Star TV
Star TV was launched in 2021 under the name GN TV, founded by Dan Pascari through his company SFC Media SRL, with an initial focus on entertainment. Following a successful rebranding request to the Audiovisual Council (CA) in August 2023, the station adopted its current name and expanded its scope to become a generalist broadcaster.
The channel’s leadership includes key figures from Moldova's media landscape: Petru Jelihovschi, the former administrator of Prime TV (linked to oligarch Vlad Plahotniuc), works as Star TV's manager, while Ana Butnariuc, Prime's former editor-in-chief, heads the information department and administers SFC Media SRL.
Star TV's regulatory compliance record has been marked by several infractions. Under its former name GN TV, the station received a MDL 12,000 (USD 600) fine in August 2023 for insufficient Romanian-language programming. Additional penalties followed in 2024: a MDL 10,000 (USD 500) fine in January for failing to provide requested broadcast recordings, and a joint MDL 75,000 (USD 3900) fine with sister station One TV in February for inadequate local programming during prime time.
Key Facts
| Audience Share | 2,85% |
|---|---|
| Ownership Type | Private |
| Geographic Coverage | National |
| Content Type | Free |
| Passive Transparency | upon request, ownership data is easily available from the company/channel |
| Media Companies / Groups | SFC MEDIA |
Ownership
| Ownership Structure | Star TV is owned by the company SFC MEDIA SRL, which was registered in 2021 and is currently 100% owned by Dan Pascari. |
|---|---|
| Individual Owner |
Media Companies / Groups
Facts
| Founding Year | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Dan Pascari There is limited public information about Dan Pascari. He was an administrator of Panesta SRL, which is registered at the same address as One TV. In the 2023 activity report submitted to the Board of Directors, Pascari claimed that 34% of the TV channel’s revenue comes from a loan provided by Panesta Group SRL. Panesta Group was established by Nicolae Pavelescu and Eugenia Jelihovschi, the former director of Prime TV Petru Jelihovschi’s mother. Prime TV’s license is currently suspended, and the station is part of the media empire of oligarch Vlad Plahotniuc. According to the CV presented by the company SFC Media SRL, Dan Pascari has studied law, in 2014-2015 he worked in the Legal Service of some state institutions, and in 2017 - 2021 he was a senior reviewing inspector of the Control Section of the Registration Department of Means of Transport and the Qualification of Drivers. In September 2024, he became an administrator of SRL Rentparc. |
| CEO | Ana Butnariuc Ana Butnariuc is a journalist with 17 years of experience in TV. She has previously worked as an editor-in-chief of Prime TV. She was previously a reporter at DECA-press and SP newspaper in Bălți, as a correspondent at ProTV Chisinau, as well as editor and producer with Moldovan TV channels Publika TV and Prime TV. She also has a background in pedagogy, with five years of experience as an educator. |
| Editor-In-Chief | Ana Butnariuc See above |
| Other Important People | Petru Jelihovschi The manager of One TV was Petru Jelihovschi, formerly the administrator of currently suspended Prime TV, which was affiliated with the fugitive politician and oligarch Vlad Plahotniuc. In a response to the MOM team's request for information, Ana Butnariuc, the administrator of SFC Media SRL, mentioned that in 2023, the company concluded a consulting contract for TV production with Petru Jelihovschi in the context of the launch of the new station ONE TV. The consulting contract ended in July 2024, in connection with Petru Jelihovschi's departure from the country. |
| Contact | Star TV str. Barbu Lăutaru, nr. 28 MD-2071 mun. Chișinău ana_butnariuc@yahoo.com, sfcmedia28@gmail.com, redactia@tvstar.md 0-799-98-105 |
| Revenue | MDL 245,456 / USD 13,735 (2023) |
|---|---|
| Operating Profit | MDL -1,624,076 / USD -90,882 (2023) |
| Advertising (in % of total funding) | MDL 139,499 / USD 7,806 (2023) (56.83% of total revenues). |
| Market Share | Missing data |