Albanian TV giants strengthen grip on market with 79.1% dominance in 2023

Tirana, August 7, 2024 – Albania's media landscape is witnessing a significant shift. The country's four largest commercial television stations have increased their market dominance to 79.1% in 2023, up from 75.1% the previous year. This marks the highest level of media concentration in Albania since 2018, according to recent financial data analyzed by BIRN.

International guidelines often use the market share of the top four operators to gauge media concentration. In Albania, however, only two of these operators—Klan TV and Top Channel—are considered major players. The third and fourth, while significant, are more accurately described as medium-sized.

When focusing solely on the two largest operators, Klan and Top Channel together commanded 64% of the market in 2023. This reflects their enduring influence and the high level of media concentration in the country.

BIRN's analysis covered twelve of Albania's largest TV stations. Out of these, two had not filed their balance sheets by the required deadline of July 31, 2024, while ten had submitted their documents to the National Business Center.

The data indicates a return to higher media concentration after a period of reduced dominance by Top Channel and TV Klan due to the emergence of new TV stations. The ten reviewed stations collectively earned 6.6 billion lek (approximately 66 million euros) in 2023, a 14% increase from the previous year.

Klan TV continues to lead the market, maintaining its top position since 2021 when it surpassed Top Channel. Top Channel remains in second place, followed by Media Vizion and G2 Media A2CNN.

Elections and Big Brother boost

TV stations in Albania typically see a boost during years with parliamentary or local elections, thanks to increased ad spending by the Central Election Commission and political parties. In 2023, this trend was compounded by the success of Big Brother Vip Albania. Top Channel experienced a 25% increase in revenue, while Klan TV's revenue grew by 19%. Vizion Plus and A2 CNN also saw gains, with revenue increases of 25% and 11%, respectively. However, other stations generally reported declines.

Klan TV remains the most profitable station, with net profits of 2.7 million euros last year, four times higher than those of Top Channel. Meanwhile, newer stations like A2CNN and Euronews showed mixed results. A2CNN reported modest profits, while Euronews continued to face substantial losses, totaling 89.5 million lek.

The opposition-affiliated station Syri.tv secured 1.7% of the total TV market revenue last year, amounting to 113 million lek. Its revenue dropped by 22% compared to 2022.