedule is also enrichedwith the Hallmark mini series, FUR-THER TALES OF THE CITY and A GIRLTHING, and Hallmark/Carlton films,such as THE CASE OF THE WHITE-CHAPEL VAMPIRE, MURDER IN THERUE MORGUE, and so on, as well aswith the light drama series SOUS LESOLEIL, produced by the CentreNational de la Cinematographie(CNC). }40 DISCOP LINK • #11 • NOVEMBER 07