Bulgaria’s power stranglehold on TV: the ousting of a top anchor signals deeper media woes

In Bulgaria, a country grappling with political instability and upcoming snap elections, the sudden removal of a prominent morning show anchor from one of the nation’s leading private TV channels has ignited protests and spotlighted the fragile state of media freedom.

The decision by bTV to remove Maria Tsantsarova from its flagship program “This Morning” is officially framed as a routine programming change. However, many see it as a symptom of broader political pressure eroding independent journalism in a nation already ranked low on global press freedom indexes.

bTV, Bulgaria’s first private television network, has been owned by the Czech investment firm PPF Group since late 2020. Tsantsarova, a journalist renowned for her incisive interviews and investigative reports—some targeting figures like Delyan Peevski, sanctioned by the US and UK for corruption—had hosted the highly viewed morning block since 2023. Her abrupt dismissal triggered an unprecedented protest outside the channel’s headquarters, organized by the Association of European Journalists (AEJ). The NGO highlighted a months-long smear campaign against her in tabloid media, including calls for her removal.

“We are deeply concerned about the risk of another ’emptying of chairs’ for critical voices in Bulgaria’s national airwaves,” the AEJ stated in a position paper.

Opposition politicians from the pro-European coalition We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (PP-DB) rallied in her defence. Lawmaker Ivaylo Mirchev declared in parliament that “bTV is firing Maria Tsantsarova while [former Prime Minister] Borissov and Peevski laugh smugly.” This echoes widespread public outrage against the “captured state” model associated with Peevski and Boyko Borissov, which sparked massive protests in Bulgaria and European cities, ultimately toppling a government.

According to Reporters Without Borders’ 2024 World Press Freedom Index, Bulgaria slipped 11 spots to 70th place, joining Greece and Cyprus as the EU’s lowest-ranked nations. The report notes that television (including public broadcaster BNT, bTV, Nova TV, and others) and online media remain the primary news sources. It criticizes the political affiliations of the Council for Electronic Media, which undermine public broadcasters’ editorial independence, while private outlets face threats from owners’ interests in regulated sectors.

Bulgaria’s TV landscape often prioritizes appeasing those in power, a pattern of adaptive loyalty that persists across ownership changes and political shifts. Behind the scenes, editorial decisions are influenced by hidden political agendas, rarely exposed due to journalists’ strict confidentiality clauses. Business priorities of media owners frequently trump public interest.

The two largest channels, bTV and Nova TV, are part of European conglomerates intertwined with government dealings. Nova TV belongs to United Group, which also owns Bulgaria’s biggest mobile operator Vivacom and operates media and telecoms in six other Balkan countries: Serbia, Greece, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. Under previous Bulgarian owners, the Domuschiev brothers, Nova shed several investigative journalists and managers.

PPF, owner of bTV and telecom Yettel, has emerged as one of Bulgaria’s top investors. Its subsidiary Škoda Group secured major public contracts, including 68.5 million euros for eight metro trains and 56.19 million euros for 75 trolleybuses for Sofia’s municipality, plus 261.3 million euros for 20 electric trains for state railway BDZ. Additionally, telecoms like Vivacom, Yettel, and A1 (the only major one without TV ties) are slated to receive over 200 million euros from the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Plan for high-speed internet in underserved areas.

PP-DB MP Bozhidar Bozhanov speculated on another PPF interest: assets of Russian oil giant Lukoil in Bulgaria. “The cherry on top: Is PPF negotiating to buy the refinery from Lukoil? If so, as information suggests, Peevski holds the final stamp on the deal—something GERB [Borisov’s party] voted for him: the State Agency for National Security to approve every transaction specifically with Lukoil,” Bozhanov commented on BNT.

Amid the Ukraine war, the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Lukoil, which owns the Balkans’ largest refinery, over 220 gas stations, and pipelines in Bulgaria.

Unlike in many countries, Bulgaria’s morning TV slots are intensely politicized, with attempts to depoliticize them failing due to rating drops. bTV has increasingly favored entertainment over news, with reality shows and infotainment dominating schedules, leaving the morning block as the longest public affairs program. Yet these slots are precarious for journalists at both bTV and Nova, with departures often couched as resignations “by mutual agreement” or for “new projects.”

Notably, two former bTV morning hosts pursued politics: Nikolay Barekov as party leader and MEP and Anton Hekimyan, the latter running as Borisov’s GERB candidate for Sofia mayor.

Due to contracts, TV staff rarely disclose internal pressures. Former bTV news director Venelin Petkov spoke out five years post-departure, telling Darik Radio his exit was “obviously part of the deal for the channel’s ownership change.” Three years after leaving Nova, ex-news director Darina Sarelska revealed she was ousted for refusing to fire morning anchors Ana Tsolova and Viktor Nikolaev. Tsolova herself admitted quitting Nova over a year later but never detailed why.

Media regulator chair Simona Veleva expressed grave concern over Tsantsarova’s case. “Removing anchors for being critical harms democracy and contributes to Bulgaria’s low press freedom rankings,” she said, urging clear motives be stated.

The Tsantsarova incident is no anomaly but a symptom of systemic issues. In Bulgaria, where TV is the main information source, it offers no guarantee of impartiality. When media, business, and state interests align, free speech becomes their captive – especially as snap elections loom, potentially amplifying the trend toward owner-friendly infotainment over hard-hitting journalism.

Caption: Maria Tsantsarova and co-anchor Zlatimir Yochev before her removal from the morning show on bTV. On 22 December Yochev refused to run the show on his own. Screenshot, Dnevnik, partner of EUalive.