Former administrator of Prime launches two new TV stations
Two new TV stations are to appear in Moldova this autumn. The stations One TV and Star TV will replace the current niche stations Legal TV and GN TV, after the Broadcasting Council (BC) approved the renewal of broadcasting licenses. The new media projects are managed by Petru Jelihovschi, former administrator of the TV station Prime.
The topic of renewal of the two broadcasting licenses was discussed at the BC meeting of August 8. Mihaela Ciuvaga, the representative of the targeted TV stations, motivated the change of brand elements by the desire to move from niche status, less popular, to that of general-service televisions. She noted that the new concept would focus on producing “quality local content”, both informative and entertaining. When asked by BC President Liliana Vitu about the sources of financing for those stations, Mihaela Ciuvaga said that advertising would be the primary source. On the other hand, at the insistence of BC Vice-President Aneta Gonta to find out about the source of the money needed to launch the new television concept, Mihaela Ciuvaga could not give an answer.
The stations Legal TV and GN TV belong to the company SFC Media, which obtained from the BC the necessary licenses in August 2021. GN TV was to broadcast mainly entertainment shows, and Legal TV – shows on topics of justice and law. SFC Media is owned by Dan Pascari and was founded in January 2021.
The manager of the new media projects One TV and Star TV is Petru Jelihovschi, former administrator of the television Prime, while the director of information departments of both stations is Ana Butnariuc, former editor-in-chief of Prime. Contacted by Media Azi, Jelihovschi confirmed the information, but did not provide other details. On the other hand, Ana Butnariuc said the financial resources needed for the two TV stations come from commercial partnerships. “The launch and rebranding of TV stations is done with an optimized budget and related to the potential of the Moldovan media market. It is an investment by the founder of the company SFC Media, allocated for the start-up,” she said.
The journalist confirmed that One TV and Star TV will launch with a new brand identity this autumn, as they have already declared to the BC their intention to cover the electoral campaign for the local elections of November 5. “The company SFC Media has already started the process of hiring staff who will work at Star TV and One TV. We count on journalists and specialists with experience in TV production, as well as young journalists from Moldova,” added Ana Butnariuc.
