Television in Albania was first introduced in 1960. RTSH dominated the Albanian broadcasting field up to the mid-1990s, a period when privately owned radio and TV stations started to occupy the vast empty Albanian frequencies.
Albania has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 20 times since its debut in 2004. The Albanian participant broadcaster in the contest is Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH), which select its entrant with the national competition Festivali i Këngës, a long-standing song contest that organises every year since 1962.
Haxhi Lleshi was an Albanian military leader and communist politician who served as the Chairman of the Presidium of the People's Assembly of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania from 1953 to 1982.
Top Channel is a national commercial television network based in Tirana, Albania. The network was founded by Dritan Hoxha in 2001, the network forms part of Top Media Group together with Top Albania Radio, Top Gold Radio, My Music Radio, daily newspaper Shqip, daily magazine Shqip Magazine, coffee producer Lori Caffe, Digitalb, Top News, VGA Studio, musicAL, and Imperial Cinemas.
Radio Televizioni Shqiptar is the national public broadcasting company of Albania. Founded in 1938, it operates several radio and television channels, over a domestic transmitter network as well as satellite. The international television service via satellite RTSH Sat was launched in 1993 and is aimed at Albanian-speaking communities in Kosovo, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and northern Greece, plus the Albanian diaspora in the rest of Europe. RTSH is funded by a combination of commercial advertising, an annual licence fee of US$10.00 and grant-in-aid from the Albanian government.
Festivali i Këngës në RTSH, commonly known as Festivali i Këngës and also referred to as simply FiK or Fest, is an annual music competition in Albania organised by the national broadcaster Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH). Broadcast every year since its inauguration in 1962, the festival has determined the country's representative to the Eurovision Song Contest since 2004.
Mass media in Albania refers to mass media outlets based in Albania. Television, magazines, and newspapers are all operated by both state-owned and for-profit corporations which depend on advertising, subscription, and other sales-related revenues. The Constitution of Albania guarantees freedom of speech. Albanian media are quite diverse, although politicised, and often influenced by business and political interests.
Albania debuted in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2012. Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH), a member organisation of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), has been responsible for the selection process of their participants since their debut.
Albania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark, with the song "One Night's Anger" performed by Hersi. Its selected entry was chosen through the national selection competition Festivali i Këngës organised by Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) in December 2013. Up until this point, the nation had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest ten times since its first entry in 2004.
Ardian Bujupi is a German-Albanian singer and songwriter.
Eugent Bushpepa, also known by his alternative name Gent Bushpepa, is an Albanian singer, songwriter and composer. Regarded as one of the most popular modern rock musicians in the Albanian-speaking world, he is noted for his vocal range, vocal power, high-energy live performances, and is also recognised as an accomplished guitarist.
Albania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 in Vienna, Austria, with the song "I'm Alive" performed by Elhaida Dani. Dani was chosen through the national selection competition, Festivali i Këngës, organised by Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) in December 2014. Dani emerged as the winner of contest with the song "Diell"; however the song withdrawn as the Albanian entry at the request of one of the song's songwriters and replaced with "I'm Alive". Prior to the 2015 contest, Albania had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 11 times since its first entry in 2004.
Myslym Peza was a distinguished World War II veteran who led the anti-fascist movement "Çeta e Pezës", the members of which founded the Communist Party of Albania.
Andri Xhahu is an Albanian television and radio presenter, host and editor, who works for RTSH. Since 2012, he has served as the Albanian commentator and spokesperson for the Eurovision Song Contest.
Albania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon, Portugal, with the song "Mall" performed by Eugent Bushpepa. Its selected entry was chosen through the national selection competition Festivali i Këngës organised by Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) in December 2017. To this point, the nation had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fourteen times since its first entry in 2004. Prior to the contest, the song was promoted by a music video and live performances in the Netherlands and Spain.
"Mall" is a song composed and written by Albanian singer and songwriter Eugent Bushpepa. It was released as a single on 6 April 2018 by Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) and Universal Music. The song has been described as an Albanian language 1980s-inspired classical folk rock ballad. In its love-themed lyrics, it captures the feeling of longing and also reflects both the deep loneliness and the burning desire of a reunion.
Ermal Peçi is an Albanian television presenter, author and digital creator with a strong presence on social medias.
Albania participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Paris, France, with the song "Stand by You" performed by Anna Gjebrea. Its entry was selected through the national selection competition Junior Fest 2021 organised by Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) in October 2021. The country returned to the contest after an absence of one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Sekret" is a song by Albanian singer-songwriter Ronela Hajati. It was written by Hajati herself and produced by Marko Polo. Musically, it is an Albanian-language upbeat "ethno" pop song with folk instrumentation included in its instrumentation that tells the tale of a forbidden relationship and Hajati's "intense longing for the sexual desire of her love interest to be fulfilled." Originally released as a single on 5 March 2022, it represented Albania at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy, after winning the 60th edition of Festivali i Këngës in December 2021.
