PRO TV’s decision to remove from the grid the show presented by Cătălin Măruță caused reactions in the guild. Among those who publicly commented on the move was Dan Negru, who delivered a critical message after analyzing the station’s subsequent audience figures.
The TV presenter claims that the change did not achieve its goal, and the replacement of production with series did not bring the expected results.
“I saw this news this morning… Cătăline, come back! Pro replaced Măruță with series. The rerun of “Game of Words” in the afternoon is the audience leader, Pro is not, and Antena is always close, never there. It was not worth the change”. Dan Negru relayed.
After almost two decades on the station, Cătălin Măruță’s show was taken off the grid. The time slot previously occupied by the entertainment show was replaced by two productions: the series “At the Edge of the World”broadcast from 14:00, and the Turkish production “Leyla”, scheduled from 15:00.
Black Dan drew attention to a larger problem: the steady loss of television audiences.
“Television is losing audience from year to year and because the offers of TV programs are getting weaker. We have over 100 televisions and for nothing. Last year, the first three large commercial televisions (Pro, Kanal D, Antena 1) had a cumulative market share of 39.7%. In other words, 39.7% of Romanians who watched television watched one of the three televisions, out of a total of 134 stations”, stated Black Dan.
He emphasized that in the news segment, the leader would have remained Romania TV, while Digi 24, Realitatea Plus and Antena 3 CNN compete for their audience with different editorial lines.
“My guild has reached its lowest credibility level,” said Negru, emphasizing that the public’s trust in television has been affected by successive crises – pandemics, wars, elections – but also by the past marked by propaganda and manipulation.
“Trust is «glue» that keeps us close to each other. In Romania, television did not know how to use this «glue»“, said Black Dan.
In a message published the other day on Facebook, Cătălin Măruță conveyed that, beyond success and applause, “family remains the most important support”. For now, the presenter has not announced what the next steps in his career will be.
“In life we run a lot after success, after applause, after “more”. But, at the end of the day, peace comes from only one place: the family. Success can lift you up, it can carry you far, but the family is what keeps you whole. It is there when there is noise and when there is silence, when there is light and when it is hard. The rest are stages. The family remains”. wrote Măruță, on Facebook.
“Layla” had a slight debut above the level of the show “La Maruta” on the first day, but dropped nationally on Tuesday. In the cities, however, the series grew from one day to the next. On both days, Pro TV’s output was topped by either “Word Game” (Kanal D), either by “Bride” (Antenna 1), depending on the analyzed audience.
