Bulgaria
Bulgaria passed a broadcasting law in 1996, one of the last European countries to do so. National radio and TV were given the status of public services and granted independence. bTV, Bulgaria's first national commercial channel, was launched in May 2000 by Balkan News Corporation (part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation). Nova TV won the bid for a second national commercial TV license in 2003. Several privately-owned regional television stations are also on the air.
Press: The weekly newspaper, Sofia Echo, is available in English, as is the daily business publication Pari (Money). Both of these are available in print or online versions. The most popular dailies include Trud (Labor) and 24 Chasa (24 Hours).
TV: BNT (Bulgarian National Television) is publicly owned and operates Kanal 1 and satellite channel TV Bulgaria; bTV and Nova TV are national, commercial networks; 7 Dni is private.
Radio: Publicly owned BNR (Bulgarian National Radio) operates Horizont, cultural network Hristo Botev and external service Radio Bulgaria. Darik Radio is a national, commercial station.
