PRO TV

PRO TV is a Romanian commercial television network headquartered in Bucharest. It began national broadcasting on 11 March 1994, becoming one of the earliest major private television channels to establish a nationwide presence after the end of communist rule. The network developed from Canal 31, a UHF service launched in Bucharest in 1993, and was created by media entrepreneur Adrian Sârbu with international backing from Central European Media Enterprises, commonly known as CME. From its early years, PRO TV positioned itself as a modern, Western-influenced alternative to the established public broadcaster and the first generation of Romanian private stations. Its programming combined international films and series with locally produced news, entertainment, reality formats, sports coverage and fiction. The channel’s style emphasized fast-paced presentation, recognizable television personalities, promotional spectacle and programming designed for urban adults, particularly viewers aged approximately 21 to 54. It also helped popularize new forms of commercial television promotion and celebrity culture in Romania, including interactive competitions, seasonal station identities and large-scale entertainment formats. A core part of the brand is Știrile PRO TV, its daily news operation. The program became one of Romania’s most prominent television news services and has been associated with a large roster of presenters and field reporters, including Andreea Esca, who joined the network in the mid-1990s and became its longest-serving principal news anchor. In 2008, Știrile PRO TV won the International Emmy Award for News for a campaign addressing parental awareness and child supervision. The award marked an important international recognition for Romanian television and for the network’s use of news programming to support public-interest campaigns. PRO TV has also built a broad entertainment portfolio. Local productions have included talent competitions, cooking and lifestyle programs, scripted series, comedy, documentary-style programming and adaptations of international formats. The network has been associated with programs such as Românii au talent, Vocea României, MasterChef România and a range of locally produced fiction and entertainment shows. It has additionally carried major football competitions at different times, including the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Europa Conference League, the Romanian Cup, UEFA Euro 2016 and the English FA Cup. The brand has expanded beyond its main channel through related services and sister channels, including PRO TV Internațional, PRO Cinema, PRO Arena, Acasă, Acasă Gold and PRO TV Chișinău. PRO TV Chișinău has broadcast a Moldovan-focused schedule since December 1998, combining selected Bucharest programming with local news, programs and advertising. In 2014, PRO TV launched Pro TV Plus as an online streaming destination for original series. That service was subsequently replaced by VOYO in 2021, a broader subscription platform carrying PRO channel programming, exclusives and original productions. The network has undergone several visual identity changes, including the adoption of the PRO•TV styling in the late 2010s and successive revisions to its logo, on-air graphics and news presentation. Its regional news production model was reorganized in 2018, when locally produced regional broadcasts ceased to air as separate nationwide services and Bucharest-produced news became the national broadcast, while regional reporting teams continued operating. PRO TV remains an active Romanian broadcaster and a central brand within CME’s television and streaming operations.

PRO TV emerged during the rapid liberalization of Romania’s television market in the early 1990s. Its immediate predecessor was Canal 31, a UHF channel created in Bucharest in June 1993. Adrian Sârbu developed the project and obtained a license initially associated with sports broadcasting. To turn the local operation into a national commercial channel, he partnered with Central European Media Enterprises, an international media company active across Central and Eastern Europe. The resulting PRO TV network launched on 11 March 1994. It entered a market in which the public broadcaster remained dominant but where private competitors were beginning to appear. PRO TV differentiated itself through a commercially oriented schedule, modern presentation and an emphasis on locally made programs alongside American and Western European films and series. It adopted techniques associated with Western commercial television, including strong station branding, format-based entertainment, audience participation and the cultivation of television personalities. One of its early innovations was Te uiți și câștigi, a lottery-style program presented by Florin Călinescu. Such programming helped establish the channel’s energetic, participatory identity. PRO TV also used television to popularize or amplify imported cultural occasions, including Valentine’s Day, and created a generation of highly recognizable presenters and performers. Its news operation, Știrile PRO TV, became especially important to the brand. Andreea Esca joined the channel in 1995 and became its best-known long-term news presenter. The operation combined frequent daily bulletins with field reporting and public-interest campaigns. The network expanded geographically and commercially during the late 1990s. On 1 December 1998 it began broadcasting a dedicated signal for the Republic of Moldova under the PRO TV Chișinău name. The Moldovan service retained links with the Bucharest network but developed local news, programming and advertising. In Romania, PRO TV also became part of a wider channel family that included international, movie, sports and entertainment services. These related outlets later included PRO TV Internațional, PRO Cinema, PRO Arena, Acasă and Acasă Gold. Sports rights became another major component of the network’s history. PRO TV carried UEFA Champions League matches in Romania during the 2000s, later broadcasting Romanian Cup matches, European competitions involving Romanian clubs and international tournaments. It subsequently regained Champions League rights and added UEFA Euro 2016, the Europa League, Europa Conference League and FA Cup at various stages. In 2025, the PRO TV group announced coverage of the Premier League and FA Cup for the 2025–2028 cycle through PRO TV, PRO ARENA and VOYO. The news division received international recognition in 2008 when Știrile PRO TV won the International Emmy Award for News. The award followed a social campaign focused on whether parents knew what their children were doing. In early 2009, the network also received a National Association of Broadcasters international broadcasting award for social campaigns developed by its news operation. PRO TV entered digital distribution in 2014 with Pro TV Plus, a service centered on original series. In 2021, it was replaced by VOYO, which broadened the proposition to include programming from PRO channels, exclusives and original content. The network continued to refresh its visual identity, removing earlier glossy logo effects and later adopting monochrome and PRO•TV treatments. Its news graphics were redesigned in 2020, including a change from a predominantly blue presentation to red. In 2018, separate regional broadcasts were discontinued as a business decision, although regional news-gathering teams remained active. PRO TV is currently part of CME, which is owned by PPF Group.

1. 2021VOYO replaces Pro TV Plus

   The digital proposition is expanded under the VOYO streaming brand.

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2. 2018Regional broadcasts reorganized

   Separate regional broadcasts end, with national news produced in Bucharest becoming the common broadcast.

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3. 2014Pro TV Plus launches

   The network introduces a streaming service for original series.

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4. 2008International Emmy recognition

   Știrile PRO TV wins the International Emmy Award for News.

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5. 2006High-definition terrestrial transmission

   PRO TV begins transmitting its evening news in high definition, becoming the first Romanian terrestrial network to do so.

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6. 1998PRO TV Chișinău launches

   The network begins a dedicated service for the Republic of Moldova.

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7. 1994National launch

   PRO TV starts national broadcasting on 11 March as a major new private Romanian television network.

   Source
8. 1993Canal 31 begins in Bucharest

   A UHF channel in Bucharest provides the immediate foundation for the later PRO TV network.

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A mass-market Romanian commercial broadcaster combining trusted news, locally produced entertainment and fiction with international programming and major sports rights. The network has historically targeted urban adults and presents itself as contemporary, energetic and personality-led.

• PRO TVFree-to-air television network1994

  The flagship Romanian channel broadcasts news, entertainment, locally produced fiction, films, international series and sports. Its schedule is built around a mix of daily news bulletins, prime-time formats and acquired programming, with a strong emphasis on recognizable Romanian presenters and locally relevant productions.

• Știrile PRO TVTelevision news1994

  PRO TV’s principal news operation provides multiple daily bulletins, political and social reporting, weather, sport and field coverage. It is one of the network’s defining properties and has used public-interest campaigns to extend the role of the news brand beyond conventional headlines.

• PRO TV ChișinăuRegional television service1998

  The Moldovan service combines selected PRO TV Bucharest programming with a distinct schedule, local news and programs, and locally sold advertising. It serves viewers in the Republic of Moldova under the PRO TV Chișinău identity.

• Pro TV PlusStreaming service2014

  Pro TV Plus was an online video service launched to provide access to original series and related PRO TV content. It was later superseded by VOYO as the group developed a broader subscription streaming proposition.

• VOYOStreaming service2021

  VOYO is the successor to Pro TV Plus and carries programs from PRO channel brands together with exclusive and original content. It extends the group’s television proposition into on-demand and digital distribution.

• 2009Știrile PRO TV social campaigns

  Romania

  A group of public-interest campaigns developed by the news operation during the preceding two years received international broadcasting recognition.

  Outcome. PRO TV received the NAB International Broadcasting Excellence Award.

  Source
• 2008Tu știi ce mai face copilul tău?

  Romania

  The Știrile PRO TV campaign encouraged parents to remain aware of their children’s activities and highlighted a social issue through news-led public-interest messaging.

  Outcome. Won the 2008 International Emmy Award for News.

  Source

• 2025Acquisition of Premier League and FA Cup rightsOther

  Sports rights remained an important tool for attracting live audiences and extending the group’s television and streaming reach.

  What changed. PRO TV, PRO ARENA and VOYO secured Romanian rights for the Premier League and FA Cup for the 2025–2028 period.

  Aftermath. The agreement expanded the group’s live football offering across linear television and streaming services.

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• 2021Transition from Pro TV Plus to VOYOProduct launch

  The group sought a broader digital proposition than the original service focused mainly on original series.

  What changed. Pro TV Plus was replaced by VOYO, which combined PRO channel programming with exclusives and original content.

  Aftermath. Streaming became a more integrated part of the PRO television portfolio.

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• 2018End of separate regional broadcastsStrategy

  The network reviewed its regional broadcasting structure and decided that separately distributed regional news services would no longer continue from 1 April.

  What changed. National news produced in Bucharest became the common nationwide broadcast, while regional news teams continued their reporting activities.

  Aftermath. The decision simplified the on-air structure but reduced the number of separately broadcast regional news editions.

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• 2025PRO TV and associated services acquire Premier League rights

  PRO TV, PRO ARENA and VOYO secure Romanian rights to the Premier League and FA Cup for the 2025–2028 period.

  Other
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• 2021Pro TV Plus is replaced by VOYO

  VOYO becomes the group’s broader streaming destination, carrying PRO channel programs alongside exclusive and original material.

  Product launch
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• 2018Regional broadcasts are discontinued as separate services

  PRO TV ends separate regional broadcasts as part of a business reorganization, while regional reporting teams remain active.

  Other
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• 2014PRO TV launches Pro TV Plus

  The broadcaster introduces a streaming service focused on original series and digital access to PRO TV content.

  Product launch
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• 2008Știrile PRO TV wins International Emmy for News

  The network’s news operation receives the International Emmy Award for News for a social campaign concerning parental awareness of children’s activities.

  Campaign
  Source
• 1998PRO TV begins service for Moldova

  A separate PRO TV Chișinău service begins broadcasting for the Republic of Moldova with local programming and advertising.

  Other
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• 1994PRO TV launches national broadcasting

  The network begins broadcasting nationally on 11 March, growing out of the Bucharest Canal 31 service.

  Other
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1. Pro TV
2. PRO TV official website