Focus Group
Focus Group is one of the main media groups in Albania and owns the informative TV station, News 24, the daily newspaper Gazeta Shqiptare, the online portal Balkanweb.com and radio News 24. The media group was founded in April 2011 by the businessman Irfan Hysenbelliu and the banker Artan Santo, while both were negotiating a purchase agreement with Edisud S.pa. The Albanian branch of Edisud S.p.a was sold in May 2011 for a total price of 5.9 million euros. Focus Group LLC is the sole owner of the company Focus Media News LLC, which owns News 24 TV, the news portal Balkanweb.com and radio News 24. Focus Group also owns Focus News Press, which owns the daily Gazeta Shqiptare.
In June 2014, Artan Santo was assassinated by two unidentified gunmen in the center of Tirana. The authors and motives of his murder are still unknown. To date, the businessman Irfan Hysenbelliu is the sole shareholder of Focus Group.
Business Form
Private
Legal Form
Group of limited liability companies
Business Sectors
Radio and Television Broadcasting; Publishing; Construction; Trade; Hotel and Tourism; Brewery (Birra Korça); Winery; Water production; Education (private university college)
Individual Owner
Other Online Outlets
www.gsh.al
Media Business
Radio and TV Broadcasting
Focus Media News (100%)
Panorama TV (40%)
Publishing
Panorama Group (100%)
Focus Press LLC (100%)
Business
Construction
Erjoni (100%)
W. Elektrik (100%)
Trade
Pegasos (50%)
Hysenbelliu Group (100%)
Tourism and hospitality
Hysenbelliu (100%)
Winery
Egnatia Group (100%)
Bottled water production
Fab Group (100%)
Brewery
Egnatia Group-Birra Korca (100%)
Education
Kolegji Universitar Luarasi (100%)
General Information
Founding Year
2011
Affiliated Interests Founder
an entrepreneur in the field of construction, hotel business, brewery and private higher education. He started his career in 1994 as a trader and importer of goods, but later expanded into the profitable construction market in Tirana. In 2002 Hysenbelliu invested in the media sector and founded Panorama Group LLC, which owns the daily newspaper Panorama, the sport daily Panorama Sport and the weekly magazine Psikologjia. In 2011, Hysenbelliu extended his reach in the audiovisual media market and bought the television station News 24, the daily newspaper Gazeta Shqiptare, the portal Balkanweb.com and radio Rash for 5.9 million euro together with a banker Artan Santo.
started his career in the banking sector in Albania in early 90’ and after seven years rose to the post of CEO of Albania’s Savings Bank. In 2000 he founded the private Credins Bank and served as its CEO. In 2009 Santo invested in the media sector as a shareholder of Scan TV – a business news television station. In 2011, together with the businessman Irfan Hysenbelliu he founded Focus Group, which bought the media companies owned in Albania by the Italian company Edisud Spa. In June 2014, Santo was killed outside his bank’s headquarters in Tirana by masked gunmen. The authors of the mafia style murder have never been identified.
Employees
Missing Data
Contact
Rruga Ali Demi,
ish-Kombinati i Autotraktorëve, Zyrat e Administratës, Tirana
Tel: +355(4)359104
Website: balkanweb.com
Tax/ ID Number
Focus Media News (K21909002K)
Focus Press (L11806011O)
Financial Information
Revenue (Financial Data/ Optional)
Focus Media News – 3.06 Mln. $/ 347 Mln..Lek # Focus Press – 0.15 Mln.. $ / 17 Mln.. Lek
Operating Profit (in Mill. $)
Focus Media News – -0.31 Mln.. $/ -35 Mln..Lek # Focus Press – -0.02 Mln..$/ -3 Mln.. Lek
Advertising (in % of total funding)
Missing Data
Management
Other Influential People
the Director for Information and Programming of News 24. He has a long career as a journalist, editor and political analyst in Albanian media and previously worked as editor in chief of the daily “Panorama” and “Shekulli”.
a journalist and host of the political TV show ‘Open”. Vasili has a long career as a political show host and anchorwoman. She previously worked for Top Channel, now defunct Alsat Television and Albania’s public broadcaster, TVSH.
Further Information
Meta Data
The ownership structure and financial statements 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. Focus Media News replied to the MOM information request on 27 July 2023. See sources for more.
