26 PERSPECTIVES ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS | VOL 44 | 2026 Concentrated ownership and democratic accountability in Croatian television Aaron O. Williams Croatia’s television broadcasting landscape is characterized by concentrated ownership and significant foreign control, both of which raise concerns about democratic accountability. Post-Yugoslav privatization aimed to promote media pluralism; however, it reconfigured prominent structural weaknesses in the system rather than solving them. This article assesses the vulnerabilities of Croatia’s contemporary media system, explores how these vulnerabilities significantly distort the media environment, and examines the implications for democratic accountability in Croatia. Introduction Democratic states rely on independent media institutions to provide diverse viewpoints to the public and expose the wrongdoings of the government and influential figures in society. Without a spectrum of independent media institutions, governments, corporations, and powerful individuals can strategically avoid accountability. As a result, democratic discourse suffers. Such a dynamic, in which media shape and sometimes distort democratic integrity, is especially prevalent in Croatia. Croatia’s transition from state-owned to privately owned media has resulted in a highly concentrated and primarily foreign-owned television broadcasting landscape (Šterle, 2024). Specifically, a handful of media institutions capture more than 91% of the market share, leaving little room for competition (Bilić, 2025). This foreign involvement creates vulnerabilities within Croatia’s media system, including political influence, limited transparency, and lack of diverse perspectives. Without action, the consequences of media concentration will intensify, especially given the lack of effective safeguards. This article analyzes how ownership of Croatian television media interacts with the overall media environment to distort democratic accountability. Croatia’s privatization of television broadcasting did not resolve the structural deficiencies inherited from the socialist era but instead reconfigured them within Croatia’s contemporary media industry. As a result, democratic accountability is undermined not simply by the disproportionally held power within the media but also minimal institutional safeguards, restricted transparency, and political influence. To combat these issues, institutional reform is needed; ownership change or regulatory reform will not be enough to protect democratic accountability. Here, democratic accountability refers to the structural conditions that allow citizens to access diverse, independent, and transparent information, enabling them to evaluate political actors and participate meaningfully in democratic processes. Historical background of media institutions in Croatia Croatia’s current media climate and challenges are rooted in its turbulent path from socialist Yugoslavia to independent democratic state. Understanding Croatia’s historical outline is essential for explaining how structural weaknesses in the media system persisted across regime changes. This section outlines key developments that shaped Croatia’s media institutions and laid the foundation for the contemporary vulnerabilities explored in this article. Media structure and state control in the former Yugoslavia (1918–1990) Josip Broz Tito, the leader of the authoritarian Yugoslav regime, fostered a unique environment, tolerating counter-narratives as well as Western ideas. These conditions differed sharply from other socialist states like the Soviet Union, where any type of foreign media was seen as propaganda and strictly prohibited. Although the early Yugoslav regime tolerated more openness than its Eastern bloc counterparts, it was still far from free. The state had complete governance of the media (Ibáñez et al., 2024). These early dynamics set the stage for a media system that appeared diverse but remained under tight state control. Furthermore, only a few federally doi:10.18275/pbe-v044-005
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