TV channels Bulgaria

Bulgarian television is bigger than the country's size suggests. Between the public broadcaster's four services, two commercial giants, a crowded news scene, a folk-music television culture without equal in the Balkans and regional stations that never died out, watching Bulgarian TV is a full tour of the country's life.

The Public Broadcaster's Four Screens

Bulgarian National Television keeps four distinct services. BNT 1 is the country's first national public channel, carrying public-affairs programming, films and series. BNT 2 is the home of the broadcaster's regional studios and culture, BNT 3, launched in February 2014, is known for high-definition programming, and BNT 4 is the international service that packages news, documentaries and music for Bulgarians abroad.

Commercial Giants and National Talk

The commercial flagship is bTV, Bulgaria's first private national channel, on air since 1 June 2000 and the core of the bTV media group. Its great rival Nova TV is the country's biggest private broadcaster, built on newscasts and primetime entertainment. Bulgaria ON AIR runs as a national poly-thematic channel carried digitally over the air and by cable and satellite operators, while BSTV - Bulgarian Free TV - positions itself as a social broadcaster defending free opinion. Alfa TV, TV1 Bulgaria and Live 7 TV complete the national general-interest row.

The News Business

News is a crowded field. Nova News is the Nova Broadcasting Group's news channel, rolling live blocks, political talk and parliamentary coverage from Sofia. Euronews Bulgaria carries the European network's formula in Bulgarian, from world news to the signature no-comment footage. Bulgaria 24 works the 24-hour news format, BG-Dnes TV is the capital's talk-driven screen, and PIK TV is the television arm of the PIK news agency. Business coverage comes from Bloomberg TV Bulgaria, with markets and economy reporting in Bulgarian.

A Country That Sings

Bulgaria's music television starts with folklore. Eurofolk TV, broadcasting from Veliko Tarnovo since 2006, is devoted to traditional music, dance and festival coverage. The Tiankov family runs two folk services - the flagship Tiankov folk and Tiankov Orient folk - alongside Fen Folk TV, and Folklor TV builds its grid on the country's great ensembles, from Filip Kutev and Pirin to the Mystery of Bulgarian Voices tradition.

Pop and dance are served by radio-born brands: Magic TV from the Magic FM station, The Voice as its radio brand's young hit screen, and City TV, grown from City Radio into a pop and dance channel. B1B Box, DSTV, ZEX TV and the entertainment channel TV BG+ keep Bulgarian pop and pop-folk on screen for viewers at home and in the diaspora.

The Regions Keep Their Own Cameras

Bulgaria's districts still run their own newsrooms. Evrokom and TV Eurocom both broadcast from Pazardzhik on the Thracian plain, TV STZ serves Stara Zagora, DTV covers Dobrich and the grain-growing Dobrudzha plateau, RMTV is the regional screen of Vratsa at the foot of the Balkan Mountains, and MU-Vi tv covers the northwest. Each pairs local news with community shows, agriculture and regional sport.

From Agriculture to the Army

The specialist block is wide. Travel TV, from Sofia's Globus Media Group, was Eastern Europe's first channel dedicated to tourism, with a library of more than 2,500 films from some 90 countries; its sister This is Bulgaria HD TV films the country's own destinations. Code Health TV covers medicine and wellbeing, Code Fashion TV the fashion scene, 100% Auto Moto TV cars and motorsport, and TV art theater, opera and Bulgarian culture. Sport comes from Sportal TV, the television arm of the Sportal sports portal, and from the darts-only TV Darts. Agro TV serves agriculture and rural life with national coverage, and VTK - the Military Television Channel - is the on-screen arm of the Bulgarian Armed Forces.

Faith on Air

Religious broadcasting speaks in three voices. Plovdivska Pravoslavna TV is the channel of the Plovdiv Metropolis, carrying Orthodox liturgies and church life from the country's second city. Bulgarian Christian TV (BChTV) has broadcast Christian programming from Sofia since 2010, and TVNBulgaria carries services, Bible teaching and worship to Bulgarian-speaking believers at home and abroad.