Romanian women's handball season begins amid TV rights controversy

The 2026-2027 Liga Florilor women's handball season has commenced, marked by both on-court action and controversy regarding broadcasting rights. In the opening match, CS Gloria Bistrița secured a 23-16 victory against newly promoted CSM Iași at the TeraPlast Arena in front of over 2,000 spectators. Daciana Hosu led the scoring for Gloria with 8 goals.

Simultaneously, the Romanian Handball Federation (FRH) has faced scrutiny for its decision to grant domestic television rights for the new season to TVR for zero lei. While DigiSport reportedly offered approximately 100,000 euros per season for women's handball rights, the Federation opted for a deal where TVR covers production costs for all domestic competitions, including the men's league and the Romanian Cup, without paying a rights fee to the Federation. The announcement of this procedure was made shortly before the season began, with critics noting the extremely short window provided for interested parties to submit bids.