Sofia, Bulgaria – A New Year’s Eve concert by Bulgarian pop star Galena appears to have had the opposite of its intended effect on viewership for bTV, the network that broadcast the event. Despite notable pre-event promotion and Galena’s popularity – recently showcased as a judge on “Bulgaria’s Got Talent” – the concert coincided with a drop in the network’s ratings, falling to third place during the critical primetime slot. The surprising results are prompting a review of music programming strategies as networks assess the appeal of the “chalga” genre to a broad audience.
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Galena’s New Year’s Eve concert performance appears to have fallen short of expectations, according to recent television ratings data. The televised event, a highly anticipated show for the Bulgarian pop star, coincided with a dip in viewership for the network that aired it.
Nova Television traditionally leads ratings during the holiday season, and maintained that position this year. However, bTV, a competing network, unexpectedly landed in third place despite broadcasting Galena’s lavish New Year’s Eve concert. Galena recently served as a judge on “Bulgaria’s Got Talent” and performed a concert at the Arena Sofia earlier in the fall.
bTV acquired the rights to broadcast the concert, scheduling it for prime time on December 31st, beginning at 10:00 PM and continuing past midnight. Network executives reportedly believed a performance by the popular singer would draw a large audience, but the strategy backfired. Ratings for bTV dropped to third place as soon as Galena’s concert began. Prior to the concert, bTV held the second-place position, behind Nova TV, with Bulgarian National Television (BNT) trailing behind. With the start of Galena’s performance, BNT significantly surpassed bTV in viewership.
The concert attracted 22.2% of all television viewers at that time, while Nova TV remained the most-watched channel with 34.7%. bTV finished with 19.6%. These figures suggest that a focus on the “chalga” music genre – a Bulgarian pop-folk style – may not always guarantee strong ratings. The network will likely consider this when planning future music programming, according to reports from HotArena.
