Romania's state-owned television TVR received the OK from the audiovisual watchdog CNA to start broadcasting content from Euronews subtitled in Romanian, turning its former TVR Info channel into TVR News. The new channel will start broadcasting on November 15. TVR changed the program, the structure and the name of an existing TV station, which is why it required the green light from CNA.

The new channel will also broadcast some shows produced by TVR.

The state – owned television is going through a tough financial period, and its new management, installed earlier this year, with former presidential adviser Claudiu Saftoiu at the helm, is trying to diminish losses. It has closed down TVR Cultural and TVR Info and is preparing to lay off staff. The restructuring process should be finalized end December.

The content from Euronews will be subtitled, while the live news will be in English, also subtitled. Viewers will have the option to switch to the audio to another language in which Euronews' content is already available internationally.

Euronews, a multilingual news channel created in 1993, is headquartered in Lyon-Ecully, France. Romania's TVR has been a member and shareholder of Euronews since 2004. The station currently broadcasts in 155 countries in 11 languages simultaneously – Arabian, English, French, Italian, German, Russia, Portuguese, Spanish, Farsi, Ukrainian and Turkish. Romanian Lucian Sarb has been editorial director with Euronews since 2009.

Via the contract signed with Euronews, TVR would receive the international version of the news segment and be allowed to translate it into Romanian and broadcast it. TVR, with a total loss of some EUR 145 million, is currently under a restructuring process.

editor@romania-insider.com