Top Albania Radio
Top Albania Radio is one of the biggest radio stations in Albania and part of the Top Media Group. The station started broadcasting officially on February 14th 1998 in the frequency 100mgh/FM and in a short period of time became the market leader and an audience magnet. Top Albania Radio was the first media founded by Dritan Hoxha, who in this project was partnered with the controversial businessman Vajdin Lamaj. In 2002, Top Albania Radio received a national broadcasting license and since that year its signal covers 95% of the country’s territory. Betting on a staff young of age, Top Albania Radio became a jumping point for the career of many radio personalities, who later made a career in TV. The most popular programs at Top Albania Radio today are Wake Up, Lancio, Live from Tirana, Pardon my French etc. Top Albania Radio also has an official YouTube channel, which counts over 48 thousand subscribers.
Audience Share
MissingData
Ownership Type
Private
Geographic Coverage
National
Content Type
free content
Media Companies / Groups
Top Media
Ownership Structure
Top Albania Radio is part of Top Media Group, controlled by Hoxha Family. Top Albania Radio is owned by the company Top Albania JSC. The shareholders of Top Albania JSC are the children of the founder Dritan Hoxha (40%) and the nephew of his wife, Ervin Zeneli (40%). Zhuljeta Lamaj owns the remaining 20% of the shares.
Voting Rights
Only the shareholders have voting rights.
Individual Owner
General Information
Founding Year
1998
Affiliated Interests Founder
Top Albania Radio started broadcasting in February 1998, marking the debut on the media market of two controversial businessmen, Dritan Hoxha and Vajdin Lamaj. Hoxha started his business career in mid 1990s as a coffee importer, while Lamaj - a former police chief and head of the boxing federation, built several services and transportation companies. The company that owns Top Albania Radio, was registered two years after the radio station started broadcasting and was not registered in the name of its founders. Data from the Business Registration Center, show that the company, Top Albania Sh.a, was registered on May 16, 2000 with shareholders: Zhuljeta Lamaj with 40 % of shares, Zyhra Hamiti with 20% and Vjollca Hoxha with 40%. Vjollca Hoxha and Zyhra Hamiti are the wife and mother of Dritan Hoxha, while Zhuljeta Lamaj is the wife of Vajdin Lamaj.
Both founders of Top Albania Radio have passed away in dramatic fashion. Vajdin Lamaj was killed in a mafia style attack with explosives on February 28th 2005, after having survived a gun attack. Fifteen years later, the Prosecution Office pressed charges against two alleged members of Albanian organized crime, Lulzim Berisha and Plarent Dervishaj for his murder. Meanwhile, Dritan Hoxha lost his life on May 23, 2008 after an automobile accident at the center of Tirana.
After the death of the two founders, the company Top Albania Sha, remained property of their spouses and Zyhra Hamiti, although some shares changed hands. On January 29 2010, Zhuljeta Lamaj sold 20 % of her shares to Zyhra Hamiti for 750,000 euro. In September 2015, her shares were passed down to the nieces Lorela Hoxha, Sara Hoxha, Redia Hoxha and her nephew Itan Hoxha, who own 10% each. In April 2018, Vjollca Hoxha donated 40% of the shares to her nephew, Ervin Zeneli. To date, Top Albania Radio is owned by Ervin Zeneli (40%), Zhuljeta Lamaj, (20%) and four children of the founder Dritan Hoxha, who share 10% each.
Affiliated Interests Ceo
After Dritan Hoxha's death, his widow Vjollca and their four children, Lorela, Sara, Redia and Itan inherited his companies. However, Vjollca kept a low public profile until 2015, when she took over the administration of Top Channel TV and filed a lawsuit against two of its shareholders, Albert Sino and Aurel Baci, who she accused of acquiring the stake in the company illegally. The legal saga ended in January 2023, when the High Court recognized the heirs of Dritan Hoxha as the sole owners of the company. In February 2023, Vjollca Hoxha passed the baton to her daughter, Lorela, who took over the management of Top Channel. In addition to Top Channel, Hoxha family controls Top News, Top Albania Radio (80%), Top Gold Radio (52%), My Music (100%), the pay per view platform DigitAlb (42.82%) and coffee distribution company, Valtelina (100%). Vjollca Hoxha also owns 17% of the shares of the newly founded IT Company, Kudopay in a partnership with Stela Gugallja – a controversial businesswoman of a concession contract for the construction of a waste incinerator with the Albanian government. Gugallja is accused by the Special Prosecutor’s Office of corruption and is facing trial in absentia.
Affiliated Interests Editor-In-Chief
A TV moderator and the General Director of Top Albania Radio. He is also a member of the Supervisory Board at Top Channel JSC and Top Albania Radio JSC. Lico has been married to Sara Hoxha, a shareholder and the daughter of the founder Dritan Hoxha. He is also a shareholder of the local radio Top Gold.
Affiliated Interests other important people
A member of the supervisory council of Top Albania JSC.
Known as Dori DJ is the art director and a member of the Supervisory Board at Top Albania Radio.
A journalist and speaker at Top Albania Radio since 2004. She is also a member of the Supervisory Board of the Top Albania JSC company.
Contact
Sheshi Italia 1, Arena Center, Tirana, Albania
Email: contact@topalbaniaradio.com
Tel: +35542247492; +35542247299
Financial Information
Revenue (in Mill. $)
0,87 Mln.. $/ 99 Mln.. Lek
Operating Profit (in Mill. $)
0,09 Mln.. $/ 10 Mln.. Lek
Advertising (in % of total funding)
Missing Data
Market Share
34%
Further Information
Meta Data
The ownership structure and financial statement are publicly available on the Albanian National Business Registry. The financial data provided are for 2022. The Central Bank's average exchange rate for 2022 was used to convert the amounts into USD. See sources for more.
