Directors General of Public Media Called for More Funding for Salaries (Update)

The Parliament's Committee on Culture and Media has approved, at first reading, the 2026 State Budget Bill in the sections covering culture and the media. The proposal passed with 11 votes in favour and 7 against, with no abstentions.

The bill was supported by committee members from Progressive Bulgaria and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF). MPs from GERB–UDF, Vazrazhdane, Democratic Bulgaria, and We Continue the Change voted against it.

The directors-general of Bulgarian National Television (BNT), Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) and the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) urged the government to allocate higher salaries for employees of the public media in next year's budget. During the committee meeting, the budgets of the Ministry of Culture and the three national public media organisations were approved. The governing majority pledged to do everything possible to meet their requests.

BNT Director-General Milena Milotinova highlighted the broadcaster's high level of public trust.

"According to the Council for Electronic Media, BNT was the public's first choice for objective election campaign coverage, by a considerable margin over the other two television channels. The Reuters report ranks us as the country's most trusted media outlet. Hosting Eurovision has significantly enhanced Bulgaria's international reputation," she said.

She also outlined BNT's proposed budget for 2026.

"Revenue amounts to €5.4 million, while total expenditure stands at €55.781 million. The funding norm per hour of programming has increased by just €50 compared with last year, which is far from sufficient. €23.5 million is allocated for salaries and €4.7 million for social security contributions."

The directors general of the three public media outlets called on the government to consider raising journalists’ salaries.

The heads of all three public media organisations called for higher pay for journalists and other employees.

Milena Milotinova, Director General of BNT: “In addition to our reputation and the trust placed in us, our most valuable asset is our people, and they deserve to receive adequate remuneration for their work and the responsibility they carry."

BTA Director-General Kiril Valchev added: "BTA employees deserve higher salaries. We requested a 20% increase, on top of the 5% rise introduced earlier this year, in order to bring salaries into line with teachers' pay."

BNR Director-General Milen Mitev noted: "The average gross monthly salary at BNR is currently €1,227. The average salary in Sofia, where three-quarters of our emplaoyees work, is €1,915, while the national average stands at €1,407."

Photos: Desislava Kulelieva, BNT

Anton Kutev, Chair of the Committee on Culture and Media: “I assure you that together we will achieve something much better in 2027.”

The committee also approved an increase of just over €33.3 million in the budget of the Ministry of Culture.