Romanian business TV The Money Channel relaunches after months of re-runs, hotel owner allegedly financing it

Romanian business TV station The Money Channel recently relaunched, after several months the channel broadcast reruns from Realitatea TV, owned by the same company Realitatea Media.

The Money Channel will focus on business for 60 percent of its content, and the rest will be business lifestyle. Journalist Daniel Apostol is the general manager of the channel, and the team includes journalists Rudniţchi, Radu Preda, Lucian Pop, Alex Ferariu, Horia Alexandrescu and Viorel Popescu, as well as Mircea N. Stoian. The latter is known for his previous activity in tabloid TV shows. The Money Channel license is owned by Realitatea Media, which filed the request to change the program of the TV station with Romania's audiovisual watchdog CNA, and move headquarters from Willbrook building into a building on Calea Floreasca, according to Mediafax. Media reports also point to a new financier for the TV station, Mohammad Murad, who owns the building where The Money Channel has its new headquarters. Murad owns the Phoenicia Hotel in Bucharest, the Springtime chain of fast food units, as well as six hotels on the Romanian seaside, among other businesses. The Money Channel was launched in 2006, but its parent company Realitatea Media entered insolvency in September 2011, and The Money Channel ended up stopping broadcasting late last year. Most of the former team at The Money Channel launched Money TV, a TV channel with a similar format, which is currently broadcasting. Money TV is owned by Media Advertising & Sales, which has three shareholders, Sorin Freciu with 75 percent of the shares, Sorin Codita with 5 percent and Util Construct SRL with the rest. Freciu is the former president of the board of Realitatea Media. In October 2012, together with the team from Money Channel and with Daniel Apostol, he launched Money TV. Apostol later came back to The Money Channel to take leadership. Realitatea Media is currently owned by Strategies Research Investments, with 86 percent, which in turn is a company controlled by politician Cozmin Gusa and Maricel Pacuraru, with equal participation. editor@romania-insider.com