The tension between culture and commerce : a study of the Bulgarian public service broadcaster

Abstract

This thesis has sought to investigate how the Bulgarian public service broadcaster (BNT) negotiates the tension that exists between market imperatives and the public service vocation. With the triumphant rise of commerce and its overriding quest for profits, BNT found itself on uneasy perch. It was expected to fulfil its public service mission and at the same time manoeuvre in a commercial manner, pursuing advertising revenue and strenuously competing for audience. The breadth of analytical ambition called for a mixed methods approach to research, where a combination of document analysis, semi-structured interviews and quantitative content analysis was employed for the purpose. The study found a growing reliance on public service based conceptualisations, promoting diversity of programme content and distinctiveness of offerings. Although dragged into the competition battle, BNT provides a wide range of selection and choice to the large majority of citizens while catering also for the needs of marginal groups.