Prima TV

Prima TV is a Romanian commercial television channel that began broadcasting in December 1997, becoming one of the early private competitors to Romania's public television system. It replaced the earlier AMEROM Canal 38, also known as TeleAmerica, on the frequency associated with channel 38. From its launch, the station combined locally produced entertainment with imported series, children's programming, factual shows, reality formats and scheduled news bulletins. The channel's identity has been particularly associated with comedy and personality-led entertainment. Cronica Cârcotaşilor became its best-known long-running program, while series such as Mondenii, Trăsniți and Nimeni nu-i perfect helped establish a recurring presence for Romanian scripted comedy and satire. Prima TV also carried a broad range of reality and factual formats, including Schimb de Mame, Super Nanny, Cireașa de pe Tort, Trădați în Dragoste, Mama mea gătește mai bine and several home, food, lifestyle and social-interest programs. Its schedule has therefore extended beyond a single genre, although entertainment has remained central to the brand. Prima TV's programming history includes licensed or imported productions from the United States, Australia, Japan, France, Canada, Spain and the United Kingdom. Examples include CSI: Miami, NCIS, Medium, Lost, Desperate Housewives, The Bold and the Beautiful, H2O: Just Add Water, Shaman King, Totally Spies!, W.I.T.C.H., Pocoyo and Timmy Time. The channel also aired major international-format adaptations and locally developed versions of quiz, talent, dating, domestic-improvement and cooking concepts. Its news service, Focus, has provided regular bulletins and specialist segments including sport and weather coverage. The channel was operated by Prima Broadcasting Group from 2013 until 2020. In 2020, Clever Group acquired Prima TV, bringing it into a wider Romanian media portfolio. Prima TV has been distributed through cable and satellite networks and historically through terrestrial transmission. It reached a substantial share of Romania's urban population, with reference material describing coverage of approximately 87 percent of the urban population and identifying it among the country's four most successful television stations. Its analogue terrestrial service ended in June 2015, while its digital-terrestrial distribution was discontinued earlier in 2015. Satellite distribution was later moved from Intelsat 12 to Intelsat 33e in 2017. In its current positioning, Prima TV is a national Romanian general-entertainment channel with a strong emphasis on locally produced shows, comedy, lifestyle, factual entertainment, news and selected sports or event programming. The brand's continuing offer has included Focus news, Cronica Cârcotaşilor, Flash monden, Sănătate cu stil, Insider Politic, Exclusiv VIP, Poezie și Delicatețuri, Destinația anului, Spune-mi cine ești, Life & Style and Minte sănătoasă în corp frumos. Programming availability and show status can vary over time and by distribution platform.

Prima TV entered the Romanian television market in December 1997, at a time when private broadcasting was beginning to expand alongside the established public broadcaster. The station took over the frequency previously identified with AMEROM Canal 38 and TeleAmerica, and its launch made it one of the early commercial television services in Romania. The channel adopted a broad programming strategy rather than concentrating exclusively on news, imported drama or sport. Its schedule combined domestic entertainment, comedy, reality formats, factual programs, children's material and foreign television series. During the 2000s, Prima TV developed a recognizable entertainment identity. Its schedule included locally produced comedy series such as Trăsniți în NATO and later Trăsniți, as well as Mondenii and Nimeni nu-i perfect. The broadcaster also became a home for reality and factual formats, including Schimb de Mame, Super Nanny, Big Brother, S.O.S. – Salvați-mi casa!, Trădați în Dragoste, Cireașa de pe Tort and quiz or competition programs such as Vrei să fii miliardar? and later Vrei să fii milionar? These programs broadened the channel's appeal across family entertainment, domestic subjects, celebrity culture, food and competitive formats. Cronica Cârcotaşilor became the most prominent title associated with Prima TV. The long-running program's satirical and commentary-based format helped distinguish the channel from general-purpose competitors and reinforced its reputation for irreverent comedy. Alongside entertainment, Prima TV maintained a regular news operation under the Focus brand. Focus bulletins included scheduled general news, an evening edition, sports coverage and weather segments. The station also carried a large catalogue of imported programming, including American dramas and procedurals, Australian and European children's shows, and animated or youth-oriented series associated with the Jetix and Disney programming blocks. The channel's distribution evolved as Romania's television infrastructure changed. Prima TV was carried by cable and satellite operators and also transmitted terrestrially in analogue form on channel 38. It had digital-terrestrial availability from 2011, initially on one channel allocation and later on another, but its digital-terrestrial presence was discontinued in early 2015. Analogue terrestrial transmission ended in June of that year. Satellite distribution was subsequently reorganized: in June 2017, the service stopped using Intelsat 12 at 45 degrees east and moved, together with Kiss TV, to Intelsat 33e at 60 degrees east. Corporate control also changed. Prima Broadcasting Group operated the channel from 2013 through 2020. In 2020, Clever Group acquired Prima TV. Following the acquisition, the channel continued to operate as a Romanian general-entertainment service, carrying Focus news and a mixture of locally produced shows, talk and interview programs, lifestyle and culinary series, political and social-affairs content, comedy, imported programming and selected sports coverage. Later listed programming included Flash monden, Sănătate cu stil, Insider Politic, Exclusiv VIP, Poezie și Delicatețuri, Destinația anului, Spune-mi cine ești, Life & Style and Minte sănătoasă în corp frumos. The available reference material describes Prima TV as reaching about 87 percent of Romania's urban population and as one of the country's four most successful television stations. These figures are presented as descriptive audience-reach claims rather than audited financial data.

• 2020

  Clever Group acquisition

  [1]Prima TVen.wikipedia.org

  Clever Group acquires Prima TV from its previous operating structure.

• 2017

  Satellite platform changes

  [1]Prima TVen.wikipedia.org

  Prima TV moves satellite distribution from Intelsat 12 to Intelsat 33e.

• 2015

  Terrestrial analogue service ends

  [1]Prima TVen.wikipedia.org

  The channel's analogue terrestrial transmission ends in June, while its digital-terrestrial presence is discontinued earlier in the year.

• 2013

  Prima Broadcasting Group operating period begins

  [1]Prima TVen.wikipedia.org

  Prima Broadcasting Group operates Prima TV during the period leading up to the 2020 acquisition by Clever Group.

• 2011

  Digital-terrestrial distribution begins

  [1]Prima TVen.wikipedia.org

  Prima TV is made available through DVB-T terrestrial distribution, initially using channel 54 before a later allocation change.

• 2000

  Cronica Cârcotaşilor becomes part of the schedule

  [1]Prima TVen.wikipedia.org

  The long-running satirical entertainment program begins its association with Prima TV and becomes the channel's most widely recognized show.

• 1997

  Prima TV begins broadcasting

  [1]Prima TVen.wikipedia.org

  Prima TV launches in December as one of Romania's early commercial television channels, replacing the service previously known as AMEROM Canal 38 or TeleAmerica.

A Romanian national general-entertainment broadcaster combining locally produced comedy, reality, factual, lifestyle and talk programming with news, imported series, children's content and selected sports coverage.

• Television news · 1997

  Focus

  Prima TV's principal news brand, comprising scheduled general-news bulletins and related editions such as Focus 18, Focus Sport and Focus Meteo. The service has been part of the channel's identity since its early years and provides daily coverage of Romanian and international current affairs, sport and weather.

• Satirical entertainment · 2000

  Cronica Cârcotaşilor

  A long-running Romanian comedy and satire program centered on commentary about media, public life and popular culture. It is the program most strongly associated with Prima TV and has served as a defining expression of the channel's irreverent entertainment positioning.

• Comedy series · 2006

  Mondenii

  A Romanian comedy production built around entertainment-industry and public-life satire. Its original run extended through much of the 2000s and 2010s, with a later return listed in the channel's programming history.

• Reality television · 2003

  Schimb de Mame

  A long-running Romanian reality format focused on family life and the experience of exchanging domestic roles. It is one of the channel's enduring factual-entertainment properties and illustrates Prima TV's use of social and family-centered formats.

• Reality and factual entertainment · 2005

  Super Nanny

  A family-oriented reality format addressing parenting and household behavior. Prima TV carried the program during an initial 2005–2008 period and later revived it for a further run in the 2020s.

• Food and celebrity entertainment · 2008

  Cireașa de pe Tort

  A culinary and celebrity-centered entertainment program in which personalities and food-related challenges provide the basis for competition and social interaction. It was a recurring part of Prima TV's food and lifestyle programming for many years.

• Entertainment news · 2018

  Flash monden

  A celebrity and popular-culture program covering entertainment news, public personalities and lifestyle subjects. It represents the channel's continuing interest in accessible, personality-led programming alongside its formal news service.

• Political discussion · 2021

  Insider Politic

  A political and current-affairs program that expands Prima TV's offer beyond general news bulletins into interviews, analysis and discussion of Romanian public affairs.

• 2020

  Acquisition by Clever GroupM&A

  Background

  Prima TV had been operated by Prima Broadcasting Group from 2013 through 2020.

  Action taken

  Clever Group acquired Prima TV.

  Aftermath

  The channel remained active as a Romanian general-entertainment broadcaster under Clever Group ownership.

  Source

• 2017

  Satellite distribution migrationStrategy

  Background

  The channel's satellite distribution arrangement was revised alongside the distribution of Kiss TV.

  Action taken

  Prima TV moved from Intelsat 12 at 45 degrees east to Intelsat 33e at 60 degrees east.

  Aftermath

  Satellite carriage continued under the new platform arrangement.

  Source

• 2015

  Withdrawal from terrestrial distributionStrategy

  Background

  Prima TV's terrestrial distribution changed as Romania's broadcasting infrastructure moved away from the channel's analogue service and as its digital-terrestrial availability ended.

  Action taken

  The channel discontinued its digital-terrestrial presence in early 2015 and ended analogue terrestrial transmission on channel 38 in June.

  Aftermath

  Prima TV continued to reach viewers through cable and satellite distribution.

  Source

• 2020

  Clever Group acquires Prima TV[1]Prima TVen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  Clever Group acquired Prima TV, taking ownership after the channel's period under Prima Broadcasting Group.

• 2017

  Prima TV changes satellite distribution[1]Prima TVen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Satellite distribution via Intelsat 12 at 45 degrees east ended in June 2017, with the service moved to Intelsat 33e at 60 degrees east together with Kiss TV.

• 2015

  Prima TV ends analogue terrestrial transmission[1]Prima TVen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The channel ceased its analogue terrestrial transmission on channel 38 in June 2015. Its digital-terrestrial availability was also discontinued during 2015.

• 1997

  Prima TV launches as a commercial Romanian television channel[1]Prima TVen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Prima TV began broadcasting in December 1997 on the frequency previously associated with AMEROM Canal 38 or TeleAmerica.

1. 1Prima TVen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Prima TV official websiteprimatv.ro