Tsantsarova is widely considered in Bulgaria as a critical voice toward politicians.
“We are concerned about the risk of yet another ‘emptying of chairs’ — the removal of critical voices — from Bulgaria’s national airwaves. We call on bTV’s management to take a reasonable decision that does not run counter to the public interest or the legislation protecting freedom of speech,” said the Association of European Journalists Bulgaria.
Tsantsarova’s removal comes at a time of deep political unrest, after the country’s coalition government resigned last week following one of the largest waves of anti-government protests in its history, just under a year after taking office.
Protesters in front of bTV’s headquarters carried cups that read “Time to make a real change,” a reference to the same cup that Tsantsarova recently appeared on air with.
The TV channel has denied the journalists’ removal in a statement, instead saying the company is “in dialogue with Maria Tsantsarova and is discussing possibilities for the development of its programming content with her active involvement in the new year, which is standard practice.”
Neither Tsantsarova nor Yochev has commented publicly on the developments.
Bulgaria dropped to 70th place from 59th in this year’s Reporters Without Borders (RSF) media freedom ranking.
“Press freedom is fragile and unstable in one of the poorest and most corrupt countries in the European Union. The few independent media in Bulgaria are under pressure,” RSF said in its 2025 analysis.