Alpha TV is a
GreekGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
terrestrial channel (prior to 2000: Skaï, the Greek spelling of
SkyThe sky is the part of the atmosphere or of outer space visible from the surface of any astronomical object. It is difficult to define precisely for several reasons. During daylight, the sky of Earth has the appearance of a deep blue surface because of the air's scattering of sunlight. The sky is...
). The station features a mix of Greek and foreign shows with an emphasis on entertainment programs. The studios are located near
AthensAthens , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
. Alpha TV is owned by German media giant
RTL GroupRTL Group is Europe's largest TV, radio and production company, and is majority-owned by German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. It has 45 television and 32 radio stations in 11 countries...
; previous owner Dimitris Kontominas sold majority share in the channel to RTL Group in 2008.
Alpha TV's logo, when the channel was called Skaï, was written using
Greek lettersThe Greek alphabet is a set of twenty-four letters that has been used to write the Greek language since the late 9th or early 8th century BCE. It is the first and oldest alphabet in the narrow sense that it notes each vowel and consonant with a separate symbol. It is as such in continuous use to...
.
Alpha TV is a
GreekGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
terrestrial channel (prior to 2000: Skaï, the Greek spelling of
SkyThe sky is the part of the atmosphere or of outer space visible from the surface of any astronomical object. It is difficult to define precisely for several reasons. During daylight, the sky of Earth has the appearance of a deep blue surface because of the air's scattering of sunlight. The sky is...
). The station features a mix of Greek and foreign shows with an emphasis on entertainment programs. The studios are located near
AthensAthens , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
. Alpha TV is owned by German media giant
RTL GroupRTL Group is Europe's largest TV, radio and production company, and is majority-owned by German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. It has 45 television and 32 radio stations in 11 countries...
; previous owner Dimitris Kontominas sold majority share in the channel to RTL Group in 2008.
Alpha TV's logo, when the channel was called Skaï, was written using
Greek lettersThe Greek alphabet is a set of twenty-four letters that has been used to write the Greek language since the late 9th or early 8th century BCE. It is the first and oldest alphabet in the narrow sense that it notes each vowel and consonant with a separate symbol. It is as such in continuous use to...
. 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 and later A-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 name was changed again to
AlphaAlpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 1. It was derived from the Phoenician letter Aleph...
, the first letter of the
Greek alphabetThe Greek alphabet is a set of twenty-four letters that has been used to write the Greek language since the late 9th or early 8th century BCE. It is the first and oldest alphabet in the narrow sense that it notes each vowel and consonant with a separate symbol. It is as such in continuous use to...
, to reflect the channel's popularity, and used a similarity of Swiss font letters. This A (alpha) logo is similar to the
Attiki OdosAttiki Odos is a private-owned toll motorway in Greece. The Proastiakos high-speed suburban rail is almost entirely in the median through the main section. Its numbers are 6 for the main section, 64 for Imittos Ring and 65 for Aigaleo Ring. They are the outer ring roads of Greater Athens...
logo. 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 colored with red, looking like the modern Adobe Logo and was updated prior to the launch of the 2007-2008 season. Ratings are now in the middle range after the introduction of Alter.
In
CyprusCyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country situated in the eastern Mediterranean, south of Turkey and west of Syria and Lebanon....
the public service broadcaster
CyBCThe Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation or CyBC is Cyprus' public broadcasting service, transmitting island-wide on four radio and two television channels...
broadcasts a number of Alpha TV's programmes.
In September 2008, Dimitris Kontominas sold a majority share (66.6%) of Alpha TV and Alpha Radio to German media company
RTL GroupRTL Group is Europe's largest TV, radio and production company, and is majority-owned by German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. It has 45 television and 32 radio stations in 11 countries...
. Kontominas will continue to be involved with Alpha as he still owns 33.4% and has been named president of the new holding company called
Alpha Media Group.
http://www.satleo.gr/content/view/731/1/
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.
History
- 1993 Skai TV
Skai TV is a Greek TV station, based in Athens. It is part of the Skai Group one of the largest media groups in Greece. It was relaunched in its present form on April 1, 2006 in Athens and gradually managed to spread its coverage nationwide. Besides analog over-the-air transmission, it is also...
was launched to compete with Mega ChannelMega Channel, also known as Mega TV or just Mega, is a television network in Greece. It was the first private television station in Greece, launched on November 20, 1989. It is owned by Teletypos S.A.. Mega's programming consists mainly of Greek programmes such as comedies, dramas, news, current...
and ANT1Antenna, better known as ANT1, is a popular television network in Greece. It is pronounced "Ant-énna" because of the Greek word for "Antenna" meaning aerial and "ena" for the number 1. It launched on 31 December 1989, the same year as rival Mega Channel and is owned by ANT1 Group...
similar to ERTThe Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation is the Greek state-owned public radio and television broadcasting corporation. It is a member of EBU. Around 88% of ERT's funding comes from television licence fees .-History:ERT began broadcasting in 1938, initially limited to radio services from Athens...
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 100.3Skai 100.3 is a Greek informational and entertainment radio station, the larger in audience in Greece, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, sports, culture, and comedy....
(then called 'Skai 100.4 FM').
- 1994 Skai TV began to exchange family/children's programs from Star Channel
Star Channel is a Greek television network that broadcasts a mix of foreign and Greek programming. It launched in December 1993 and is owned by Nea Tileorasi A.E.. The main news bulletin is called Star Eidiseis, which used to be hosted by Ellie Stai , followed by Terence Quick and is currently...
with Alpha's children's programming.
- 1999 Alpha TV sold, renamed Alpha-Sky and later A-Sky during a transition period.
- 2003 10th anniversary of the station
- 2005 Alpha TV begins broadcast of Alpha Australia, the international network of Alpha and signs up with UBI World TV
UBI World TV is an Australian digital satellite pay television service that broadcasts predominantly ethnic channels. It launched in late 2004 and currently offers over 80 channels in its lineup from over 20 countries in over 12 languages.The channel provides entertainment and information...
to make Alpha Australia available in Australia as well as the Asia - Africa
- 2007 Alpha TV launches its channel Alpha Sat into North America on DirecTV
DirecTV is a direct broadcast satellite service based in El Segundo, California, which transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States. Its primary competitors are Dish Network and cable providers. DirecTV currently has 18 million subscribers...
- 2008 Alpha Australia debuts in New Zealand via UBI World TV
UBI World TV is an Australian digital satellite pay television service that broadcasts predominantly ethnic channels. It launched in late 2004 and currently offers over 80 channels in its lineup from over 20 countries in over 12 languages.The channel provides entertainment and information...
- 2008 Alpha TV & Alpha Radio are sold to RTL Group
RTL Group is Europe's largest TV, radio and production company, and is majority-owned by German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. It has 45 television and 32 radio stations in 11 countries...
, who now control majority share in the company
Programming
Current shows include:
- Alpha Eidiseis (Alpha News), daily newscast in Greek featuring news from Greece and around the world. Airs daily at 13:00, 19:00 and 01:00.
- Al Tsantiri News, a highly successful live satirical comedy show on its fourth season that features Lakis Lazopoulos
Lakis Lazopoulos is a Greek comedian, writer, actor and songwriter. His career started when he first wrote texts for theater back in 1979. His birth name is Apostolos Lazopoulos , Lakis being a diminutive....
giving 'his version' of the news. Airs Tuesdays at 21:00
- Fatus Olus, new gameshow (Greek version of 1 vs. 100
1 vs. 100 is a game show created by Endemol that is aired in several countries. The game pits one person against 100 others for a chance to win a large cash prize. The game first aired in the Netherlands as Eén tegen 100, sponsored by the Nationale Postcode Loterij .- General format :In all...
), hosted by George MitsikostasGeorge Mitsikostas is a famous mimic comedian in Greece. He started his career by mimicking politicians' voices in comedy radio shows for satire. His debut on TV was in 1990. Since then he has been in many Greek channels, afterwards started to imitate actors, singers and journalists as well, and...
- Η Κouzina Tis Mamas, entertaining show that seeks to teach viewers, in a fun way, about cooking and eating healthy. Host Εutuxis Bletsas travels the country visiting as many homes- and moms, as he can to find out their special tips or secret recipes and to educate everyone about how and why we should eat properly. Along the way, he gives his special tips and tricks as well as information on health and diet. Eutuxis also entertains everyone with music and singing. Airs Saturdays at 1pm, previously aired on ET3
- Kafes Me Tin Eleni- Variety show featuring entertainment as well as segments on cooking, health, astrology, lifestyle issues and more. Hosted by well-known presenter Eleni Menegaki
Eleni Menegaki is a Greek film, television and stage actress and talk show presenter.-Career and personal life:In 2001 she married Ioannis Latsios, with whom she has three children. From 1995 to 2005, Menegaki was the TV host of Proinos Kafes, a daytime show which aired on ANT1...
. Airs Monday - Friday at 10am.
- Mes Stn Kali Hara - Weekend variety show, informative and entertaining. Hosted by Natalia Germanou & Sissi Hristidou, airs Saturday & Sunday at 10am.
- Kati Psinete - Reality programming featuring cooking competition
- Kous Kous to Mesimeri, presented by Katerina Karavatou, featuring the latest news of the Greek show business. Airs daily at 1pm.
- Pame Paketo (The Package) - popular talkshow now in its fourth year, that deals with human interest stories such as reuniting people, fulfilling dreams and connecting individuals who want to correct past mistakes in their lives. Hosted by Viki Xatzivasileiou. Airs Thursdays at 9pm.
- Panw Stin Ora, current morning show. Features discussion with in-studio guests and news from all over Greece and abroad. The show is hosted by Spiros Lambrou and Elena PapaVasileiou. Airs Monday - Friday at 7:50am.
Alpha Sat / Alpha Australia
Alpha Sat / Alpha Australia are the international networks of Alpha TV that broadcasts 'the best of Alpha' thru Alpha Sat to audiences in North America and Alpha Australia for the Asia, Africa, Australia and New Zealand regions. The channel launched in August 2005 in Australia and 2008 in New Zealand on
UBI World TVUBI World TV is an Australian digital satellite pay television service that broadcasts predominantly ethnic channels. It launched in late 2004 and currently offers over 80 channels in its lineup from over 20 countries in over 12 languages.The channel provides entertainment and information...
and in May 2007 in the United States on
DirecTVDirecTV is a direct broadcast satellite service based in El Segundo, California, which transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States. Its primary competitors are Dish Network and cable providers. DirecTV currently has 18 million subscribers...
. Alpha Sat and Alpha Australia operate on a 24 hour schedule.
External links