Bulgarians more and more interested in media information
Despite the economic crisis, the media market is one of Bulgaria’s fastest developing markets, firmly believes Mira Radeva, Head of the Institute of Social Surveys and Marketing MBMD. In her opinion, this is due to the coming presidential and local elections, which boost people’s interest in media information. The most popular means of information is television. 93% of the Bulgarians say that they learn about the latest developments in Bulgaria and the world through it. Those who prefer the press increased some 10% on December last year, thus reaching in June 43% of the entire population. The share of the Bulgarians using the Internet to get updated also went up significantly (33%). The number of people listening to the radio has stayed the same, accounting for some 20%. These are the findings of a nationwide representative survey carried out in June by the Institute of Social Surveys and Marketing MBMD. According to Ms. Radeva, the reason why the radio is down in the rankings is that it has become a sort of ‘background’ media.
The most popular TV channel is bTV, followed by Nova Television and BNT. “Bulgarians keep being faithful to the 3 national channels, but they are also showing a heightened interest in alternative ones”, says Ms. Radeva. According to her, the foreign channel National Geographic has become quite popular with viewers. Figures also show that less and less people are watching the TV-set, as a result of various promotions and combined offers on the Internet provided by cable and satellite operators. Ms. Radeva also claims that Bulgarians are increasingly turning to daily newspapers.
“I find it extremely positive that the share of people not reading newspapers has fallen dramatically”, she says. “In the period 2007-2010 we registered a steady drop in the people reading newspapers. In December 2010 some 52% said they didn’t read the press. There are a few reasons why that figure has recently fallen to 36%. First, December is a month when people are less likely to go outside. They’d rather learn about the latest developments in the country through TV-sets and computers. The summer season is quite different as far as our viewing habits are concerned. We prefer to be out in Nature. We travel more and newspapers are the easiest means of information to carry. The three most popular newspapers Trud (Labour), 24 Chasa (24 Hours) and the cheapest one Telegraf (Telegraph) have increased their readers by 6%. Another reason why people read more newspapers is the coming elections. It seems that the more serious political newspapers are in higher demand because people seek more detailed information for what is happening on the eve of the presidential elections”, explains Ms. Mira Radeva.
The survey has registered a rise in the young people reading newspapers. Their share rose from 41% to 48% in June as compared to the end of last year. Men are 7% more than women. It is mostly people with university degrees and secondary education that are interested in the press. City people read newspapers the most, while villagers are the least likely to read the press. According to Mrs. Radeva, as popular the yellow press might be, when it comes to degrees of trust, it doesn’t stand a chance against the somewhat more serious newspapers. 58% of the people say they read newspapers because this is the best way to get updated on the latest events. 9% say their jobs require of them to read the press, and 19% do so for fun.
In 2011, Internet users have increased 20% on 2007. At present, 54% of the Bulgarians have got access to the Net. Those using the Internet every day or a few times during the week are also on the increase. Searching for information, reading news, chatting with relatives and friends, using emails and social networks are the most common reasons for Bulgarians to log on. The most visited sites are Facebook, abv.bg, Google, dir.bg, Skype, etc.
“The trend of more and more households having family members outside Bulgaria automatically increases the share of Internet users”, says Mira Radeva. What is more, the Internet has become an absolutely open system with no access limits. In this sense, it’s the most democratic space. It’s so accessible that even old people have no problems to learn how to use the Net. On the other hand, we should take into account that the Internet increases the awareness and education of our citizens. Our old mothers and fathers have a second chance for education and contact with the world via the Internet”, Mira Radeva, Head of the Institute of Social Surveys and Marketing MBMD, says in conclusion.
Text and photo: www.bnr.bg
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