TV 8
TV8 is one of the most important private television channels in the Republic of Moldova, being one of the few managed by a public association formed by journalists. It was launched in 2017 and is managed by the Media Alternativă Public Association, a non-governmental organization founded by several journalists.
The channel's website, tv8.md, is one of the most popular news sites in Moldova.
The broadcasting licence for TV8 was previously held by Analitic Media Grup SRL, owned by Chiril Lucinschi, the son of the former Moldovan President Petru Lucinschi. The TV channel was then known as TV7. In 2016, Chiril Lucinschi sold the company to his children.
Subsequently, in 2017, Chiril Lucinschi announced that he was transferring the shares of TV7 to the non-governmental association Media Alternativă.
The association was led by journalist Natalia Morari, who already had several political shows on TV7, and its co-founders included journalists Mariana Rață and Ion Terguță, political analyst Igor Boțan, and Cristina Guțu, the director of TV7.
In June 2017, TV7 changed its name to TV8, and in December 2017, the Audiovisual Coordination Council (now Audiovisual Council) approved the transfer of the broadcasting licence to Media Alternativă.
The launch of TV8 was supported by several journalists and representatives of civil society. At its launch, the new channel received a grant of $172,000 from the European Endowment for Democracy (EED).
The television station radically changed its broadcasting program, undergoing a total rebranding. While it previously retransmitted programs from Russian television stations such as ORT (Russian public television, now Perviy Kanal), NTV and TV Center, after changing its name to TV8 and coming under the management of the public association established by journalists, the station included more of its own informative and analytical programs in its schedule, as well as acquired European-produced content.
A significant episode that marked TV8's history and impacted the television station's image occurred in September 2021, when journalist Natalia Morari, one of TV8's founders and president of the Media Alternativă Public Association, announced she would have a child with controversial businessman and politician Veaceslav Platon, who had been convicted for involvement in Moldova's largest banking fraud, known as the "theft of the billion" (discovered in 2014), and was later acquitted and released following intervention by former Prosecutor General Alexandr Stoianoglo, who ran for President of the Republic of Moldova in 2024. Platon continues to be involved in several criminal cases in Moldova and is a fugitive in Great Britain.
The controversy around this incident stemmed from the fact that Natalia Morari had conducted at least one interview with Platon when they were in a relationship, which was seen as a conflict of interest and a potential risk to free and independent press, as noted by several media organizations at the time.
Natalia Morari announced her resignation from the leadership of the association. Subsequently, TV8’s management announced that Morari had been “dismissed” from the administrative structures, and her show “Politica Nataliei Morari” was “permanently removed from the channel’s schedule.”
Morari later accused her former colleagues of forcing her to leave and claimed she was illegally removed from her position.
Along with Morari, Cristina Guțu, who is also a relative of Morari, left TV8. Both are currently in legal disputes with the Media Alternativă association.
In June 2024, TV8's programming included news bulletins, several political talk shows in Romanian and Russian (such as "Cutia Neagră," "Întreabă Ghețu," and "Новая неделя"), investigative programs and reports ("Cutia Neagră Plus," "Moldova Gândește," "Dincolo de Nistru"), as well as educational and entertainment shows ("Psihologul meu," "Iubește viața," "Campionii," "Vania Băț"). The channel also broadcast films and series.
TV8 has conducted a number of journalistic investigations, social campaigns, and interviews with prominent public figures from Moldova. Additionally, the channel hired a Ukrainian journalist who fled to Moldova following the start of the Russian aggression, and who produces a show dedicated to Ukrainian refugees.
In 2022, TV8's funding came from multiple sources, with grants comprising the largest portion at 55.75%, followed by advertising sales at 43.83%. The remaining funding was made up of loans at 4.24% and donations at 0.42%.
According to the 2022 financial report, TV8 received support from various international organizations and diplomatic missions. These included the National Endowment for Democracy, Junior Achievement USAID, and the US Embassy in Moldova, with projects extending through 2024-2025. Additional funding partners were the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Moldova and the European Endowment for Democracy. Support also came from The Canada Fund for Local Initiatives, the Congress of Ukrainians in Moldova, and USAID Chemonics International. Further financial backing was provided by the Sigrid Fund, the Swiss Cooperation Office, and the Independent Journalism Center, with some of these partnerships continuing through 2023-2024.
The Media Alternativă Association, which operates as a non-profit organization, is led by Igor Boțan as President, with Mariana Rață-Vremea, Viorica Tătaru Craițămîndră, and Svetlana Buza serving as founding members.
Key Facts
| Audience Share | 3.96% |
|---|---|
| Ownership Type | Private |
| Geographic Coverage | Transnational |
| Content Type | Free |
| Active Transparency | company/channel informs proactively and comprehensively about its ownership, data is constantly updated and easily verifiable |
| Media Companies / Groups | AO "Media Alternativă" |
Ownership
| Ownership Structure | TV8 is owned by the non-profit Media Alternativă Public Association. The founders of the association are: - Igor Boțan - President of the Public Association “Media Alternativă” The channel publishes the relevant information about the association's members and the Board of Directors. The AO Media Alternativa Association is governed by the General Assembly, composed of association members. The main responsibilities of the Assembly are to: - Appoint members of the Board of Directors; The activities of AO Media Alternativa are managed by the association's Board of Directors, consisting of 6 members. The Board, by voting, adopts: - the budget and activity plan for the association, TV8, and the website; The current activities of TV8 and tv8.md are managed by the institution's internal management — the executive director and financial director handle operational and financial activities, while the Senior Editor oversees editorial policy matters. The institution's internal executive council consists of: - the executive director; |
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Media Companies / Groups
Facts
| Founding Year | 2017 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Public Association ”Media Alternativă” TV8 channel was founded by the Public Association "Alternative Media", which was registered on March 13, 2017. The association was led by former journalist Natalia Morari, and the co-founders were journalists Mariana Rață and Ion Terguță, political analyst Igor Boțan, and Cristina Guțu, director of TV7 channel. AnaliticMedia-Grup SA company transferred its broadcasting license, which it held for another television station, TV7, to the "Alternative Media" Association. TV8 channel was founded based on this broadcasting license. AnaliticMedia-Grup SA was owned by businessman and former politician Chiril Lucinschi. He was then in a relationship with former journalist Natalia Morari. Chiril Lucinschi is the son of former Moldovan President Petru Lucinschi. Natalia Morari Natalia Morari is a former TV journalist. She first gained prominence following a series of mass protests in Moldova in April 2009. These thousand-strong protests were sparked following the Communist Party’s victory in the parliamentary elections. Morari was among the organisers of these protests. She studied in Moscow, where she also wrote for "Novoe Vremya" about money laundering cases involving high-ranking officials close to the Russian President Vladimir Putin. As a result, she was expelled from Russia and declared persona non grata. In Moldova, Morari moderated programs at several TV channels (Publika TV, TV7). In 2017 she co-founded TV8, where she also hosted political shows. She publicly admitted to having been in an intimate relationship with Chiril Lucinschi, the son of fex-President of Moldova Petru Lucinschi and the former owner of TV8 (successor of TV7) . In 2021, Morari was removed from the list of founding members of the Media Alternativă (Media Alternative) NGO following a scandal. It was revealed that the father of her child was Veaceslav Platon, a controversial businessman under criminal investigation in Moldova, with whom she had conducted at least one interview during their relationship. She subsequently withdrew from the public eye for a brief period but returned in 2022 with new political talk shows on N4 television and later on YouTube. Her political shows were heavily promoted through social media sponsorships, including those paid for by Veaceslav Platon, who announced founding his own political party. In May 2024, Natalia Morari organised a meeting with several opposition party leaders to identify a common candidate for the presidential elections scheduled for October 20, 2024. While a common candidate was not chosen, in July 2024, Natalia Morari announced her intention to run for the presidency of Moldova as an independent candidate. She was registered and voted for by 0.61% of voters. Mariana Rață-Vremea Mariana Rață-Vremea is one of the founding members of the non-profit organisation Media Alternativa, which holds the broadcasting licence for the TV station TV8. Mariana Rață graduated from the Faculty of Journalism and Communication Sciences at Moldova State University, with a specialisation in Communication. She is an investigative journalist, TV presenter, and Senior Editor responsible for editorial policy at TV8. She hosts the political talk show "Cutia Neagră" (”The Black Box”) and the investigative program "Cutia Neagră PLUS," both aired on TV8. She has over 23 years of journalistic experience. She began her career in journalism at the newspaper Jurnal de Chișinău in 2005, where she worked for 8 years. She also hosted a political program on Jurnal TV from 2009 to 2010. Between 2010 and 2013, she worked as an editor and reporter for several news portals: jurnal.md, union.md, deschide.md, moldovacurata.md. From 2013 to 2016, she was the Deputy Chief Editor at the publication "Ziarul Național." She later worked at the Center for Investigative Journalism, as a journalist and coordinating editor. In 2017, she cof-ounded the channel TV8. Additionally, since 2017, she has been the Chairperson of the Board of the Independent Journalism Center in Moldova. She has won several journalism awards: "Ten Journalists of the Year" (2013), a competition organised by the Independent Journalism Center; "Best Investigative Journalism on Corruption," first place in 2016, second place in 2017, a competition organised by UNDP; shortlisted for the European Press Prize (2017) with the investigation "The Steroid Mafia." Mariana Rață is an anti-corruption and justice expert, author of several studies on selective justice, in collaboration with Freedom House. Together with Svetlana Buza (Executive Director of Media Alternativa) and Vasile Gherman (Financial Director of TV8), Mariana Rață is a partner in the company "Independent Trust Media" SRL. On July 26, 2024, the company received a licence from the Audiovisual Council for a new TV station, 1TV, which is expected to be oriented toward the Russian-speaking audience. Cristina Guțu Cristina Guțu is a journalist and TV producer. She is the cousin of Natalia Morari and the ex-wife of Iurie Roșca, a controversial politician who previously supported unionist views (advocating for the unification of Moldova with Romania) and was the leader of the Christian-Democratic People's Party. Currently, Roșca is known for promoting Russian narratives and propaganda. Guțu has served as the director at both TV7 and TV8. She also left TV8 following the Morari-Platon scandal. Ion Terguță Ion Terguță is a journalist and media expert with political involvement. He was one of the founders of the NGO Media Alternativa and served as the director of the TV station in 2017. From 2009 to 2016, he was the director of the Moldovan National Representation of the MIR TV Company, a member of the Board of Directors of MIR TV, and the representative of the Moldovan Government in the Board of Trustees of MIR TV (a media structure of the Commonwealth of Independent States). In 2012, in this role, he received the "Drujba" award from the Russian President Vladimir Putin. He renounced the award in 2022 as a protest against Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. From 2005 to 2009, Ion Terguță was the director of the DTV channel. Prior to that, he was the deputy director of the Info-Prim news agency and the editor-in-chief of the News Department at ANTENA C radio station. He has also served as the editor-in-chief of the News Department at Radio Moldova International. He has been active in the press since 1993. His political career began with the Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova (PLDM) led by former Prime Minister Vlad Filat. Terguță was elected vice president of PLDM in July 2018, after serving as the party’s spokesperson since November 2017. In 2019, he ran in the parliamentary elections on the list of the ACUM Bloc, which consisted of the Dignity and Truth Platform (Platforma DA), led by Andrei Năstase, and the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS), led by Maia Sandu, who became President of Moldova in 2020. In 2020, Terguță was elected Secretary General of Platforma DA. In 2021, he ran in the early parliamentary elections on the Platforma DA list but did not secure a seat in either election. Currently, he has no political affiliation. |
| CEO | Svetlana Buza Svetlana Buza is one of the founding members and since March 2020, the Executive Director of the Public Association "Media Alternativă". Previously, she was the administrator of Reforma Art SRL, which held the broadcasting licence for Moldovan TV channel, Jurnal TV. She was also a PR Manager at Jurnal Trust Media, which includes Jurnal TV. Between 2017-2019, she was the general manager of two shopping centres in Chisinau: "Unic" and "Gemenii". In August 2023, Svetlana Buza was elected Chairperson of the Competition Committee responsible for selecting the institution that will measure audience and market shares for the period 2024-2029. The committee includes representatives from several television stations and is managed by the Audiovisual Council. Svetlana Buza and Mariana Rață, a senior editor at TV8, are the founders of the company Independent Trust Media SRL. On July 26, 2024, the company received a broadcasting licence for a new TV station — 1TV — which is expected to produce programs in Russian. |
| Editor-In-Chief | Mariana Rață-Vremea See above |
| Other Important People | Viorica Tătaru Craiţămîndră Viorica Tătaru Craițămîndră is a journalist, camerawoman, producer, and director, known in Moldova for her reports from the breakaway Transnistrian region of Moldova and the Ukraine war. Alongside journalist Andrei Captarenco, she co-produced the documentary film "Drumul Războiului. Irpin" (The Road of War. Irpin), which has won several awards and includes numerous reports and interviews from conflict zones in Ukraine. The two journalists received the "Order of Honour" from the President of Moldova, Maia Sandu for the documentary. She graduated from the Academy of Music, Theater, and Fine Arts in Chișinău, where she studied directing. She has also been a member of the Press Council of Moldova. |
| Contact | TV 8 str. Calea Orheiului, 28/1 MD-2059 mun. Chișinău marianaratavremea@gmail.com, niculita.sergiu2@gmail.com 022-55-88-88; 0794-34-001; 0798-48-598 www.tv8.md |
| Revenue | MDL 35,5 million / USD 1.99 million / (2023) |
|---|---|
| Operating Profit | No profit |
| Advertising (in % of total funding) | MDL 16,9 million / USD 950,000 (47% of total revenue) (2023) |
| Market Share | Missing Data |