Search results : 127

On 14 May 2024, amendments to the Gambling Act were published in issue 42 of the State Gazette. The amendments introduced a prohibition in paragraph 1 of Article 10 against gambiling advertising in radio and television programmes, except for the broadcast of the draws of the state-owned "Bulgarian Sports Totalisator" and the announcement of these draws (point 1), and in printed works and electronic media, including websites (point 3). The motives for this legislative decision are to prevent widespread solicitation of gambling and to protect the interests of minors. The following additional...

An amendment to the Law on the Compulsory Deposit of Printed and Other Works and the Announcement of the Distributors and Providers of Media Services was published in issue 94 of State Gazette (dated 13 November 2018). Such “distributors” and “providers” are (i) public and commercial providers of media services under the Radio and Television Act and (ii) online news service providers (electronic newspapers, magazines, news agencies and other electronic publications, excluding social networks - such as Facebook and Twitter - and personal blogs). By 30 June each year, each provider must submit to...

In June 2017, the Bulgarian Parliament initiated amendments in the Administrative Procedure Code with the aim of relieving the Supreme Administrative Court of the many cases it has to deal with. The amendments were passed in July 2018 and they affected the consolidation of proceedings, including those filed against decisions of the Council for Electronic Media (CEM). The President of the Republic of Bulgaria vetoed some of the texts of the law in August 2018. The veto was overruled by the National Assembly at the beginning of September 2018. The Act on Amendments to the Administrative Procedure...

At the beginning of July 2018, the Commission for Protection of Competition announced its decision No. 717, dated 28 June 2018, in which it had carried out a sector analysis of the media market in the country. The research was done at the request of the Minister of Economics, the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Culture. During the research, the Commission for Protection of Competition - the national Competition Authority - got in touch with institutions, trade unions, associations and co-operations as well as with many undertakings, participants in the respective markets in the sector,...

In March 2018, the President of the Republic of Bulgaria, Rumen Radev, referred to the Constitutional Court with a request to declare a specific part of the Radio and Television Act (RTA) as being unconstitutional (file no. 7/2018, rapporteur: Konstatin Penchev). This request concerned Article 24 (Amended, SG No. 47/2010, effective 22.06.2010): “(1) The Council for Electronic Media (CEM) shall consist of five members, of whom three shall be elected by the National Assembly and two shall be appointed by the President of the Republic. (2) The National Assembly resolution and the presidential decree...

On 13 April 2018, a bus travelling in the direction of Sofia overturned on the Trakia highway near Vakarel. Six people were killed, four people were left in a serious condition, and dozens were injured. The Council for Electronic Media (CEM) monitored the programmes of commercial media service providers (NOVA TELEVISION, BTV, CANAL 3 and EVROPA) and the programmes of the national public providers (BNT 1 and radio program HORIZONT) on 13 and 14 April 2018. The purpose of the monitoring was to assess (i) the media’s compliance with the requirements set out by the Radio and Television Act in respect...

Two amendments were made to the Radio and Television Act (RTA) in December 2017. One of the changes concerns the reduction of the administrative burden for applicants who want to provide media services. The amendments envisage for the Council for Electronic Media (CEM) to officially request (ex officio) electronically from the National Revenue Agency, the Customs Agency and the municipalities information for the respective candidate on the presence or absence of obligations to the public authorities, and they come into effect as of 1 January 2018 (published on 17 November 2017 in the Official Gazette,...

At the end of September, the Council for Electronic Media (CEM) accepted an amendment to the Rating Criteria of Content that is unfavourable for or threatens to impair the physical, mental, moral and/or social development of children regarding cinematographic works (See: IRIS 2012-2:1/10). The CEM announced them recently. The following differentiations have been made: - Cinematographic works, films and series, and other audiovisual works, which are not recommended for children under 12 years of age, may be broadcasted throughout the whole duration of media service providers' programmes.- Cinematographic...

The report of the Council for Electronic Media (CEM) represents the data and findings based on the specialised monitoring of the activity of media service providers during the pre-election campaign for the selection of Members of Parliament spanning the period from 24 February to 26 March 2017. On 21 February 2017, the Central Election Commission and the Council for the Electronic Media concluded an agreement on the principles and parameters of the specialised monitoring. The main purpose of the monitoring process was to establish the way in which the electronic media reflects the political subjects...

Article 21, paragraph 2 of the Bulgarian Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act (CNRA) provides that the permission to re-transfer works by means of all other electronic communication networks simultaneously with the broadcasting or transfer in full and in an unmodified form by a different organization, may be granted only through an organization for collective management of copyrights. FILMAUTOR is an organization for the collective management of copyright. It has the right to conclude contracts on the use of the works of the authors in one or more ways and to collect moneys due, stemming from...

The elections for the Bulgarian Parliament were scheduled for 26 March 2017. The Central Election Commission of the Republic of Bulgaria (the Commission) has initiated proceedings for infringement of the Election Code during the pre-election campaign. The infringement is claimed against the coalition parties of “Unification DOST” (“Dost” in the Turkish language means "friend"). The Commission found two videos in connection with the election campaign on the coalition’s official website. One of the videos contains subtitles in a language (Turkish) other than Bulgarian. The Central Election Commission...

The Bulgarian Commission for the Protection of Competition (CPC) found in a decision of 28 February 2017 infringements under Article 37А of the Law on Protection of Competition that ‘bTV Media Group’ Ltd had taken advantage of a stronger position during negotiations. It imposed a pecuniary penalty of BGN 2.915.514 (approximately EUR 1.500.000). The law prohibits any action or inaction of a commercial entity with a stronger negotiation position that contradicts conscientious commercial practice and that damages or can damage the interests of the weaker party during negotiations for potential clients....

On 27 December 2016, Article 116j of the Radio and Television Act (RTA) was revoked. This amendment to the RTA was promulgated in issue 103 of the State Gazette. Article 116j was only introduced into the RTA in 2009; however, in 2015, the European Court of Justice decided that it violated European Union law. Therefore, in December 2016, the Council of Ministers introduced a bill which revoked Article 116j RTA. Article 116j RTA: (1) An undertaking, whereto the Communications Regulation Commission has granted an authorization for use of an individually assigned scarce resource in the radio spectrum,...

On 18 October 2016, the Council for Electronic Media (CEM) approved a procedure for the selection of the General Directors of the national public service broadcasters. The provision of Article 32 paragraph 1 subparagraph 2 of the Radio and Television Act (RTA) provides CEM the authority to choose a General Director of both national public broadcasters. The legislator has not identified the procedure for the selection yet. In its permanent practice, the Supreme Administrative Court decided that if an explicit provision in the law is missing, CEM could identify the rules on its own. Guided by the...

On 13 September 2016, the Council for Electronic Media (CEM) decided that the licenses of ‘TV Seven’ EAD for the provision of audio-visual media services ‘TV7’ and ‘Super 7’ shall be revoked. Sofia City Court had opened bankruptcy proceedings for ‘TV Seven’ EAD and announced the initial date of the bankruptcy by way of resolution no 522 on 17 March 2016. According to CEM, the Radio and Television Act (RTA) envisages that when a media service provider is in bankruptcy proceedings it does not meet the requirements of the law and the CEM shall revoke the license. СЕМ decided to admit a preliminary...

The People's Assembly has passed an amendment to the Radio and Television Act (RTA), published in "Official Gazette" and in force since 5 August 2016, which extends by law the mandate of the management board. With the first amendment of the RTA, published in "Official Gazette" from 17 June 2016, a similar change had been introduced for the General Directors of the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) and the Bulgarian National Televesion (BNT). According to the amendment, the General Director of BNR and the General Director of BNT can continue to exercise their rights after their mandates expire, until...

On 21 June 2016, the Council for Electronic Media (CEM) came out with a report on an incident related to a contestant of the rhythmic gymnastics national team, in which a young woman fell out of an apartment on 6th floor. Without a confirmation by the official authorities, the media categorized the incident as an attempted suicide and reported it extensively. The purpose of CEM’s report is to trace whether the requirements of the Radio and Television Act (RTA) related to the personal life and privacy have been observed during the broadcast of the case, whether there is any risk of a secondary victimization,...

On 20 May 2016, immediately after the election of the General Director of the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) on 17 May 2016, deputies of all Parliamentary groups submitted a bill for an amendment and supplement of the Radio and Television Act (RTA). According to the amendment, the General Director of BNR and the General Director of Bulgarian National Television (BNT) continue to exercise their rights after their mandates expire, until the new General Directors begin their duties. On 2 June 2016, the text passed at the first and second reading in one plenary sitting, which is a precedent in the...

On 12 January 2016, Decree No. 380 of 29 December 2015, implementing the state budget of the Republic of Bulgaria for 2016, was promulgated in State Gazette, issue 3/2016. The State Budget Act was promulgated in the State Gazette, issue 96/2015 on 9 December 2015. The State Budget Act provides for an on-budget subsidy for the Bulgarian National Radio of BGN 42,112,000 (~ EUR 21.530.000) and an on-budget subsidy for the Bulgarian National Television of BGN 65,147,000 (EUR 33.310.000) according to Article 1, paragraph 2. The sum of the state funding received has not changed in comparison to the previous...

On 11 December 2015, the Council for Electronic Media (CEM) announced the results of its monitoring during the pre-election campaign for local elections and a national referendum. The monitoring was carried out on 17 public programmes created by public suppliers of media services: 14 with national and regional range by the public service broadcaster Bulgarian National Television (BNT) and the Bulgarian National Radio; one programme of the Political Party Attack, Alpha Television; and two radio programmes implemented by the Municipalities Burgas and Veliko Tarnovo (The Voice of Burgas and Veliko...

On 29 October 2015 the National Assembly did not pass the activity report of the Council for Electronic Media (CEM), after the Assembly held a plenary discussion on the matter on 28 October 2015. Pursuant to Article 39, para 1 of the Radio and Television Act (RTA), CEM has the duty to present a report on its activities for discussion at the National Assembly no later than 31 October for the first half of each year, and no later than 31 March for the second half of the previous year. In addition, CEM has to post the report on its internet webpage. On 21 May 2015, the Committee on Culture and Media...

On 20 July 2015, the Council for Electronic Media (CEM) remembered its position of March 2014 against television advertising which relies on direct and naturalistic suggestions. At its regular meeting on 25 March 2015, the Council for Electronic Media discussed the psychological effects on the audience of television advertising of products intended to solve physiological and hygienic problems (like sanitary napkins, cleaning products, and antifungal, anti-cystitis, anti-prostatitis, anti-dandruff, anti-diarrhoea medicinal products, etc.) relying on direct and naturalistic suggestions. Discussions...

On 7 April 2015 the Council for Electronic Media (CEM) prepared a report on the results of the monitoring of the television channel "PRESS TV". The monitoring found that the recordings of the flooding of the town Kazanlak were presented correctly. On 1 February 2015, the town of Kazanlak was flooded and local media showed how the municipality was dealing with the situation. The event was also covered by a journalist from the television channel "PRESSTV". In a personal conversation, the Mayor of the town complained to a prosecutor from Kazanlak. She said that the television channel "caused panic"...

The Council for Electronic Media (CEM) has issued a Report on the share of European productions for 2013 concerning the application of Article 13, Article 16 and Article 17 of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive and of the Article 19, paragraph 2 to 4 and Article 19а of the Radio and Television Act. The providers of linear media services with national coverage for the year 2013 constitute a total of 57, 38 of which have provided data: more than half of the programmes - 36 programmes - have met the quota of 50% for the share of European productions in broadcasting time. The quota for independent...

On 26 February 2015, the Council of Electronic Media published on its website a penalty statement for a violation of the Radio and Television Act. On 2 November 2014, on the "Nova TV" channel in the "Dikoff" programme were included marked blocks with commercial messages. The measurements of the audio signal, performed with the “TSL Pam Pico” system and certified by measurement protocols, show a difference between the volume of the broadcast commercial messages (advertising and self-promotions) and that of the rest of the programme. The measurement results show that the volume at the time of broadcasting...

On 21 January 2015, twelve new members of the national Ethical Journalism Committee began their work. The members of the committee were elected by the Board of Founders of the “National Council on Journalistic Ethics” foundation, which includes representatives of some of the most influential media organisations in Bulgaria - the Association of Bulgarian broadcasters (ABBRO), the Bulgarian Union of Publishers and the Media Development Center. The foundation was created in 2005 and, to date, there have been two operating committees: the ethical committee for printed media and the ethical committee...

On 21 October 2014, the Council for Electronic Media (“CEM“) presented its report on the 2014 National Parliament elections. In its report, the CEM concluded that, in more significant television programmes on a variety of audiovisual media service providers (like bTV, Nova, TV 7 and News 7) paid political advertising dominated in comparison to the non-paid agitation forms. According to the CEM report, the dominating broadcast presence of the little parties, coalitions and initiative committees during the election period was stimulated by media packages, which were paid by the government. With regard...

On 10 June 2014, the Council of Electronic Media (“CEM”) published its report on the 2014 European Parliament elections. The Election Code of Bulgaria for the first time requires the identification of both the free of charge political campaigning and the paid forms of political campaigning (Article 179 of the Election Code). The monitoring has demonstrated, as regards TV programmes, that there is a trend to distinguish in a clearer manner paid content from non-paid content. Part of the media service providers (Nova television, bTV, TV 7, Bulgaria on air, Eurocom Tsarevets, bTV Action, TV Plus)...

On 1 July 2014, the prohibition for offshore companies to own media or to take part in the ownership of media entered into force. The prohibition refers to periodical, radio and/or television (for more details see IRIS 2014-3/9). The ban is applicable to companies, who are registered in countries with a preferential tax regime and applies to any person related to them as well as their beneficial owners. On 14 July 2014, the Council for Electronic Media (“CEM”) presented an expert report, in which the owners of the television companies, that are offshore companies, are listed as follows: bTV Media...

On 20 May 2014, the Council for Electronic Media took decisions to terminate the licences for the distribution of two audiovisual media services. On the one hand, this concerned the audiovisual media service under the label „bTV Lady+1“, having a specialised profile (targeting the female audience), nation-wide territorial coverage and designed for distribution by means of terrestrial digital distribution networks. The other decision was directed towards the audiovisual media service under the label „РИНГ.БГ+1“ (RING.BG+1) having a specialised profile (in the fields of sports and entertainment),...

Since the beginning of 2013 the bTV Media Group EAD decision-makers have decided to broadcast by means of the digital network one of its programmes, namely bTV Lady+1, and further in October 2013 another of its programmes, namely Ring.bg+1. ‘+1’ means that the TV programme shall be broadcast free-to-air one hour later than the broadcasting in the paid distributors. At its meeting of 25 March 2014, the съвет за електронни медии (Council for Electronic Media - CEM) agreed to hear the Media Group EAD decision-makers with regard to their request to withdraw from terrestrial digital distribution its...

Neterra EOOD (hereinafter ‘Neterra’) has brought proceedings before the Bulgarian Commission for Protection of Competition (hereinafter ‘the Commission’) asserting that a breach of the Bulgarian Law on Protection of Competition (hereinafter ‘the Law’) has been committed by bTV Media Group EAD (hereinafter ‘bTV’). It is contended that this breach is in the form of ungrounded refusal of bTV to provide services aimed to hinder the activities of Neterra as well as in the application of different conditions with regard to the same types of contracts and with regard to particular partners whereupon these...

In January 2014, the Bulgarian Act on the Economic and Financial Relations with Companies Registered in Preferential Tax Regime Jurisdictions, the Persons Related to Them and Their Beneficial Owner (or as it has become well-known by its short title Act on Offshore Companies, the “Act”) was promulgated in the State Gazette, issue No. 1 of 3 January 2014. Article 3 point 20 of the Act provides that companies, which are registered in preferential tax regime jurisdictions, or any person related thereto shall be prohibited from establishing or acquiring direct or indirect shareholding in a legal person...

The State budget subsidy for the national public service media provider, Bulgarian National Television (‘BNT’), has been reduced by nearly BGN 5 million (EUR 2.5 million) for 2014 as compared to 2013 figures. In 2014, BNT shall receive BGN 65.15 million from the State as compared to the sum of BGN 70.13 million in 2013. Under point 3 of Article 70 (3) of the Radio and Television Act (‘RTA’) the budget of the public television is funded by means of a State budget subsidy. The Members of the Bulgarian Parliament have passed in plenary session the reduced amount of the BNT State funding notwithstanding...

At its regular meeting on 5 November 2013, the Council for Electronic Media (CEM) have discussed the results of its focused monitoring of the electronic mass media coverage of the reception of refugees in the country. In general, there is timely, versatile and professional provision of information with regard to the refugees issue for the benefit of the audience; however isolated cases of hate speech and of the use of illegal and morally questionable qualifications have been detected such as the use of the words “cannibals”, “mob”, “despicable primates”, etc. Besides undertaking all the necessary...

Through its Decision No 8 of 11 October 2013 in constitutional case No 6 of 2013 the Constitutional court of the Republic of Bulgaria has declared that Article 26, point 3 and Article 59 (2), point 3 of the Radio and Television Act are unconstitutional and incompatible with the international treaties to which Bulgaria is a party. The proceedings were instituted on 16 January 2013 on an initiative from 57 Members of the 41st National Assembly (i.e. the previous composition of the National Assembly). In the petition instituting proceedings it is alleged that the contested dispositions of Article...

On 12 September 2013, the National Assembly adopted two decisions for information purposes regarding two reports of the Council for Electronic Media (CEM), which cover the period from 1 January 2012 to 30 June 2012 and the period from 1 July 2012 to 31 December 2012 respectively. The CEM is obliged under the provisions of Article 86(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria and Article 39(1) of the Radio and Television Act to submit to the National Assembly a report on its activity for the first half of each current year not later than 31 October in the same year and for the second half...

On 30 September 2013, the analogue broadcasting of television signals was terminated in Bulgaria. The simultaneous emission of analogue and digital signals, which has lasted for a six months period, has thus been brought to an end. A network has been established for the broadcasting of public television programme services - BNT1, BNT2 and BNT HD -, which reaches 96.2 % of the country’s population. Another two networks have been established for the broadcasting of the commercial television programme services. The first of these networks, which reaches 96.2 % of the country’s population, is used...

On 13 August 2013, the Council for Electronic Media (hereinafter CEM) adopted a Declaration on the basis of Article 32(2) of the Radio and Television Act (RTA). In this Declaration, the Members of the CEM request the Bulgarian journalists community to dissociate themselves from the expression of hostile statements and hate speech in accordance with Bulgarian media law. The Declaration goes beyond the issue of how journalists report in their own wording and focusses on the way Bulgarian media report about statements of third persons that could be considered hate speech. The CEM also addresses electronic...

The rotation of the composition of the Council for Electronic Media (CEM), the Bulgarian broadcasting regulatory authority, in accordance with the quota of the National Assembly’s members has been delayed for a year. The upcoming need to elect the General Director of the public television broadcaster has made a new composition of the CEM urgently necessary. On 27 June 2013, the National Assembly adopted the Rules of Procedure for the nomination of candidates, submission of documents, hearings of the candidates and election of a member of the CEM in accordance with the National Assembly’s quota....