The Annual Report of Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) for 2024, submitted to Parliament in September 2025, provides a comprehensive but concerning account of the institution’s situation. RTSH remains Albania’s only national public service broadcaster, operating 16 television and 11 radio channels, yet the report points to a broadcaster constrained by limited reform, administrative weaknesses, and slow technological progress. The document portrays an institution maintaining day-to-day operations but still far from achieving the modernization and transparency expected of a public service media. The year 2024, in essence, extended existing patterns—steady output but insufficient structural change.
Financial data underline the broadcaster’s fragile position. RTSH realized 2.236 billion lekë (≈ €22.3 million) in 2024, reaching 81 percent of its planned revenues, while expenditures amounted to 93.3 percent of plan. The report explicitly notes that 97.7 percent of total income derives from the mandatory broadcasting fee collected through household electricity bills and transferred via the state budget. Revenues from advertising, production services, and other sources remained low, limiting flexibility and diversification. At year’s end, RTSH reported 257 million lekë (≈ €2.6 million) in unpaid obligations, mainly to service providers and utilities. With salaries and social insurance consuming 52.1 percent of total expenditure, the institution allocates little room for investment in content innovation or digital infrastructure. The reliance on the electricity-bill license fee leaves RTSH financially predictable but inflexible, and any disruption in collection directly affects liquidity and operations.
The section on human resources illustrates systemic stagnation. RTSH employed 1,007 staff at the end of 2024, down from 1,015 the previous year. Although the report registers 146 new hires and 103 departures, it provides no indication of strategic restructuring, performance evaluation, or workforce planning. It records 250 administrative decisions, including 68 disciplinary measures, 67 financial penalties, and 91 other procedural acts, yet without clarification of their substance or impact. Training activities were minimal—three sessions, one seminar, and one English-language course for 166 participants—insufficient to match the institution’s growing technological and editorial demands. The Internal Audit Directorate conducted four audits, confirming partial progress in implementing earlier recommendations, with several corrective measures postponed to 2025. The persistence of pending audit findings suggests that governance and internal control remain areas of vulnerability.
At the institutional level, the report reflects centralized decision-making and weak inter-departmental coordination. While it refrains from explicit critique, the data imply limited horizontal communication and an absence of systematic accountability mechanisms. The financial and audit sections highlight repeated follow-up obligations with the State Audit Institution (KLSH), indicating that a number of recommendations remain unfulfilled. Procurement procedures, asset management, and financial documentation continue to require improvement. Regional audiovisual centers in Shkodër, Gjirokastër, Korçë, and Kukës continue to operate with constrained resources and outdated technical equipment, producing limited local content despite their mandate to ensure balanced territorial coverage.
Technological modernization is progressing slowly. The report notes the need to upgrade DVB-T2 transmission, accelerate digital archiving, and install a new firewall system to enhance cybersecurity. RTSH still lacks an integrated digital content management system and employs no dedicated cybersecurity specialists. The digital transition—central to the modernization of public service media—remains incomplete, leaving RTSH technologically behind both national competitors and regional public broadcasters.
Programming output in 2024 maintained the traditional structure. RTSH 1 HD devoted 28 percent of airtime to news and information, 16.7 percent to culture, 10.3 percent to political programs, and 6.3 percent to educational and youth content. While the broadcaster continued hallmark cultural events such as Festivali i Këngës 63 and Junior Eurovision 2024, and its Symphony Orchestra held 124 concerts, the report’s data reveal limited diversification. The share of educational and youth content remains small, and no significant expansion of digital or interactive programming is reported. The programming profile therefore continues to rely on established formats rather than experimentation or innovation.
Taken together, the 2024 report depicts a public broadcaster that performs its statutory duties but lacks the structural agility to adapt to modern media standards and serve as public service media.
Key Takeaways and Recommendations Reflected in the Report
- Strategic reform: Approve and implement the Strategic Development Plan 2025–2030 to guide institutional, financial, and technological modernization.
- Financial management: Strengthen transparency and control; ensure full implementation of the Internal and State Audit Institution recommendations.
- Technological renewal: Complete DVB-T2 upgrades, accelerate digitization of archives, and develop an integrated digital content management system.
- Cybersecurity: Install the new firewall system and recruit specialized IT personnel to build digital resilience.
- Human resources: Modernize HR management through structured training, evaluation, and performance monitoring.
- Regional capacity: Invest in regional centers in Shkodër, Gjirokastër, Korçë, and Kukës to enhance local production and territorial coverage.
Report available here.