RTCG

What is RTCG?

RTCG is the national public broadcaster of Montenegro. The Zakon o nacionalnom javnom emiteru – Javnom medijskom servisu Crne Gore, published in the Official Gazette (“Službeni list Crne Gore”, br. 060/24) on 24 June 2024, governs it. Article 1 states that the Law regulates “osnivanje, nezavisnost, samostalnost, transparentnost, odgovornost, djelatnost, finansiranje i druga pitanja od značaja za rad nacionalnog javnog emitera - Javnog medijskog servisa Crne Gore”.^[1]

Article 4 provides that the public service is made up of “Radio Javnog medijskog servisa, Televizija Javnog medijskog servisa i Internetska publikacija Javnog medijskog servisa”, and that it “posluje pod skraćenim nazivom RTCG”. Article 5 reads: “Osnivač Javnog medijskog servisa je država.” It continues: “Prava osnivača u ime države vrši Savjet Javnog medijskog servisa (u daljem tekstu: Savjet), u skladu sa zakonom.” Article 20 states: “Savjet ima devet članova.” Article 23 states: “Članove Savjeta imenuje Skupština.” Under Article 63 the Law entered into force on the eighth day after its publication in the Official Gazette.^[1]

RTCG's site lists four television channels, TVCG 1, TVCG 2, TVCG 3 and TVMNE, and six radio channels, among them Radio Crne Gore and R98.^[2] Its own page describing the company states that RTCG is a member of the European Broadcasting Union.^[3]

What does RTCG cover?

RTCG's sport output sits on a path of its main domain, rtcg.me/sport.html. On 23 September 2026 the section was divided into football, basketball, water polo, handball, tennis, volleyball and other sports, with further sections for comment and young talent. It also kept event sections for the World Cup, EURO 2024 and Paris 2024.^[2][4]

The headlines that day ran across domestic and international sport. They covered a coaching change at the football club Petrovac and the national football team's preparations, and a meeting of the basketball federation's assembly. They also covered a water polo match in Kotor, the chess teams at an Olympiad, junior kickboxers at a world championship and the volleyball federation's officials at a CEV congress.^[4] One item was a broadcast listing: “Primorac protiv Budve otvara sezonu (18h, TVCG2)”.^[4]

Article 12 of the Law obliges the public service to produce and broadcast programme content that, in point 2, “na uravnotežen način, uz odgovarajuću zastupljenost informativnih, kulturnih, obrazovnih, naučnih, sportskih i zabavnih emisija, zadovoljavaju interese javnosti na nacionalnom i lokalnom nivou”. Article 24 lists the bodies that propose candidates for the Council, and point 8 reads “Crnogorski olimpijski komitet i Crnogorski paraolimpijski komitet - jednog člana”. Under the same article the proposers in point 8 may propose one candidate together or separately.^[1]

How large is RTCG's audience?

Montenegro has no agreed audience currency. A study dated October 2025 by Stanislav Bender and Robert Tomljenović, prepared with the OSCE Mission's organisational support and published on the website of the Agency for Audiovisual Media Services (AMU), states: “Zasada u Crnoj Gori ne postoji usuglašen i industrijski općeprihvaćen jedinstveni sustav mjerenja gledanosti/slušanosti medija.” It records that Ipsos has run a television measurement with Crnogorski Telekom since 2014.^[5] No channel share from that measurement was retrieved.

The nearest published figure is a survey. Radio Televizija Budva reported on 28 December 2025 on research carried out by Ipsos for the AMU from 25 October to 11 November on 1,041 respondents. It reported that Televizija Vijesti is considered the primary source of information by “više od 40 odsto građana”, followed by “TVCG 1 sa skoro 30 odsto”.^[6] That is a measure of stated primary news source, not of viewing, and it is not specific to sport. The same report lists RTCG among the portals used by the part of the public that reads digital editions, without a figure for it.^[6]

Reporters Without Borders, in its 2026 Index, states: “While the state predominantly funds RTCG and local public broadcasters, the private media are largely subject to the influence of advertisers and market volatility.”^[7]

Since when has RTCG existed?

RTCG's own history dates its radio to 1944 and its television to 1964. It states: “Dvadeset sedmog novembra 1944. godine, u tek oslobođenom Cetinju, oglasilo se Radio Cetinje”. It also states: “Kao zvaničan početak rada Televizije Crne Gore, tada Televizije Titograd u osnivanju, uzima se 4. maj 1964. godine”.^[8] Those are the broadcaster's own accounts.

The same history states: “Od 2002. godine Radio Crne Gore i Televizija Crne Goru su javni radio-difuzni servisi građana Crne Gore.”^[8] The company page states that the online portal has operated since 2013.^[3] The present Law is that of 24 June 2024.^[1]

Why does RTCG matter in Montenegro's sport?

RTCG is the broadcaster the state funds by statute. Article 50 of the 2024 Law directs, each year, “sredstva u iznosu od 1,34% tekućeg budžeta Crne Gore utvrđenog godišnjim zakonom o budžetu” to the public service's core activity. The amount may not fall below the previous year's if the budget is reduced. The same article adds that the manner and conditions of funding “ne smiju uticati na uredničku, finansijsku i institucionalnu nezavisnost Javnog medijskog servisa”.^[1] Its history states of its outside-broadcast vehicles, which together can link 17 cameras, that they “zadovoljavaju kriterijume FIFE I UEFE”, the criteria of FIFA and UEFA.^[8]

Its governance is monitored. The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom's 2026 report states that “Parliament appointed three new members to the public service media RTCG Council in July 2025, restoring the body to full capacity.” It also states that “The contested re-election of the Director General of the national broadcaster RTCG continues to raise concerns over the legality of the process and potential political influence.”^[9] Reporters Without Borders states: “Concerns of possible government attempts to interfere with the independence of the public broadcaster RTCG have resurfaced.”^[7]

Under Article 24 the Olympic and Paralympic committees may propose, together or separately, one candidate for the Council, whose members the Skupština appoints; Article 12 names sports programmes among the content the public service must carry in balance with other genres.^[1]