BNT 2

BNT 2 is a Bulgarian-language public television channel operated by Bulgarian National Television (BNT). It was launched on 16 October 2011 as a national service combining the output of BNT’s regional television centers in Blagoevgrad, Varna, Ruse, Plovdiv and Sofia. Rather than functioning solely as a conventional national broadcaster, the channel was designed to provide a shared national schedule alongside regional opt-out blocks, allowing local centers to retain a role in television production and local news. The channel’s creation was connected to the development of Bulgaria’s digital terrestrial television environment and to BNT’s intention to reactivate a second national television service. BNT had earlier received a license for BNT Sofia in June 2010, but that service did not begin as an independent channel. In late September 2011, BNT instead chose to consolidate the regional services into BNT 2. This structure gave the new channel a countrywide identity while preserving locally oriented programming from the regional centers. BNT 2 is also a successor in institutional and broadcasting terms to BNT’s former second program, which was later known as Efir 2. That earlier service began regular broadcasts in 1975 and was discontinued on 31 May 2000. Efir 2 had been associated with programs such as the weekly magazine show Vsyaka Nedelya and broadcasts of Italian Serie A football. After its closure, its transmission capacity was replaced by the privately operated bTV service. BNT 2 was not a direct continuation of Efir 2’s schedule, but its launch restored a second BNT-branded national television outlet more than a decade later. During its early years, BNT 2 carried original programming, news bulletins, sports coverage and content from the regional centers. Its regional programming bloc was a defining feature: viewers could receive locally produced material through scheduled opt-outs from the national service. The channel’s remit therefore combined public-service content, regional visibility and a platform for programs that did not fit the mass-market orientation of general national television. From 2018, BNT 2’s role became narrower. The channel stopped producing or carrying national newscasts in their earlier form and shifted toward cultural programming and material produced by BNT’s regional television centers. Local news continued to appear in regional contexts rather than being assembled as a nationally distributed news product. This change positioned BNT 2 more clearly as a cultural and regional public-service channel within BNT’s portfolio. The channel has also carried educational and children’s programming. The long-running children’s strand Leka nosht, deca moved from BNT 1 to BNT 2 in September 2019. During school closures associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, BNT 2 began broadcasting televised lessons for seventh-grade students on 17 March 2020; the lessons were also relayed by BNT 4. These activities illustrate the channel’s capacity to support public-service functions beyond entertainment and conventional scheduling. BNT 2 remains part of Bulgaria’s public television system. Its identity is based less on commercial differentiation than on cultural programming, regional production and the distribution of locally relevant content through a national broadcasting framework.

BNT 2 belongs to the history of Bulgaria’s public television second-channel services. Its institutional predecessor was the second program of Bulgarian National Television, which began regular broadcasts in 1975. The service initially transmitted on a limited schedule and later expanded as BNT developed a national UHF transmitter network. It became associated with general-interest programming, including the popular weekly magazine Vsyaka Nedelya and broadcasts of Italian Serie A football. On 1 June 1992, BNT renamed the service Efir 2 as part of a broader rebranding exercise. Under director Niri Terzieva, the channel adopted a more distinctive editorial and presentation identity, emphasizing live broadcasting, author-led programs and a separate approach to news presentation. Another visual rebrand followed in October 1993, using a logo built around five oval shapes and the slogan “two is better than one.” On 1 January 1994, the service changed its television transmission standard from SECAM to PAL. The channel’s first life ended during a period of restructuring and planned privatization of Bulgaria’s second national television network. In 1999, the Council of Ministers decided to privatize the network. BNT began winding down the service on 26 July 1999, including the closure of its separate news operation. Efir 2 ended transmission on 31 May 2000 after a farewell broadcast that included a documentary about the channel, final news and sports reports, and closing entertainment programming. Its signal was replaced by bTV the following morning. BNT later sought to restore a second television service in the context of digital terrestrial television. In 2007, the broadcaster announced its intention to reactivate the channel. BNT obtained a license for BNT Sofia on 10 June 2010, but the proposed Sofia service never launched independently. Instead, in late September 2011, BNT decided to combine its five regional operations—BNT Pirin, BNT More, BNT Sever, BNT Plovdiv and the planned BNT Sofia operation—into a new national channel. BNT 2 began broadcasting on 16 October 2011. The new service was structured around a national schedule supplemented by regional opt-outs. This arrangement allowed BNT to present a unified channel brand while retaining programming from its regional production centers. During its initial period, BNT 2 carried original programs, news, sports and regional output. Its role was consequently broader than that of a purely cultural channel, although regional production remained central to its identity. A programming and editorial shift occurred from 2018, when BNT 2 ended its earlier national newscast operation and focused mainly on cultural programs and material produced by BNT’s regional centers. Local news continued in regionally based programming rather than being packaged as a national news service. In September 2019, the children’s strand Leka nosht, deca moved from BNT 1 to BNT 2. During the COVID-19-related school closures, the channel added televised lessons for seventh-grade students from 17 March 2020, and these lessons were also carried on BNT 4. BNT 2’s development therefore reflects several stages in Bulgarian broadcasting: the establishment of a second public television program, the Efir 2 era and its closure, the replacement of the former service by a private broadcaster, and the later reconstitution of a BNT second channel around regional and cultural public-service programming.

1. 2020BNT 2 adds televised lessons

   The channel begins airing lessons for seventh-grade students during pandemic-related school closures; the lessons are also relayed by BNT 4.

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2. 2019Leka nosht, deca moves to BNT 2

   The established children's television strand Leka nosht, deca moves from BNT 1 to BNT 2.

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3. 2018Channel refocuses on cultural and regional output

   BNT 2 ends its earlier national newscast operation and moves toward cultural programs and programming produced by BNT's regional centers.

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4. 2011BNT 2 launches

   BNT launches BNT 2 on 16 October by consolidating five regional television operations into a national channel with regional opt-outs.

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5. 2010BNT obtains a license for BNT Sofia

   BNT obtains a license for a fifth regional channel, BNT Sofia, which later does not launch as a standalone service.

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6. 2000Efir 2 ends transmission

   Efir 2 stops broadcasting on 31 May, and its signal is replaced by bTV the following morning.

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7. 1994Transmission standard changes from SECAM to PAL

   Efir 2 changes its television transmission standard from SECAM to PAL.

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8. 1992Second program renamed Efir 2

   BNT renames its second program Efir 2 as part of a channel rebranding and gives it a more distinct editorial identity.

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9. 1975Regular broadcasts of BNT's second program begin

   Bulgaria's national television begins regular broadcasts on its second program, the historical predecessor of the later Efir 2 and BNT 2 services.

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A public-service television channel combining Bulgarian cultural content with programming produced by BNT's regional centers.

• BNT 2 national television servicePublic television channel2011

  BNT 2 is a Bulgarian-language public television service combining a national schedule with programming from BNT's regional television centers. Its output has included original programs, cultural content, sports, children's programming, educational broadcasts and regional news or information. Since the 2018 programming shift, cultural and regional material has formed the core of the channel's identity.

• Regional programming blocksRegional television programming2011

  Regional opt-out blocks are a central feature of BNT 2. They allow BNT's regional centers to insert locally produced programming into the national channel schedule, preserving regional coverage and local editorial perspectives within a shared public television service.

• Leka nosht, decaChildren's television2019

  Leka nosht, deca is a long-running children's television strand that moved from BNT 1 to BNT 2 in September 2019. Its transfer added an established children's public-service program to the channel's cultural and family-oriented schedule.

• Seventh-grade televised lessonsEducational television2020

  During school closures connected with the COVID-19 pandemic, BNT 2 broadcast televised lessons for seventh-grade students. The educational content was also relayed through BNT 4, extending the public-service response across BNT's network.

• 2018Refocus the channel on cultural and regional programmingStrategy

  BNT 2 had previously carried original programming, newscasts, sports and regional output. BNT subsequently changed the channel's editorial role.

  What changed. The channel ended its earlier national newscasts and concentrated mainly on cultural programs and material from BNT's regional television centers.

  Aftermath. BNT 2 became more clearly differentiated as a cultural and regional public-service channel, with local news remaining associated with regional output.

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• 2011Combine regional services into BNT 2Strategy

  BNT sought to restore a second television service while developing its presence in the digital terrestrial broadcasting environment. A proposed standalone BNT Sofia service had not launched.

  What changed. BNT consolidated five regional television operations into one national BNT 2 channel with scheduled regional opt-outs.

  Aftermath. The arrangement created a national public television brand that retained locally produced programming from BNT's regional centers.

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• 2020BNT 2 broadcasts televised lessons during school closures

  Beginning on 17 March 2020, BNT 2 aired lessons for seventh-grade students during pandemic-related school closures, with the lessons also relayed by BNT 4.

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• 2018BNT 2 shifts toward cultural and regional programming

  The channel ended its previous national newscast operation and concentrated more heavily on cultural programs and content from BNT's regional television centers.

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• 2011BNT launches BNT 2 as a national channel with regional opt-outs

  Bulgarian National Television launched BNT 2 on 16 October 2011 by combining the output of five regional television centers into a single national service with scheduled local opt-outs.

  Product launch
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1. BNT 2
2. Bulgarian National Television official website