ABC News (Albania)

ABC News is an Albanian private free-to-air television news channel based in Tirana. It was launched in 2010 on the frequency and corporate basis of the former Italian-Albanian local broadcaster Telenorba Shqiptare. The channel operates alongside ABC News Radio, a local radio service that relays ABC News television content on 105 FM in Tirana and surrounding municipalities. The ownership of ABC News has changed several times. It was formerly linked to Aleksandër Frangaj and TV Klan, then to A.B.C. Management, and since October 2022 has been ultimately owned by Esat Bojku through Media Holding sh.p.k. and A.B.C. Management sh.p.k. Media ownership monitors and civil-society reports have discussed ABC News within wider concerns over Albania's concentrated television market, opaque or complex ownership structures, and political or business influence over editorial lines. During the 2025 Albanian parliamentary election campaign, a BIRN analysis of data collected by the Audiovisual Media Authority found that ABC News allocated 51.4% of its news-bulletin campaign airtime and 73.4% of its live-broadcast campaign airtime to the governing Socialist Party of Albania, while smaller electoral subjects received 1.2% and 0.5% respectively in those two formats. History Telenorba Shqiptare and licensing The company from which ABC News developed was founded in 2000 as Telenorba Shqiptare. According to Media Ownership Monitor Albania, the original shareholders were Eligio Romanazi, Scorpion sh.p.k., Donato D'Alessandro and Giovanni D'Alessandro. The National Council of Radio and Television, the predecessor of the Audiovisual Media Authority, granted the company its first permit to operate a local television station in November 2000. The channel's licensing history was irregular. In 2006, the regulator refused to renew the five-year licence of Telenorba Shqiptare. In 2009, the same regulatory body reversed its earlier decision and renewed the licence for another five years. The company's name was changed from Telenorba Shqiptare to ABC News in 2010, after which the outlet developed as an Albanian-language news broadcaster based in Tirana. Launch as ABC News ABC News began broadcasting in 2010 as a news-focused television channel. It adopted a 24-hour information format based on bulletins, political debate, current-affairs programmes, reports, studio interviews and live broadcasts. The channel later expanded its online presence through the website abcnews.al and social-media channels, while maintaining a conventional television schedule built around news bulletins and political programmes. ABC News Radio was licensed by the Audiovisual Media Authority on 7 May 2019 for local audio broadcasting in Tirana, Kamza, Vorë, Durrës and Shijak. Media Ownership Monitor describes the radio station as a relay service without original programming of its own, broadcasting the television content of ABC News. Ownership changes before 2022 The ownership of ABC News changed repeatedly before the current structure was established. Redi Sata acquired 80% of the shares of the company in 2007, after the original Telenorba Shqiptare company had passed through several ownership changes. In 2016, Sata sold 40% of ABC News to Aleksandër Frangaj and his wife Alba Gina for €20,000. In May 2019, Frangaj and Gina bought the remaining shares, but three months later sold ABC News to A.B.C. Management sh.p.k. for €600,000. This period linked ABC News to the wider Klan media environment. Frangaj, a former journalist and media entrepreneur, is also associated with TV Klan and other Klan-branded outlets. In a 2022 profile of Albanian media ownership, AidData described Frangaj as a media mogul and cited watchdog concerns that he had been known for aligning coverage with the interests of incumbent governments, regardless of which party was in power. That assessment referred to the broader Klan group and earlier ownership period, rather than the current formal owner of ABC News. A.B.C. Management and links with Kosovo media A.B.C. Management also became linked with Kosovo-based Media Works sh.p.k., the company behind T7 and Gazeta Express. Kosovo Media Ownership Monitor reports that Media Works owns Gazeta Express sh.p.k. and T7 sh.p.k., while Media Works itself came under the ownership of the Netherlands-registered Media A.B.C. Holding B.V. Media Works had previously been acquired by A.B.C. Management, but the Kosovo ownership monitor notes that, by the time A.B.C. Management was sold in October 2022, A.B.C. Management owned only ABC News. It further stated that, despite similarities in names, there was no public link between Media Holding sh.p.k. in Albania, which owns ABC News, and Media Works sh.p.k. in Kosovo, which owns T7 and Gazeta Express. Because of these transactions, some earlier descriptions of ABC News as a current sister outlet of T7 and Gazeta Express became outdated. The three outlets were presented as part of a common Albanian-language media group during the A.B.C. Management period, but later ownership records indicate that the Albania-based ABC News and the Kosovo-based Media Works assets no longer had a publicly documented common owner after the 2022 restructuring. Media Holding and Esat Bojku In October 2022, the parent company of ABC News was sold again. Media Ownership Monitor Albania states that Media Holding sh.p.k. bought the Netherlands-registered Media A.B.C. Holding B.V., which owned ABC News through A.B.C. Management sh.p.k., for €2.7 million. Esat Bojku, a Kosovo citizen from Peja, owns 100% of Media Holding sh.p.k. and is therefore the ultimate beneficial owner of ABC News. OpenCorporates Albania records the same ownership chain: Media Holding owns 100% of A.B.C. Management, while A.B.C. Management owns 100% of ABC News. Media Ownership Monitor described Bojku as an unknown figure in the Albanian and Kosovo media market. It also recorded a public allegation by opposition leader Sali Berisha that ABC News had actually been bought by Kosovo businessman Blerim Devolli. The monitor did not establish a direct corporate link between Bojku and Devolli's companies, but noted that Bojku's father, Ismet Bojku, had been general director of Devolli Group and Dardafon, companies associated with the Devolli business network. Because these statements concern alleged hidden influence, Wikipedia-style coverage normally attributes them to the monitoring source and distinguishes them from the outlet's official ownership records. Ownership and management Corporate structure As of the latest publicly available ownership data cited by Media Ownership Monitor Albania and OpenCorporates Albania, ABC News is owned by A.B.C. Management sh.p.k. A.B.C. Management is owned by Media Holding sh.p.k., and Media Holding is wholly owned by Esat Bojku. The company ABC News sh.a. was established in April 2000 under its earlier Telenorba Shqiptare identity and is registered in Tirana at Rruga Aleksandër Moisiu, former Kinostudio. OpenCorporates Albania records Amarda Kapaj and Erjona Zaimi as administrators of A.B.C. Management and identifies ABC News sh.a. as the controlled company owned by A.B.C. Management. Media Ownership Monitor lists Amarda Kapaj as CEO of ABC News since November 2022 and Erjona Zaimi Daco as co-administrator. It also identifies journalist Sokol Balla as director of ABC News and host of Real Story. Affiliated interests Media Ownership Monitor notes that Kapaj previously worked in marketing and public relations at American Hospital and, according to her LinkedIn profile, had earlier worked as an event coordinator for the Socialist Party during 2006–2007 and as a logistics coordinator for the Mjaft Movement in 2007. The same source lists Sokol Balla as a long-time political journalist who has held senior roles at several major Albanian broadcasters, including TV Klan, Top Channel and Vizion Plus, before joining ABC News. The ownership and management profile of ABC News has been discussed in the context of wider concerns about Albanian media owners using outlets to gain influence with political actors or to protect business interests. These concerns are not unique to ABC News. Reporters Without Borders states that Albania's most influential private media are owned by a small number of companies with links to political circles and highly regulated sectors, including construction. The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom has similarly identified Albania's lack of fair and transparent rules for state advertising and the weakness of safeguards against political influence as important risks to media independence. Editorial line and media freedom scrutiny Media concentration in Albania ABC News operates in a highly concentrated Albanian television market. Media Ownership Monitor Albania assessed media audience concentration and media market concentration in Albania as "high risk". According to its 2023 findings, the four largest owners in the free-to-air television market accounted for 86.94% of audience share, while the four largest television owners accounted for 72.47% of market share. In cross-media market concentration, the same report listed Esat Bojku and ABC News among the top eight media owners and outlets, with ABC News TV, ABCNews.al and ABC News Radio accounting for 3.92% of the cross-media market by the monitor's methodology. The monitor found that Albania lacked effective media-specific safeguards against excessive concentration and cross-ownership, and that the Audiovisual Media Authority had limited tools to prevent ownership structures that could endanger pluralism. The 2026 Albania profile of the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom also stated that Albania had no fair or transparent rules for distributing state advertising and that no authority monitored where public advertising funds were spent. Allegations of pro-government alignment ABC News has been discussed by critics as part of a broader Albanian media environment in which major private outlets are frequently accused of adjusting editorial lines to business and political interests. These claims are often framed in Albania as "media capture" or clientelism, but reliable sources usually describe them as structural risks, ownership concerns, or allegations rather than as proven legal findings against a single outlet. In the earlier period when ABC News was owned by Frangaj and Gina, AidData summarized reports by media watchdogs that Frangaj was known for playing to government interests and being rewarded for positive coverage of incumbent political figures. The same report described the Klan group as including TV Klan, Klan+, Radio Klan and, at the time, ABC News. After the 2022 ownership change, criticism shifted toward the opacity of the new structure and allegations about possible influence from Kosovo business networks. Media Ownership Monitor recorded Berisha's claim that Blerim Devolli stood behind the purchase, but also noted that direct corporate links had not been established. 2025 parliamentary-election coverage BIRN Albania's analysis of audiovisual media coverage during the 2025 parliamentary election campaign provides the clearest quantitative source for claims about ABC News's political alignment during that period. The report was based primarily on daily monitoring data published by the Audiovisual Media Authority, covering the official campaign period from 11 April to 9 May 2025. In news bulletins, ABC News allocated 1,780.82 minutes of election-related airtime. Of this, 51.4% went to the Socialist Party, 47.4% to the opposition Alliance for a Magnificent Albania, and 1.2% to all other electoral subjects combined. In live campaign broadcasts, the imbalance was more pronounced: ABC News allocated 73.4% of live campaign coverage to the Socialist Party, 26.1% to the Alliance for a Magnificent Albania, and 0.5% to all other electoral subjects combined. In political advertising, ABC News aired 48.33 minutes of paid political advertising, all of it attributed to the Socialist Party in the BIRN table. BIRN concluded more generally that Albania's 2025 audiovisual campaign coverage was dominated by the two major political forces and by the two principal political leaders, Sali Berisha and Edi Rama. It found that smaller and newer parties received limited visibility across formats and that television coverage often offered limited competitive debate. In the case of ABC News, the same dataset showed a relatively narrow difference between the Socialist Party and the opposition alliance in news bulletins, but a strong advantage for the governing party in live-broadcast campaign events and in paid advertising. Programming ABC News's schedule is centred on news bulletins, political interviews, current affairs, business and economy programming, and live coverage. Its website lists programme and edition categories including Mirëmëngjes me Bashkim Hoxhën, ABC-ja e Mëngjesit, Zëri i Shqiptarëve, Editoriali nga Sokol Balla, Real Story, Balkan Update, War Report, Gjërat tona, Korrespondent, GPS, Bardh a Zi, Newsroom, E Diela Sprint and Të Gjitha Rrugët të Çojnë në Romë. Its daily editions include breaking news, midday news, Tirana Live, Money Report, News Hour, Faqja 4, News Line, Sport Center, the central edition and the late edition. Current and recent programmes Former or previously listed programmes Several programmes have been associated with ABC News in earlier versions of the channel's schedule or in media listings. These include Log., Piranjat, Kosherja, ABC Story, Radar, Kutia 21, Shqiptarët për shqiptarët, Style Star Show, ABC e pasdites, ABC Live, T'ka mami yll and other current-affairs or entertainment formats. Some of these programmes later moved to other broadcasters, ended production, or were replaced by new formats as the channel changed ownership and editorial management. Radio and digital platforms ABC News maintains a digital presence through its website and social-media platforms. The website publishes breaking news, politics, economy, sport, international news and opinion content, and also hosts livestreams and video content from the television channel. ABC News Radio broadcasts on 105 FM and relays the television channel's content in Tirana, Kamza, Vorë, Durrës and Shijak. The channel's online and radio branches have been included in ownership-concentration assessments because ABC News operates not only as a television broadcaster but also as an online news portal and audio service. Media Ownership Monitor Albania grouped ABC News TV, ABCNews.al and ABC News Radio under Esat Bojku's Media Holding structure when calculating cross-media market concentration. See also Television in Albania Mass media in Albania Audiovisual Media Authority (Albania) TV Klan Top Channel Vizion Plus T7 (Kosovo TV channel) Gazeta Express Telenorba Shqiptare References External links Official website