Bulgarian National Radio

BULGARIAN NATIONAL RADIO (BNR) was officially established on January 25, 1935 following a Statutory Ordinance of the Bulgarian Cabinet that declared radio broadcasting state property.

The Bulgarian National Radio is an autonomous informational and cultural institution of public character which is financed by means of a state subsidy and commercial income. It covers the whole territory of Bulgaria via its two national channels – Horizont (news and current affairs profile) and Hristo Botev (cultural profile), and 9 regional radio channels (Blagoevgrad, Bourgas, Kardjali, Plovdiv, Shumen, Sofia, Stara Zagora, Varna and Vidin).

BNR’s world service Radio Bulgaria is on the internet with audio files in 11 languages – Bulgarian, English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Serbian, Greek, Albanian, Turkish and Arabic.

In 2002, Horizont drew daily 26.1 percent of the national radio audiences in the country. In 2008, amidst a highly competitive media environment, the popularity of Horiziont channel stood at about 38.0 percent. Currently the ratings are between 25% and 20%. These continuously high ratings are due to the channel’s ability to modernize itself. Thus, in 2007 Horizont launched ten new programs in the fields of political talk show, contemporary music, entertainment and tourist service information. This tendency of programme renewal still continues. Not surprisingly, media pundits and lay observers consider Horizont a modern and dynamic channel, well-deserving of its reputation of “the school for journalists.”

The BNR’s second national channel Hristo Botev is the only one specializing in culture and education. The channel offers programs focused on artistic, civic, scientific and political themes and issues beyond the present moment. These programs analyze in-depth events and processes pertaining to Bulgarian culture, history and society. The channel dedicates special time and focus on the culture and traditions of Bulgaria’s ethnic minorities. Hristo Botev also airs precious audio documents from the “Golden Fund,” or the archives of the BNR. The channel thus seeks to abridge the past and the present and to connect generations of Bulgarians over time and space.

In July 2012 the Bulgarian National Radio launched a new multimedia channel on the internet – Radio Binar. The primary goal of this platform is to reach and to communicate with the young audiences on one of their characteristic territories – the internet. It offers them the opportunity to find their “own” radio programs, hosted by young people too, who speak the language of the new generations – the language of the social networks. In addition, it gives them the chance to find the high-quality content produced by the national media BNR. Taking advantage of the new technologies, Binar integrates linear and non-linear content, which results in various options: to watch, listen to and participate in radio shows on-line, but also to use content, regardless of place and time. Besides offering programs with live cameras in the studio, Binar also proposes on podcast a selection of programs by categories from all 11 national and regional channels of BNR, and in addition outside broadcast productions such as concerts and cultural events, as well as, web books.

Radio Binar also has six 24-hour music channels, which integrate, on the one hand, the tastes of the young – indie, chill out, and on the other, present the richness of classical music and Bulgarian pop music, available in BNR’s music archive.

During its 90 year-old history, BNR has developed into the country’s biggest multi-program media and ranks among the leading cultural institutions with its six musical formations (a Symphony Orchestra, a Folk Music Group, a Big Band, a Mixed Choir and two Children’s Radio Choirs), a museum of Radio in Bulgaria and the richest sound archive. The media’s so-called “Golden Archive” is in fact a priceless collection of sound documents which can be termed “the sound memory”, not only of BNR, but also of the whole nation. This permanent collection comprises sound documents of all meaningful public events in Bulgaria and around the world of political, economic, cultural, sports etc. character. BNR is also the only electronic media which broadcasts, records and keeps an archive of all important cultural events and concerts in the country. In addition, it is the biggest producer of Bulgarian music and the only media in Bulgaria producing radio drama and children’s radio programs.

The Bulgarian National Radio is a member of the European Broadcasting Union since 1993 and participates actively in the events and activities organized within the union.