TV and On-Demand Audiovisual Services in Albania Table of Contents
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TV and on-demand audiovisual services in Albania Table of Contents Description of the audiovisual market.......................................................................................... 2 Licensing authorities / Registers...................................................................................................2 Population and household equipment.......................................................................................... 2 TV channels available in the country........................................................................................... 3 TV channels established in the country..................................................................................... 10 On-demand audiovisual services available in the country......................................................... 14 On-demand audiovisual services established in the country..................................................... 15 Operators (all types of companies)............................................................................................ 15 Description of the audiovisual market The Albanian public service broadcaster, RTSH, operates a range of channels: TVSH (Shqiptar TV1) TVSH 2 (Shqiptar TV2) and TVSH Sat; and in addition a HD channel RTSH HD, and three thematic channels on music, sport and art. There are two major private operators, TV Klan and Top Channel (Top Media Group). The activity of private electronic media began without a legal framework in 1995, with the launch of the unlicensed channel Shijak TV. After the creation of the regulatory body in 1999, commercial radio and television stations started operating under licences. There are more than eighty cable operators in the Albanian market and two competing satellite platforms. The two satellite operators DigitAlb (Top Media Group) and Tring Digital also have pay DTT services, and both have a wide range of thematic channels. The digital terrestrial television platform DigitAlb was launched in 2004. DigitAlb claims to have more than 300 000 direct reception subscribers both in Albania and abroad, plus 120 000 households on the DTT network. Its competitor, Tring Digital, was launched by Albanian Satellite Communications in September 2008 and includes over 30 channels and has approximately 140 000 subscribers in Albania. Tring also has a pay DTT Package. In 2007 DigitAlb Mobile (DVB-H) television service, was launched by the Top Media group. Although pay-DTT has been operating since 2004, the launch of a free DTT system has been in delay. In May 2012, the Council of Ministers approved a strategy for Digital Switch-over which will see the launch of DTT, and a planned switch-off of analogue broadcasting in 2015. On 4 March 2013, the Albanian Parliament approved Law 97/2013 “On Audiovisual Media in the Republic of Albania”, which aims to harmonise Albanian media legislation with the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (2010/13/ EU - AVMSD) of the European Union. The law replaced the regulatory authority Këshilli Kombëtar i Radios dhe Televizionit (KKRT - National Council of Radio and Television) with the Autoriteti i Mediave Audiovizive (AMA - Authority of Audiovisual Media). The regulator will have new functions such as the issuing of digital licenses and authorisations, the preparation of regulations and the preparation of research in the audiovisual media sector. In 2011, the licence fee doubled for each household pays for the public broadcasting service. For years Albania has had one of the lowest licence fees for public broadcasting in the region. This fee is paid through the payment of the respective electricity bills. Until 2011, the fee was paid as a lump sum, in the first trimester of each year. The sum will be divided in monthly rates of ALL 100 (EUR 0.72) in order to evenly distribute the amount that the population owes to the public broadcasting service through the year. This description was last updated in January 2014 along with details on channels and line-ups. Changes to channel offers are updated on a regular basis. Licensing authorities / Registers Name Channels established in Albania Audiovisual Media Authority – AMA Population and household equipment Number of (Th.) Rate of penetration (% HH) Source / other information Page 2 of 15 TV channels available in the country International/National/Regional channels Channel Broadcaster Media Public / Country of Genre Countries Regions Language group Private / establishment targeted targeted Mixed 3 Plus Private Albania TV fiction Albania, Albanian (Albania) channel The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia A1 Report TV Private Albania News channel Albania Albanian ABC News Private Albania News channel Albania Albanian (Albania) Agon channel Private Albania News channel Albania, Albanian The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Albanian Private Albania Generalist Albania, Albanian Screen channel Europe (Free satellite channel), Germany Al Jazeera HD AL JAZEERA QATAR MEDIA Private United High definition Croatia, English (version in INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION Kingdom simulcast of Cyprus, English) LIMITED an existing Europe, channel Slovenia, United Kingdom Al Jazeera AL JAZEERA QATAR MEDIA Private United News channel Australia, English (version in INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION Kingdom Austria, English) LIMITED Belgium- Flemish Community, Belgium- French Community, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Europe, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom Animal Planet DISCOVERY DISCOVERY Private United Documentary Albania, Albanian (version in COMMUNICATIONSCOMMUNICATIONS Kingdom channel The Former Albanian) EUROPE INC Yugoslav LIMITED Republic of Macedonia Bang Bang Private Albania Children's Albania Albanian (Albania) channel BBF Music TV Private Albania Music channel Albania, Albanian The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Bloomberg TV BLOOMBERG Private United Business Austria, English Europe UK LIMITED Kingdom channel Belgium- Flemish Community, Belgium- French Community, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Page 3 of 15 Channel Broadcaster Media Public / Country of Genre Countries Regions Language group Private / establishment targeted targeted Mixed Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Europe, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden Channel One Private Albania Generalist Albania Albanian Albania channel Club TV Private Albania Music channel Albania Albanian (Albania) CNN TURNER TIME WARNER Private United News channel Europe, English International BROADCASTING INC Kingdom Russian SYSTEM Federation EUROPE LIMITED Comedy MTV MTV Private Netherlands Entertainment Albania, English Central Extra NETWORKS, NETWORKS channel Bosnia- (Europe) S.R.O.