Bulgarian television channel
Television channel
BTV
(stylised as
bTV
) is the first private nationwide television channel in
Bulgaria
. It is operated by bTV Media Group, as part of
Central European Media Enterprises
, and is reportedly the Bulgarian television channel with the largest viewing audience. It was previously owned by
Balkan News Corporation
, part of
News Corporation
. On February 18, 2010, News Corp announced that it had agreed to sell 94% of bTV (along with bTV Comedy and bTV Cinema) to Central European Media Enterprises, after many months of negotiations. The US$400M deal was completed in the second quarter of 2010. bTV has a 37% market share in Bulgaria.
bTV is broadcast terrestrially in Bulgaria and by
satellite
internationally. Most of the channel's original content is available on its
Internet
site. bTV's first broadcast was on 1 June 2000 using
BNT
transmitters for
Efir 2
.
[2]
The channel began broadcasting 24 hours a day on February 18, 2001, after having gradually extended its program. On October 7, 2012, the channel began broadcasting an
HD
version, and the old
SD
channel converted to
16:9
for most newer programs.
bTV is the leading channel in bTV Media Group along with -
bTV Comedy
,
bTV Cinema
,
bTV Action
,
bTV Story
and
RING
. bTV also owns five radio stations -
bTV Radio
,
N-JOY
,
Z-Rock
,
Classic FM
, and
Jazz FM
.
History
[
edit
]
bTV was scheduled to launch on 1 June 2000 with a two-hour schedule. The channel employed a staff of 150 at launch. The airtime was to be increased to six hours from July and eighteen hours from October. Most of the staff and programming was American, hoping to bring local investors. Executive director Albert Parsons had arrived to Bulgaria after assisting in the reorganization process of Fox affiliates
WDFX-TV
and
WPGX
, which at the time were owned by Waitt Media.
[3]
Programmes
[
edit
]
bTV airs reality shows like
Idol
(under the name
Music Idol
, 2007?2009), six seasons of
Survivor
(see
Survivor BG
, 2006?2009, 2014, 2022?), eight seasons of
Got Talent
(see
Balgariya tarsi talant
, 2010, 2012, 2014?2016,2019,2021-), the first two Bulgarian seasons of
Dancing with the Stars
(under the name
Dancing Stars
, 2008?2009), one season of
Beauty and the Geek
(2005), three seasons of
Fort Boyard
(2008?2010), two seasons of
Psychic Challenge
(under the name
Yasnovidtsi
, 2008?2009), one season of
Lord of the Chefs
, (2011), eight seasons of
The Voice of...
(under the name
The Voice of Bulgaria
, 2011, 2013?2014, 2017?), eight seasons of
MasterChef
(2015?2021, 2023), seven seasons of
The Farm
(under the name
Fermata
, 2015?) and TV games like
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?
(under the name
Tova go znae vsyako hlape" "Every kid knows that
", 2007?2009). bTV also broadcast the Bulgarian version of
ABC
`s show
The Dating Game
under the name
Love games
(
Gorchivo
, 2007?2009). The first season of the Bulgarian version of the slovak TV show
Modre Z Neba
(Best wishes) was aired in the fall of 2012 under the name Predaj natatak i.e.
Pass it on
. The first season of the Bulgarian version of the German comedy show
Schillerstraße
was aired in 2013, under the name
Mladost 5
, that is the name of a quarter in Sofia. In the fall of 2013 bTV offered the viewers 4 brand new TV shows in primetime - the first season of the Bulgarian version of
Star Safari
under the name
Afrika: zvezdite sigurno sa poludeli
(i.e.
Africa: the stars must've gone mad
), the Bulgarian version of
The Price Is Right
-
That's the price
, a new culinary show -
A Pinch of Salt
(local version of
Gordon Ramsay: Cookalong Live
) and the Bulgarian version of the Italian comedy show
Striscia la notizia
under the name
The Naked Truth
(
Golata istina
). bTV also produces the Bulgarian versions of
My mom cooks better than yours
,
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
(under the name
Brigada: Nov dom
),
Hollywood Game Night
(under the name
Igrite na zvezdite
),
The Story of my life
,
Wife swap
(
Smeni zhenata
, 2017?2020, 2022) ,
The Nikolas Tsitiridis Show
from 2020, the Bulgarian version of
The bachelor
(
Ergenat
, 2022 -) and the Bulgarian version of
Who wants to be a millionaire?
(
Stani Bogat
, 2021?).
Popular American TV series such as
Monk
(all of the seasons),
The O.C.
(all seasons),
Desperate Housewives
(seasons 1?6),
Ghost Whisperer
(seasons 1?3),
Grey's Anatomy
(seasons 1?6),
Battlestar Galactica
(all the seasons),
Alf
(all the seasons),
Friends
(all seasons),
Ally McBeal
(all seasons),
The Unit
(season 1),
The 4400
(season 1),
American Heiress
(all the episodes),
The Middle
(seasons 1?3),
Nikita
(seasons 1?2),
Pretty Little Liars
(seasons 1?2),
The Vampire Diaries
(seasons 1?3),
The Lying Game
(all the seasons),
Two and a Half Men
(seasons 1?9),
Dallas
(all seasons),
Desire
(all the episodes) and many others were or are also part of bTV's programme. A lot of Turkish series are still part of the schedule of television. In the Summer of 2011 bTV first aired a Korean series -
Iris
and in the Summer of 2013 again first aired an Indian soap opera -
Sapna Babul Ka...Bidaai
and
Diya Aur Baati Hum
.
One of the most popular bTV show is
Slavi's Show
. It has been airing from November 27, 2000, to July 31, 2019, every workday from 22:30 to 23:30 EET with the host and producer
Slavi Trifonov
. The show has 4176 episodes. Other popular bTV shows are
Before Noon
(an everyday talk-show),
The Comedians and friends
(a comedy show),
Paparazzi
,
Marmalad
(a weekend game show),
COOL...T
(a lifestyle show) and others. One of the most successful bTV shows is the documentary reality -
That's life
- it has 12 seasons and is broadcast every Saturday or Sunday afternoon.
bTV News
is the most watched newscast in Bulgaria. The first news emission was on the 18th of November 2000. The bTV News is broadcast workdays at 7:00, 8:00, 9:00, 12:00, 17:00, 19:00 and 23:00 EET and at 12:00, 19:00 EET during the weekends. The morning information blocs are
This Morning
(Monday-Friday),
This Saturday
(every Saturday), and
This Sunday
(every Sunday).
bTV The Reporters
and
bTV The Documents
are special shows for in-depth investigation and documentary series.
bTV The Reporters
is broadcast every weekend after of
bTV The News
airs - around 19:30 EET Other information shows are
Face to Face
(workdays, 17:30?18:00 EET) and
Karbovski: Vtori plan
.
The first Bulgarian TV series, produced by bTV was the Bulgarian remake of
Un gars, une fille
with its local title
Her and Him
. It has 3 seasons aired on bTV and its last, fourth season, was produced and aired on
Fox Life
. bTV also airs other home-made Bulgarian series like
Glass Home
with its 5 seasons. Its producer was SIA and Dimitar Mitovski. Other Bulgarian TV series, produced by bTV are
Citizens in more
,
Seven Hours Difference
,
House Arrest
,
Where is Magi?
(a remake of
¿Donde Esta Elisa?
),
Revolution Z
,
The Family
,
Relations
and
Where is My Elder Brother?
and
Rakia Sunrise
(as part of
The Slavi Show
).
bTV International
[
edit
]
On 1 June 2016 bTV launched an international version of the channel, aimed at the
Bulgarian diaspora
. The channel airs the publicists programming of bTV like "This Morning", "This Sunday/Saturday", "120 Minutes", "Face to face" and others, the news bulletins of the network, other lifestyle shows like "Before Lunch", "Marmalade", "Paparazzi" and "The Comedians", as well as reruns of bTV Media Group's original series. On 13 December 2016, the channel was registered for cable broadcasting in Bulgaria.
References
[
edit
]
|
---|
Public state-owned
| |
---|
Private with national coverage
| bTV Media Group
| |
---|
Nova Broadcasting Group
| |
---|
Investor.BG
| |
---|
|
---|
Private other
| |
---|
Defunct channels
| |
---|
DVB-C
providers
| |
---|
DVB-S
providers
| |
---|
IPTV
providers
| |
---|
Terrestrial
providers
| |
---|
Defunct operators
| |
---|