According to the NCRTV 2019 index, there are 112 television channels and 1,001 radio stations registered in Greece (NCRTV, 2019a, 2019b). Regional television stations started appearing in the early 1990s, following deregulation and the abolition of the state monopoly on broadcasting. Nevertheless, the first regional television station, ERT3 – part of but also independent from the public service broadcaster ERT – was established in 1988. ERT3 seems to have a national rather than regional reach, although the news output and some programmes primarily appeal to the audience of the Greek periphery, particularly those in northern Greece.
The first real regional channel Thessalian Radio Television, located in Volos, was established in 1989 as soon as the first private national television channel appeared. In a relevant piece of research, Roy Panagiotopoulou (2004) notes that the vast number of low-budget regional and local television channels has been the outcome of businessmen investing in television channels as a source of influence, without having the technical knowhow to run them. In 1998, Greece had 150 regional and local television stations. Many attempts were made to regulate the field (1995, 1998, 2003, etc.) through a paradigm of contemporary broadcasting licences, since none of these stations were legal. At present, with the economic crisis hitting the media market particularly harshly (more than 50 regional television stations closed down over the period of 2009–2016), and with the granting of the regional television licences in progress, there are 102 registered regional television channels in operation (NCRTV, 2019a). Of these, 92 broadcast nationally via Digea’s digital terrestrial platform.[i]
Public service broadcaster ERT, funded primarily by the licence fee, does not compete with national, regional, or local private channels on commercial level, as it receives only a 3 per cent share of the total advertising. This corresponds to only about 5 per cent of its revenues (ERT, 2020: 30).
Almost one-fourth of the population in Northern Greece stated that it was watching one regional television channel per day (21–26%). This rate for Western Greece and Crete was close to 28 per cent (Focus Bari, 2019b). Unfortunately, there is no evidence regarding the listening habits of the audience when it comes to the regional radio stations, due to unreliable data collection. The Attica region, where Athens is located, has more than 28 radio stations (CR3 = 0.21), with 84 per cent of the population listening to the radio daily (212 min. per person per average) (Focus Bari, 2019a). Thessaloniki region has 15 radio stations (CR3 = 0.41), with 82 per cent of the population listening to the radio daily (218 min. per person per average) (Focus Bari, 2019b).
[i] For more details, see https://www.digea.gr/en
