21
"TV 21" started broadcasting in North Macedonia in September 2015. The television carries programs in Macedonian and Albanian. The initial investment was 6.5 million euros. Its headquarters are located in the premises of the Vardar cinema in Skopje, which is owned by "TV 21" owners. At the time when it was established, the director of the television was Valon Saracini, a former minister of economy from the ranks of the Democratic Union Party (DUI), the largest ethnic Albanian political party in the country. Because of this, the television station has been profiled in some media as being close to that party.
In Kosovo, the Kelmendi-Saracini family are the owners of "Radio Television 21". "Radio 21" began broadcasting in that country in 1998 through the British public service broadcaster "BBC", and later the "Television 21" was established.
The former journalists who produced the radio news, Aferdita Kelmendi, Florin Kelmendi and Xheraldina Vula, are now owners of "Company 21", which in turn is the owner of the television station in North Macedonia.
Audience Share
Missing Data
Ownership Type
Private
Geographic Coverage
National
Content Type
Free content
Media Companies / Groups
CBC Company 21-M
Ownership Structure
"Television 21" is owned by the Kosovar "Company 21 DOO". Aferdita Kelmendi has a 60% share in the company, and Eugene Saracini has 20% in the company. Journalist Xheraldina Vula, who is a longtime colleague of Kelmendi, has 10% share. Florian Kelmendi, who is also a journalist, has the same share.
Individual Owner
General Information
Founding Year
2015
Affiliated Interests Founder
are journalists from Kosovo who are present in the media business in both North Macedonia and Kosovo.
Affiliated Interests Ceo
decided to establish "Radio/TV 21" in Kosovo during the war in Kosovo in 1998-1999. However, since the authorities did not give her a permit, she started broadcasting on the Internet. As stated in media reports, the then Serbian authorities, who had control over the territory of today's Kosovo, destroyed the equipment of the medium and killed Kelmendi’s colleague, after which she fled the country and settled in Skopje as a refugee.
Affiliated Interests Editor-In-Chief
Has been working as a journalist in Pristina since 2004. He is a well-known Kosovo journalist who has worked for several media, including the international "Radio Free Europe" and "BIRN". In 2015, he became the editor of "Television 21" in Skopje. Fatmir Aliu is the son-in-law of Aferdita; he is married to her daughter Parta Kelmendi.
Contact
Financial Information
Revenue (in Mill. $)
836.179 $ / 49 Mln. MKD
Operating Profit (in Mill. $)
2.599 $ / 152.313 MKD
Advertising (in % of total funding)
828.329 $ / 48.54 Mln. MKD (99%)
Market Share
3.99%
Further Information
Meta Data
The ownership structure and the financial reports are based on data recived from Central registry of the Republic of North Macedonia. The documents were received on 03.07.2023 based on a government decision from 2017 for free access for investigative journalists. The financial information is for 2022. For the calculation of the amounts in US dollars, the average exchange rate for 2022 from the National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia was used.
