Alpha TV

Alpha TV is a Greek free-to-air channel, being one of the biggest stations in Greece. The station features a mix of Greek and foreign shows with an emphasis on information. The studios are located near Athens. Alpha TV is owned by Alpha Satellite Television S.A. 100% shareholder of which is the Alpha Media Group Ltd. In Cyprus, private broadcaster Sigma TV used to broadcast a number of Alpha TV's programs. In the past, public service broadcaster CyBC used to broadcast Alpha TV programs. In 2015, Alpha TV Cyprus was founded and it broadcast the Alpha TV Programs and others of its own. Alpha Cyprus now is one of the highest-rated Cypriot channels.[2]

Alpha TV
CountryGreece
Broadcast areaNational
Programming
Language(s)Greek
Picture format1080i HDTV (downscaled to 16:9 aspect ratio 576i for the SDTV feed)
Ownership
OwnerAlpha Satellite Television S.A.
Giannis Vardinogiannis[1]
Sister channelsChannel 9
Alpha Cyprus
History
Launched27 September 1999
ReplacedSkai (1993–1999)
Former namesAlpha Sky (27 September – 24 October 1999)
Links
WebsiteAlpha TV
Availability
Terrestrial
DigeaAll over Greece at local frequencies
Satellite
Cosmote TVChannel 110
Streaming media
AlphaALPHA TV LIVE

History
  • 1993: Skai TV was launched to compete with Mega and ANT1 similar to ERT Channels. It began broadcasting with a heavy emphasis on news and sports. At the time, its sister station was the #1 ranked radio station in Athens, Skai 100.4.
  • 1994: Skai TV began to exchange family/children's programmes from Star Channel with Alpha's children's programming.
  • 1999: Skai TV sold, renamed Alpha Sky, later A-Sky during a transition period and now to Alpha TV.
  • 2002: Alpha TV begins broadcast of Alpha Australia, the international network of Alpha and signs up with UBI World TV to make Alpha Australia available in Australia as well as Asia and Africa.
  • 2007: Alpha TV launches its channel Alpha Sat into North America on DirecTV.
  • 2008: Alpha Australia debuts in New Zealand via UBI World TV. Alpha TV & Alpha Radio are sold to RTL Group, who now control the majority share in the company.
  • 2012: RTL Group sell their share to Dimitris Kontominas, giving him full control of the channel.
  • 2016: On 4 April, makes premiere the Cypriot version, called Alpha TV Cyprus.

When the channel was called Skai TV, it was written using Greek letters. It was Latinized and changed to a blue font in 1999 when Kontominas bought it from Ioannis Alafouzos. In September 1999, it became Alpha-Sky before changing to its present name in October of the same year. The logo was retained despite the changes in the channel's name. In 2006, the logo was changed to Alpha, the first letter of the Greek alphabet, to reflect the channel's popularity. The font letters in 2003 changed and a circle was added over Alpha, but the two As (alphas) remain. In 2005, a new version was introduced and is coloured with red. The logo was updated prior to the launch of the 2007-2008 season.

In December 2008, Dimitris Kontominas sold a majority share (66.6%) of Alpha TV and Alpha Radio to Luxembourg media company RTL Group. Kontominas will continue to be involved with Alpha as he still owns 33.4% and has been named the president of the new holding company called Alpha Media Group.

In March 2009, the company made significant changes to the news programming output. The afternoon news show has been cut to 15 minutes in duration and now airs at 13:00. The main evening news has also moved from the highly competitive slot of 20:00 and instead broadcasts at 19:00.

On 5 January 2012, RTL Group announced that they had reached an agreement to sell their share to minority owner Dimitris Kontominas, making him once again the full owner of the channel. The deal was finalized by the end of the first quarter of 2012,[3] and in March 2013, Bertelsmann said that they had divested Alpha TV.[4]

Alpha Cyprus

Alpha TV Cyprus founded in 2015. A year later, in April 2016, begins operations. Alpha Cyprus broadcasts across the country. The channel broadcasts Alpha Greece programs, and also new Cypriot programs. Now, Alpha Cyprus is one of the highest-rated channels in Cyprus, with a 13.5% share.[2]

Alpha Sat

Alpha Sat is the international service of Greek Alpha TV that broadcasts 'the best of Alpha' to audiences in Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and North America. Alpha Sat launched in Australia in May 2002 and in June 2008 in New Zealand and is available via UBI World TV. In June 2012, UBI World TV ceased operations, and as a result, Alpha Sat was temporarily unavailable to viewers in Australia. In January 2013, the channel re-launched via TV Plus, an upstart satellite provider. In North America, Alpha Sat launched in May 2007 in the United States on the DirecTV platform. On 1 January 2011, Alpha Sat moved to a rival satellite platform Dish Network.

On May 14, 2013, Alpha Sat was officially added to the CRTC's approved the list of foreign services, allowing the channel to expand into Canada. Odyssey Television Network, who sponsored the application to get Alpha Sat on the approved list, is the official Canadian distributor of the channel.[5] Alpha Sat officially launched in Canada on 30 July 2013, via Rogers Cable and Vidéotron. It is also available on Bell Satellite TV and Bell Fibe TV.

Reporters
  • Dimos Verikios
  • Antonis Sroiter
  • Nikos Manesis

See also

References
  1. ALPHA: Πλέον το 100% του σταθμού ανήκει στον όμιλο της Motor Oil (in Greek). Reader.gr. 2 December 2019. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  2. "Top 25 Shows". Archived from the original on 2019-05-23. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
  3. "RTL Group to exit Greek broadcasting market".
  4. "Bertelsmann is growing and progressing in reshaping the Group". Bertelsmann. 26 March 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  5. "Addition of Alpha Sat to the lists of eligible satellite services for distribution on a digital basis".
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