Bulgarian National Radio
Bulgarian National Radio (Bulgarian: Българско национално радио, Bâlgarsko natsionalno radio; abbreviated to БНР, BNR) is Bulgaria's national radio broadcasting organization. It operates two national and seven regional channels, as well as an international service – Radio Bulgaria – which broadcasts in 11 languages.
Contents
Domestic channels
National
- Horizont: BNR's most listened-to channel, with round-the-clock news, comment, and music (with the emphasis on modern popular music genres).
- Hristo Botev: covering science and the arts, documentaries and discussions on cultural and social questions, drama, classical music, jazz, and programming for children.
Regional
- Radio Blagoevgrad [1]
- Radio Burgas [2]
- Radio Plovdiv [3]
- Radio Shumen [4]
- Radio Sofiya [5]
- Radio Stara Zagora [6]
- Radio Varna [7]
- Radio Vidin [8]
International
Radio Bulgaria broadcasts in Bulgarian and also in Albanian, Arabic, English, French, German, Greek, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, and Turkish.
Transmission
The domestic channels are broadcast on FM and AM frequencies. Radio Bulgaria broadcasts principally on shortwave plus one medium-wave frequency. All stations are also available online.
On 26 May 2008 RPTS of Kostinbrod in Bulgaria started the country's first regular broadcasts in digital format, using Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM). This signal is also used as the audio channel accompanying BNT's testcard.
History
Listening to radio broadcasts from other countries having become popular in Bulgaria by the late 1920s, a group of engineers and intellectuals founded Rodno radio ("Native, or homeland, radio") on 30 March 1930 with the aim of providing Sofia with its own radio station. Broadcasting began in June the same year.
On 25 January 1935, Tsar Boris III signed a decree nationalizing Rodno radio and making all broadcasting in Bulgaria a state-organized activity. In early 1936, a new and more powerful medium-wave transmitter sited near Sofia was joined by additional transmitting stations at Stara Zagora and Varna, giving Bulgarian National Radio countrywide coverage, and on 21 May of that year Radio Sofia began broadcasting internationally.
On 1 January 1993 BNR was admitted to full active membership of the European Broadcasting Union.
External links
- Official website
- Bulgarian National Radio at LyngSat Address
- Rundfunk und Rundfunkpolitik in Bulgarien (in German)
References
