The great boom of the small televiosion channels
date: 09.11.2000
During the last year the national media market may be viewed as static. Just four TV channels have large audience shares and retain their positions unchanged within the last 12 months. These are the two BNT channels - KANAL 1 and EFIR 2, watched respectively by 81 per cent and 40 per cent of viewers in February, NOVA TELEVISIA with a 18 per cent share of the audience and EUROCOM with a 10 per cent share. The rest of the TV channels have average annual shares lower than 5 per cent and often exchange their positions on the grid.
The leadership of BNT programs seems invincible. That is true regarding TV audience on a statewide scale. Yet, strong regional competition lurks behind the seeming calmness of the national media market. Regions in the country turn into some sort of "media enclaves" where strong regional channels provide high and focused audience coverage. The success of TOP TV in Northeastern Bulgaria, SKAT and RENT TV in Bourgas, VEREYA CABEL and ST. ZAGORA in Stara Zagora, MSAT, VARNA, DIEMA+ and MUSTANG in Varna and many other may be an example. Most indicative is the situation in Sofia, where the private-owned NOVA TELEVISIA is a leader for more than half an year.
The increasing popularity of smaller TV channels along with the expectation of changes in the current situation after a new national-level contender emerges lead to a general trend of increase in the total audience of channels with regional coverage and popularity. In February, the smaller cable televisions together with the regional air-transmitted programs hold the attention of 54% of the viewers. That is 10 per cent higher then a year earlier when this rating accounted for 44%.
However, along with their regional popularity, small TV channels constantly raise their national audience as well. Due to their entertainment aspect and the apt selection of films in the first place, the channels MSAT, DIEMA+ and MUSTANG attained stable positions in the group of nationwide popular media. Their audiences constantly increase in the big towns and cities, where the cable operator net is the thickest. New Year's Eve turned into the Winter of Our Discontent: in January the viewers neglected BNT programs and redirected their interest to smaller air-transmitted and cable channels. Despite the fact that in February the national media restored their audience shares, the warning remains - status quo notwithstanding, choice opportunity does exist.
