Albanian Radio and Television (RTSH)

Albanian Radio-Television (Radio Televizioni Shqipta, RTSH) is Albania’s public service broadcaster. It began operations in the interwar period when Radio Tirana was founded. The television arm of the station started in 1960 as TVSH. The broadcaster airs more than 20 television and radio channels including Radio Tirana International, which targets foreign audiences.


Media assets

Television: RTSH 1, RTSH 2, RTSH 3, RTSH Shkollë, RTSH Film, RTSH Muzikë, RTSH Shqip, RTSH Fëmijë, RTSH Sport, RTSH Plus, RTSH 24, RTSH Agro, RTSH Kuvënd, RTSH Gjirokastra, RTSH Korça, RTSH Kukësi, RTSH Shkodra

Radio: National- Radio Tirana, Radio Tirana 2, Radio Tirana 3, Radio Tirana International, Radio Tirana Klasik, Radio Tirana Jazz, Radio Tirana Fëmijë; Regional- RTSH Gjirokastra, RTSH Korça, RTSH Kukësi, RTSH Shkodra

State Media Matrix Typology: Captured Public/State-Managed (CaPu)


Ownership and governance

RTSH is registered as a non-profit public entity under the control of the Albanian Parliament. RTSH is governed by the Law on Audiovisual Media, which created the legal basis for RTSH’s highest governing body: the Steering Committee. Although the law empowers civil society organizations, academia and professional associations to nominate candidates to the Committee, Parliament has the final decision in appointing its members. Hence, the Steering Committee is rather a representation of the political power divisions in parliament than a body that mirrors the preferences of civil society. Moreover, civil society groups are often accused of selecting candidates in line with their own political preferences. Thus, the decisions of the Committee are in most cases influenced by politics, according to local experts.

Source of funding and budget

RTSH is financed through revenues raised from license fee, a special fee that is mandatory for all homes in Albania. It is paid along with the electricity bill. In the past few years, the sources of the RTSH’s funding remained more or less unchanged.

According to data from RTSH, in 2019, the revenues from the license fee accounted for some 56% of the broadcaster’s total budget. State funding accounted for some 30%. The remainder was generated by RTSH through commercial activities, including advertising, rental of antenna transmission facilities and provision of broadcast services for third-parties. RTSH hasn’t yet published more recent annual reports.

Two years later, in 2021, RTSH had a total budget of ALL 2.2bn (US$ 18.6m), according to the latest financial report from the company. Revenue from license fees accounted for nearly 65% of that.

Editorial independence

RTSH has a long history as a government propaganda channel for Albania’s communist regime. After 1990, the broadcaster struggled to implement reforms aimed at transforming the outlet into an independent public media institution. For many years though, the broadcaster continued to be seen as a political tool in the hands of the government. 

However, in recent years, the editorial coverage of RTSH has markedly improved along with its independence. The IREX Media Sustainability Index, based on research conducted by an NGO based in the U.S., found that “public broadcasters [in Albania] do not cater to the government and do allow access to opposition viewpoints. Journalists for these outlets do not enjoy privileged access to events or officials.”

Nonetheless, a series of developments in 2023 sent a strong signal that the broadcaster has lost its editorial independence following the appointment of a new management. In June 2023, Alfred Peza, a former MP of the ruling Socialist Party, was appointed director of the RTSH, a move that immediately sparked concerns about political independence. According to information from a local association of journalists, right after he was named at the helm of the RTSH, Peza fired 10 journalists. The dismissals were rather arbitrary, according to journalists in the country. Ricardo Gutierrez of the European Federation of Journalists, a media freedom NGO, said that the sackings “alarmed” him.

These developments prompted us to relegate RTSH to a lower category in our State Media Matrix Typology.

The activity of RTSH is guided by a statute establishing its role, mission, type of operation and independence. In the past, the statute was regularly breached as political interference with the station’s editorial line was commonplace. But, as discussed hitherto, in recent years, the statute has been enforced as the station became more independent. The developments in 2023 seem to show that government restored its control over RTSH’s editorial agenda.

RTSH has a body named the Council of Viewers and Listeners that is in charge of monitoring the programming of the station, conducting surveys to understand how people perceive RTSH’s programs, giving RTSH’s management feedback on the station’s programs and compiling an annual report summarizing its conclusions regarding how RTSH performed editorially.

October 2023