Euronews Bulgaria, a news channel aimed at Bulgarian speaking audiences, started broadcasting on Thursday, May 5. A branded affiliate of the leading European news channel Euronews, it is set to cover local, regional and international news on TV and digital platforms, in Bulgarian.

The launch of this new channel is another milestone in Euronews’ development, which has since 2018 put in place five branded affiliate projects. Euronews Bulgaria, which was born out of a partnership signed in April 2021 between the European media and local network TV Europa, is the fourth branded affiliate channel to start airing, after Euronews Albania, Euronews Georgia and Euronews Serbia. Euronews Romania will follow suit at the end of the month.

With its own teams of correspondents throughout Bulgaria, but also in Brussels, the new channel has embraced the fundamental values of independence, impartiality and pluralism, which lie at the heart of Euronews’ editorial offer. Its resolutely European identity will give it a unique position on the Bulgarian market.

Euronews Bulgaria will also benefit from Euronews’ editorial content which will be included in its regular news bulletins alongside original content produced by the local teams. In exchange, Euronews will be able to draw on Euronews Bulgaria journalists’ expertise when covering the country’s news.

In order to guarantee the new channel’s independence, Euronews has put in place various mechanisms that have proven to be efficient in the development of its branded affiliate network, including establishing an editorial board controlled by Euronews and appointing an Editor-in-Chief selected by Euronews and who is now a Euronews employee.

Marina Stoimenova, who has held several important positions in the Nova Broadcasting Group’s newsrooms, has been appointed to this role and will lead an editorial team of almost 50 people (out of a total of 80 employees). She will be responsible for ensuring that the channel’s editorial charter and values are complied with on a daily basis and will report to François Chignac, Euronews’ Branded Affiliates Editorial manager, based at the media’s headquarters in Lyon, France.

Marina Stoimenova Euronews Bulgaria Editor-in-Chief said: “We are excited to join the Euronews family, and to benefit from the experience, expertise and reputation of this well-established European news channel. The whole team at Euronews Bulgaria adheres to Euronews’ mission, which is to enable people to form their own opinion, through offering a diversity of views. We are committed to independent, impartial and fact-based journalism and to the European DNA of our channel. We cannot wait for the Bulgarian audiences to discover all that we have put together for them.”

Euronews Bulgaria will broadcast 24/7, offering news bulletins every half hour, and will be available on all the main operators in Bulgaria: A1, Vivacom, Bulsatcom. Exemplifying its European positioning, the channel will, in particular, send a team to Strasbourg each month to cover the European Parliament’s plenary session. For its launch, the channel has recorded exclusive interviews with influential figures from around the world.

François Chignac, Euronews’ Branded Affiliates Editorial manager said: “We are proud of all that the Euronews Bulgaria teams have already achieved. They have worked hand in hand with the Euronews teams to build a quality media, which will be unique on the Bulgarian market. Bulgarian audiences can rely on Euronews Bulgaria to provide them with unbiased and accurate news, with a European perspective.”

With the launch of Euronews Bulgaria, Euronews is increasing its presence in Bulgaria: its English-language edition was already broadcast – and will continue to be broadcast – in the country, via the main operators.

Euronews is a leading European news media, broadcasting 24/7 news, available in 16 languages. Recognised for its reliable content, Euronews is distributed in 160 countries and 440 million homes worldwide, reaching more than 145 million people each month on both TV and digital platforms, according to the Global Web Index.