THE PROCESS OF DIGITALIZATION OF AUDIOVISUAL MEDIA IN ALBANIA

LEGAL LIMITATIONS OF OWNERSHIP AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES IN THE MARKET

Abstract

Digital transmissions in Albania began in July 2004. Despite developing outside of any legal framework, terrestrial digital television quickly became an important aspect of the Albanian media market. Albania ratified the 2006 Geneva Convention on the digitalization of terrestrial TV broadcasters, and efforts to regulate the digitalization of audiovisual media began in 2007 with the approval of the first law for digital transmissions. The process of digitalization faced strong opposition due to pressure from existing television operators and their political connections. These obstacles caused significant delays, so the June 2015 deadline for the switchover was missed, and the finalization of the process failed to address the issues of illegality and concentration that plagued the Albanian audiovisual media market. Despite the existence of simple and enforceable legal ownership restrictions under the 2013 media law, the close connections between audiovisual operators, politics, and the justice system, allowed the market to become concentrated in the hands of a few owners, damaging media pluralism in the country and hindering the development of democracy.

According to the European Commission's 2022 annual report on Albania, the country is moderately prepared in the field of freedom of expression and media independence. The quality of journalism is hampered by the intersection of business and political interests, as well as the concentration and lack of transparency of media funding. The report notes that the lack of independence of the regulatory authority undermines media freedom in the country and calls on Albania to ensure compliance with European standards on transparency and limitation of media ownership, state advertisements, and other related issues.

The purpose of this article is to highlight the issues and analyze the problems that arose during the digitalization process and the implementation of the law on audiovisual media in Albania. By providing a clear overview of the situation in the Albanian audiovisual media market, this article aims to address the challenges that the legislature must confront in the future, by the obligations arising from Albania's negotiations for membership in the European Union.

Keywords: media, freedom, pluralism, ownership, beauty contest, digitalization, Albania