Bulgarian National Radio with growing number of listeners

published on 10/7/10 12:14 PM

BNR Director General Valeri Todorov (center) promotes the publication dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the isntitution. From the left - Kalina Stancheva, Director "Horizont"; Stefan Radovanov, BNR Programming Director; Pauliana Novakova, Doreicto "Hristo Botev"; Milena Dainova, Producer "Radio Sofia".

Photo: Gergana Avjieva

The programs of the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) attract an increasing number of listeners, data from a survey of the country’s radio audience conducted by Market Links Agency in August reveals. Compared to June this year, when a similar survey was conducted, the national channel of the BNR, Horizont, has increased its monthly audience by 2.3 % and was listened to by 32.3 % of the country’s radio listeners. BNR’s specialized national culture program, Hristo Botev, has been monitored by more than 115,000 people – the highest number recorded in the past three years. Radio Sofia, the BNR local station for the Sofia region, has doubled the number of its listeners.

This data was made public at a news conference held on Wednesday in the building of the BNR, where program directors and producers talked about the new tendencies the programming and overall content of the various national and local stations. The Bulgarian National Radio’s Director General Valeri Todorov pointed out that he would continue the efforts for extending the system of transmitters covering the territory of the country. In the past two years, all major problems related to the transmission of the national and regional programs have been solved. Yet, some regions still remain uncovered. “We managed to start the operation of 60 new transmitters without making additional investments, which is a big achievement”, Valeri Todorov stated and added:

“We are now planning to open several new recording studios for Horizont and Hristo Botev stations. The new studios are equipped with the most cutting-edge technologies and the software program Dalet+, which gives extremely good opportunities for fast work with music archives, texts, etc. This will synchronize better the work between radio stations and the radio’s website, which is developing as a parallel interactive media. We are now preparing a financial info page for the website. We intend to provide more specialized financial information for Bulgarian and international audiences in cooperation with specialized financial institutions. What is more, the BNR is the only media in the country with an international service transmitting in 11 languages. We will continue developing new technologies in short-wave transmission for abroad and in digital transmission technologies”, Valeri Todorov explained.

The Bulgarian National Radio is getting more and more oriented towards young listeners. One of its successful efforts in this direction is the Alarma Jazz Punk Festival aired on the waves of Hristo Botev station. “We want to attract the young audience via our website which is to be updated now. We plan to make a specialized online program targeted at the young listeners”, said Stefan Radovanov, programming director of the Bulgarian National Radio.

At the press conference, a new book was presented published to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the BNR. It tells about the media and its ten stations, about its orchestras and choirs, its rich music archives and unique presence in the country’s cultural life. The book also presents Radio Bulgaria, the international service transmitting daily 60 hours of programs in 11 languages.
The Bulgarian National Radio also intends to become the organizer of a forum with the participation of employees of Radio Bulgaria, the Culture and Foreign Ministries and different media. The forum will focus on the type of information Bulgarian citizens living outside Bulgaria need to learn every day, and about the topics that might be interesting to foreign audiences.

Translated by: Rossitsa Petcova

По публикацията работи: Veneta Pavlova

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Bulgarian National Radio with growing number of listeners

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