The Media in Bulgaria

Television and radio

Bulgarian television began in 1959, and the state held a monopoly on radio from 1935 to 1989. Today the public broadcasters, Bulgarian National Television (BNT) and Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), compete with many private channels. The two leading private groups, Nova and bTV, are the main TV and online news sources and together take 92% of the advertising market.^1,3

Television and radio are regulated by the Council for Electronic Media (CEM), which issues broadcasting licences under the Radio and Television Act of 1998.¹

News agency, newspapers and online news

• BTA, the Bulgarian News Agency, is the public news agency. It was established in 1898 and serves all media in the country.
• 24 Chasa is still the leading print news source; Trud is another large daily.
• Dnevnik and Capital, both published by Economedia, are among the few quality outlets combining digital subscriptions with advertising, and are known for business and economic news.
• Print media have no legal restrictions. Online media are growing, and younger people increasingly get their news from TikTok and YouTube.

Source: Wikipedia: Mass media in Bulgaria; Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2025: Bulgaria^1,3

Trust and press freedom

The Constitution guarantees freedom of speech. In practice, the media depend heavily on advertising, ownership is concentrated and not always transparent, and journalists report political and economic pressure, threats and lawsuits designed to silence them.^1,2

Reporters Without Borders ranked Bulgaria 71st of 180 countries in its 2026 World Press Freedom Index, down from 70th in 2025. In the Reuters Institute’s 2025 survey, overall trust in news was 26%, and Bulgaria had the highest level of news avoidance of any country surveyed.^2,3