Hungarian media mogul Varga Zoltán targets Nemzeti Sport and Mandiner amid public broadcaster leadership shake‑up

Varga Zoltán, owner of Central Media Group—which publishes titles such as 24.hu, Startlap, Vezess.hu, Nők Lapja, NLC, Storyt and Best—is reportedly considering expanding his holdings by buying the daily sports newspaper Nemzeti Sport, currently owned by the state broadcaster MTVA, and the weekly Mandiner, which is owned by the Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC) foundation. HVG says Varga discussed the plans in a closed‑door meeting; no formal offer has been made and Central Media Group declined to confirm or deny the rumours.

The potential acquisitions come as the former government’s media empire contracts and state‑linked outlets face reduced public subsidies. At the same time, the Hungarian Parliament’s cultural committee has appointed an interim head of the public‑media body Közmédia. The Tisza Party nominated Horváth András, a legal‑economic specialist, while Fidesz did not put forward a candidate. The selection was made without hearings, and the committee said the interim leadership will remain in place at least until autumn, after which a full‑application process will begin under a new law that removed the previous heads Altorjai Anita and Papp Dániel.