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.jpg) Bulgarian National Radio headquarters inSofia (2013) | |
| Type | Public-servicesound broadcasting |
|---|---|
| Country | |
Broadcast area | National |
| Headquarters | Sofia |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Government of Bulgaria |
| History | |
| Launch date | January 25, 1935; 91 years ago (1935-01-25) |
| Coverage | |
| Stations | |
| Links | |
| Webcast | List of streams |
| Website | Official website |
Bulgarian National Radio (Bulgarian:Българско национално радио,Bǎlgarsko nacionalno radio; abbreviated to БНР,BNR) isBulgaria's nationalradio broadcastingorganisation. It operates two national channels and nine regional channels, as well as an international service (Radio Bulgaria) which broadcasts in 11 languages.[1]
Listening toradio broadcasts from othercountries having become popular inBulgaria by the late 1920s, a group of engineers and intellectuals foundedRodno Radio[2] ("Native, or Homeland, Radio") on 30 March 1930 with the aim of providingSofia with its ownradio station. Broadcasting began in June of the same year.Rodno Radio was renamedRadio Sofija in 1934.
On 25 January 1935,Boris III of Bulgaria signed aDecree nationalisingRodno Radio and making allbroadcasting in Bulgaria a state-organised activity. In early 1936, a new and more powerfulmedium-wavetransmitter sited nearSofia was joined by additional transmitting stations atStara Zagora andVarna, giving Bulgarian National Radio countrywide coverage, and on 21 May of that yearRadio Sofija began broadcasting internationally.[3]
With the help ofSoviet spare parts in 1946/1947, the first experimental transmissions of the so-called "Sofia II transmitter" were constructed by a technical brigade under the leadership of Eng.Georgi Nestorov.[citation needed]
On 18 January 1960, by order of theMinister of Education and Culture Nacho Papazov, instructions were given that all the activities of radio andtelevision should be in the spirit of the decisions of thecongresses andplenums of theCommunist Party. This marked the beginning of Bulgarian Radio in its modern form, including a common system of national, regional and foreign programmes.
Since 4 January 1971, the first station of Bulgarian Radio has been called "Horizont". The new programme was information and music and borrowed from the format ofRadio France Inter. The second national station was "Hristo Botev" (named after the Bulgarianrevolutionary and poet) and the third station was "Orpheus". The new literary and musical programme sought to introduce its listeners to the more complexaesthetic expressions and concerns in art. On 28 May 1971, the Orpheus programme was broadcast stereophonically for the first time in Bulgaria. In 1972, the new building of the Bulgarian Radio inSofia, at 4Dragan Tsankov Boulevard, was opened.
In the 1980s, for the first time the programmes "Before Everyone", "Good Day", "Sunday 150", "People, Roads, Cars", "Sport and Music", which became emblematic of the Bulgarian National Radio, went on air.
For the first time on 11 November 1989, Petko Georgiev gave the national address "Ladies and gentlemen, good day". In December 1992, due to budget cuts, the Orpheus station (which, since 1977, was broadcasting knowledge programmes daily from 10:00 to 12:00 and from 14:00 to 16:00) was closed down and some of their programmes were transferred toHristo Botev Radio.
With the merger ofEBU andOIRT on 1 January 1993, BNR was admitted to full active membership of theEuropean Broadcasting Union. In 1998, the regional programme "Efir Sofia", broadcasting from 13:05 to 14:00 on 68.05 MHz and 774 kHz in Sofia, was closed down.
On 6 February 2001, the regulatory body NSRT elected poet and translator Ivan Borislavov as the newDirector General of BNR. The majority of the employees of the National Radio strongly opposed his election. Borislavov, interviewed by telephone, suffered aheart attack and was admitted to hospital. On 4 April, theSupreme Administrative Court (SAC) deemed the NSRT's decision of the election of Ivan Borislavov as illegal, and on 28 May, the NSRT elected Polya Stancheva by consensus as the new Director General of BNR. In 2004, a new election was held. In 2004, Polya Stancheva was elected for a second term as Director General of the broadcaster.
On 1 March 2009, after a long prepared start, the next regional program of BNR - Radio Vidin started broadcasting. The license of the radio, issued by the CEM, is for a program serving the population of the districts ofVidin,Vratsa andMontana.
From 2013 to 2015, Radoslav Yankulov was the Director General of BNR. From 2016 to 2019, the Director General of BNR was Alexander Velev.[4]
Radio Bulgaria provides news inBulgarian and also inAlbanian,Romanian,English,French,German,Greek,Russian,Spanish,Serbian andTurkish.
BNR operates the following stations:[5]
The domestic channels are broadcast onFM andAM frequencies. Radio Bulgaria broadcasts principally onshortwave plus onemedium-wave frequency. All stations are also availableonline.
On 26 May 2008, RPTS ofKostinbrod in Bulgaria started the country's first regular broadcasts in digital format, usingDigital Radio Mondiale (DRM). Thissignal is also used as the audio channel accompanyingBNT'stestcard.
Public service broadcasting inBulgaria, including BNR, is financed mainly through astate 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 theCouncil of Ministers, regardless of the programme type.
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