United Media renews deals with CNN and UEFA

United Media, the media arm of South-eastern European service provider United Group, has signed a new three-year agreement that extends the distribution deal between its flagship news platform, N1 and CNN.

CNN’s partnership with N1 began in 2014 as the first exclusive affiliation signed by the US media organisation in the Adriatic region.

“We are proud to extend our relationship with N1 as an important affiliate partner in Southeast Europe. Having worked closely with N1 since its launch in 2014, we look forward to continuing our collaboration through supply of content, access to CNN reporting as well as provision of training and consultancy to support N1 as it evolves its product offering,” said Walid Chamak, director, content sales and licensing.

Aleksandra Subotic, CEO of Untied Media said: “Like CNN, United Media is committed to supporting democratic values. Upholding independent media that is free from political interference is crucial for all functioning democracies. This is particularly important in a region where media freedoms are often under pressure. Being a trusted source of accurate and impartial news has been a key factor in the popularity and penetration of our content. We are grateful for the support of CNN which enables us to provide this important service to our audience in Southeast Europe.”

Since its launch in 2014, United Media’s news platform N1 has been among the most viewed cable television channels in each of the countries where it operates: Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Slovenia.

The CNN agreement comes after United Media announced a new multi-year contract for the rights to broadcast the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League on Sport Klub channel in Slovenia.

This contract extends a hugely successful partnership that started in 2012.

From 2024/25 season, the new format of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League will come into force, in which 36 teams will play in the league stage, with a greater number of guaranteed matches in the league stage, from which the best eight will secure placement in the knockout stage. This means that the audience will have more matches to watch the European football giants. UEFA Youth League is also part of new deal.