BNT Leads TV Coverage of Tsar Samuil’s Historic Return to Bulgaria.

The special programme “Tsar Samuil: The Return” reached 794,000 viewers, a 29.5% audience share and 3.5 million views across BNT’s online platforms.

Bulgarian National Television was the leading broadcaster in its coverage of the historic return of the mortal remains of Tsar Samuil to Bulgaria.

Part of the five-hour special programme “Tsar Samuil: The Return”, broadcast in the 12:00–15:40 slot on BNT 1 on Saturday, October 3, was watched by an average of 307,700 viewers in the 4+ target audience, achieving an average audience share of 29.5%, according to official audience measurement data from GARB Audience Measurement Bulgaria.

The content broadcast during this time slot reached 794,000 viewers.

Bulgaria Welcomes the Mortal Remains of Tsar Samuil to Sofia with a Solemn State Ceremony (PHOTOS)

Strong interest in the event was also recorded across the public broadcaster’s digital platforms. During the live broadcast of the special programme alone, content published on BNT’s social media channels and digital platforms reached more than 1.5 million users, while the bnt.bg and bntnews.bg websites recorded a 100% increase in visits compared with usual levels.

Almost 24 hours after the broadcast, the figures had already exceeded 3.5 million views.

BNT was the only Bulgarian media outlet to provide comprehensive live coverage of the historic handover and return of Tsar Samuil’s remains. The public broadcaster’s team, led by Boyko Vassilev, was the only team to cover the official ceremony at the Museum of Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki, the journey aboard the Spartan military transport aircraft and the reception of the remains at Vasil Levski Airport.

The large-scale production was delivered using 50 BNT cameras – 40 deployed on location in Bulgaria and Greece and 10 in the public broadcaster’s studios – ensuring the filming and broadcast of an event of major national, historical and public significance.

BNT also provided a broadcast feed of the return to other media outlets in Bulgaria and around the world through the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) news exchange. As part of the special programme, the public broadcaster supplied the EBU with more than four and a half hours of live streaming and four separate reports from the event. This brought the total number of items provided for international distribution since the announcement of Tsar Samuel’s return to nine.

The special programme “Tsar Samuil: The Return” followed the entire journey of the Bulgarian ruler’s remains – from their official handover from Greece to Bulgaria in Thessaloniki to the state ceremony in central Sofia and their interment at the Basilica of St Sofia.

BNT’s special studio, hosted by Adelina Radeva, followed developments in real time, combining key moments from the official programme with historical context on Tsar Samuel, his era and his place in Bulgaria’s historical memory.

Historians, archaeologists and journalists joined the studio to discuss the significance of the event and the role of the Bulgarian ruler in the country’s national history. Through live reports from different locations along the route, BNT reporters conveyed the atmosphere from the Museum of Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki, Vasil Levski Airport, the escort to Prince Alexander I Square, the state ceremony, military honours and artillery salute, as well as the procession to the Basilica of St Sofia, where the remains of the Bulgarian tsar were laid to rest.

Mortal Remains of Bulgarian Tsar Samuel Laid to Rest in a Marble Sarcophagus at the Basilica of St Sophia