Bulgarian National Radio

Bǎlgarsko Nacionalno Radio
Bulgarian National Radio

Bulgarian National Radio headquarters inSofia(2013)
Type	Public-servicesound broadcasting
Country	Bulgaria
Broadcast area	National
Headquarters	Sofia
History
Launch date	January 25, 1935(1935-01-25)
Coverage
Stations	Horizont Hristo Botev Radio Bulgaria
Links
Webcast	List of streams
Website	http://www.bnr.bg/

Bulgarian National Radio(Bulgarian:Българско национално радио,Bǎlgarsko nacionalno radio;abbreviated to БНР,BNR) isBulgaria's nationalradio broadcastingorganisation. It operates two national and nine regional channels, as well as an international service –Radio Bulgaria– which broadcasts in 11 languages.

History

Listening to radio broadcasts from other countries having become popular in Bulgaria by the late 1920s, a group of engineers and intellectuals foundedRodno radio( "Native, or homeland, radio" ) on 30 March 1930 with the aim of providingSofiawith its own radio station. Broadcasting began in June the same year.Rodno radiowas renamed toRadio Sofijain 1934.

On 25 January 1935,Boris III of Bulgariasigned a decree nationalisingRodno radioand making all broadcasting in Bulgaria a state-organised activity. In early 1936, a new and more powerful medium-wave transmitter sited near Sofia was joined by additional transmitting stations at Stara Zagora and Varna, giving Bulgarian National Radio countrywide coverage, and on 21 May of that yearRadio Sofijabegan broadcasting internationally.

With the merger of EBU andOIRTon 1 January 1993, BNR was admitted to full active membership of theEuropean Broadcasting Union.

Domestic channels

BNR operate the following stations:

National

• Horizont:BNR's most listened-to channel, with round-the-clock news, comment, and music (with the emphasis on modern popular music genres).
• Hristo Botev Radio:covering science and the arts, documentaries and discussions on cultural and social questions, drama, classical music, jazz, and programming for children.

Regional

• RadioBlagoevgrad(1973–)
• RadioBurgas(2012–)
• RadioKardzhali(2016–)
• RadioPlovdiv(1955–)
• RadioShumen(1973–)
• RadioSofia(1962–1998, 2007–)
• RadioStara Zagora(1936–)
• RadioVarna(1934–)
• RadioVidin(2009–)

International

Radio Bulgariaprovides news inBulgarianand also inAlbanian,Romanian,English,French,German,Greek,Russian,Spanish,SerbianandTurkish.

Transmission

The domestic channels are broadcast onFMandAMfrequencies. Radio Bulgaria broadcasts principally onshortwaveplus onemedium-wavefrequency. All stations are also availableonline.

On 26 May 2008, RPTS of Kostinbrod in Bulgaria started the country's first regular broadcasts in digital format, usingDigital Radio Mondiale(DRM). This signal is also used as the audio channel accompanyingBNT's testcard.

Funding

Public service broadcasting in Bulgaria, including BNR, is financed mainly through a state subsidy. The subsidy has to be spent on the preparation, creation and the transmission of the national and regional programmes. Its volume is determined annually on the basis of the average programme production costs per hour approved by the Council of Ministers, regardless of the programme type.

Sources

• Todorov, Aleksandar B. (2010)."The Broadcasting System in Bulgaria at the End of the Analogue Age: An Economic Perspective"(PDF).Working Papers of the Institute for Broadcasting Economics at the University of Cologne(261). Germany.Retrieved29 January2019.

External links

• Official website(in Bulgarian)
• Bulgarian National Radio at LyngSat Address
• Rundfunk und Rundfunkpolitik in Bulgarien(in German)