Radio Marija granted twenty-year concession for radio on 97.2 MHz in Zadar

The Council for Media has granted UDRUZI RADIO MARIJA from Zagreb a concession to perform the activity of providing a radio media service in the area of the City of Zadar, on the frequency 97.2 MHz, for a period of 20 years. The decision was published in the Official Gazette (Narodne novine) number 130 of November 11, 2026, under official number 1538 and class 614-03/26-02/10. This changes the radio offering in the Zadar area, as the previous concessionaire on that frequency was not mentioned in this decision.

The decision was made based on Article 85, paragraphs 8 and 9 of the Electronic Media Act (“Official Gazette” number 111/21, 114/22, and 27/26 – ZEM), following a bidding process conducted according to the Notice of Intent to Grant a Concession no. 4/26, class UP/I-614-03/26-02/04, registry number 114-03/04-26-01, published in the “Official Gazette” number 105 of September 18, 2026. Prior to the publication of the notice, a valuation of the concession was performed and a study on the justification for granting the concession was prepared.

The Council for Media made the decision at the 24-26 session held on October 29, 2026, and it was signed by the President of the Council, Josip Popovac. In the notice, as stated in the explanation, a bid from the association for the area of the City of Zadar (area designation L-ZD) was received within the prescribed deadline, and it was the only one.

Twenty years of broadcasting rights

The concession is granted for 20 (twenty) years, and the selected bidder acquires the right to perform the activity based on the decision itself and the concluded concession agreement. The bidder is UDRUGA RADIO MARIJA, with headquarters at Kameniti stol 11 in Zagreb, OIB 53430563840.

The Council assessed that the bid satisfies the public interest and that it is complete regarding the proposed program basis, as well as technical, spatial, financial, and personnel conditions. The evaluation was carried out according to the criteria from Article 85, paragraph 5 of the ZEM: program quality, publishing time, amount of own production, and the program’s alignment with the public interest of the concession area.

Fee: fixed and variable parts

The annual concession fee consists of two parts, determined in point III of the decision:

• the fixed part is paid for every 50,000 inhabitants in the amount of 66.36 euros;
• the variable part amounts to 0.15% of the total annual gross revenue achieved by the bidder in the previous year;
• the variable part is paid on the amount of annual gross revenue exceeding 663,614.04 euros;
• the minimum annual fee amount is 66.36 euros.

Deadlines the bidder must respect

The decision also sets deadlines related to the technical inspection and the conclusion of the contract, the failure of which to respect means forfeiture of the concession:

• 90 days from the publication of the decision to submit a request to HAKOM for a technical inspection to determine spatial and technical conditions;
• 30 days is the period in which the Croatian Regulatory Agency for Network Industries is obliged to perform the technical inspection from the date the request is delivered;
• 180 days from the publication of the decision to conclude the concession agreement; if the agreement is not concluded, the Council will annul the decision, and the selected bidder has no right to compensation for damages.

Secret Ballot and Legal Remedy

The decision was made by a seven-member Council consisting of: Josip Popovac (President), Robert Tomljenović (Vice President), and members Mladen Čutura, Anita Malenica, Davor Marić, Željko Topić, and Jasna Vaniček-Fila. After reviewing the bids and assessing the programming conditions, the Council proceeded to a secret ballot using ballot papers and awarded the concession by the required majority of votes.

No appeal is permitted against the decision, but an administrative dispute may be initiated before the competent administrative court within 30 days from the date of receipt of the decision, as stated in the legal remedy instructions.

For listeners in the Zadar area, this is a decision with immediate effect: the frequency 97.2 MHz receives a concessionaire for twenty years, with a programming basis that the Council deemed consistent with the public interest. The association thereby enters the circle of radio concession holders in Dalmatia, and the actual start of broadcasting depends on HAKOM’s technical inspection and the signing of the concession agreement within the deadlines specified in the decision.

Source: »Narodne novine«, official gazette of the Republic of Croatia, number 130 from November 11, 2026, volume CLXXXVIII, ISSN 0027-7932.
Document: Council for Media, Decision on granting a concession for providing radio media services in the area of the City of Zadar (L-ZD), 97.2 MHz, number 1538, class 614-03/26-02/10, urbroj 114-03/04-26-02, Zagreb, October 29, 2026, signatory Josip Popovac, President of the Council for Media.