Search results : 248

In a decision of 20 May 2014 (Решение № ЗОП-01-10/20.05.2014), the Competition Commission rejected a complaint by Mediaresearch Bulgaria EAD (“Mediaresearch”), which is part of the Nielsen Group, concerning the public invitation to tender issued by the BNT director-general for the supply of information on BNT’s audience share and the use of radio and print media. Two rival companies essentially dominate market research in the Bulgarian media sector: the complainant, Mediaresearch, and GfK Audience Research Bulgaria (“GARB”). Whereas one of the two largest commercial TV companies (Nova TV) and the...

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...