Television in Italy was introduced in 1939, when the first experimental broadcasts began. However, this lasted for a very short time: when fascist Italy entered World War II in 1940 all transmissions were interrupted, and were resumed in earnest only nine years after the end of the conflict, on January 3, 1954. There are two main national television organisations responsible for most viewing: state-owned RAI, accounting for 37% of the total viewing figures in May 2014, and Mediaset, a commercial network which holds about 33%. The third largest player, the Italian branch of

Warner Bros. Discovery Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at 230 Park Avenue South in New York City. It was formed after the spin-off of WarnerMedia by AT&T, and its merger with ...

, had a viewing share of 5.8%. Apart from these three free to air companies, Comcast's satellite pay TV platform Sky Italia is increasing in viewing and shares. According to the BBC, the Italian television industry is widely considered both inside and outside the country to be overtly

politicized Politicisation (also politicization; see English spelling differences) is a concept in political science and theory used to explain how ideas, entities or collections of facts are given a political tone or character, and are consequently assigned ...

. Unlike the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

which is controlled by an

independent trust Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

, the public broadcaster RAI is under direct control of the parliament. According to a December 2008 poll, only 24% of Italians trusted television news programmes, compared unfavourably to the British rate of 38%, making Italy one of only three examined countries where online sources are considered more reliable than television ones for information. Terrestrial television has historically been the dominant form of transmission in the country.

Television providers

Digital terrestrial television

Digital terrestrial television technology has expanded rapidly and now every major network in Italy (including RAI and Mediaset) transmits in

DVB-T DVB-T, short for Digital Video Broadcasting – Terrestrial, is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in Singapore in Feb ...

format, while analog broadcasts were continued until the end of the transition, originally set by law to December 31, 2006, but later pushed back to the end of 2012. The Berlusconi II Cabinet started promoting the digital format in December 2003 by granting a public financial contribution for the purchase of a MHP digital television decoder. Starting from January 2005 Mediaset and Telecom Italia Media started offering pay TV services through a prepaid smartcard, including football games, movies and TV shows. In February 2006, during the 2006 Winter Olympics held in Turin, RAI experimentally broadcast a number of sport events using a 1080i signal and H264 coding. The HD signal has been transmitted over the Turin area, using DVB-T hierarchical modulation, and only specially crafted decoders have been able to receive this signal: they were placed in strategical points in the town. During the UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2008 Summer Olympics, RAI started experimental high definition broadcasting on ''Rai Test HD'', available only in Turin, Milan, Rome, Sardinia and Aosta Valley, continuing with the

2008 UCI Road World Championships The 2008 UCI Road World Championships took place in Varese, Italy, between September 23 and September 28, 2008. The event consisted of a road race and a time trial for men, women and men under 23. Qualification Participating nations Cyclists fro ...

and a few matches of the UEFA Champions League. In July 2008 the European Commission's directorate for competition expressed concerns on whether the actions taken by the current Italian government would be able to alter the current status of duopoly in the broadcasting market held by RAI and Mediaset. Beginning October 31, 2008, in the first

region of Italy The regions of Italy ( it, regioni d'Italia) are the first-level administrative divisions of the Italian Republic, constituting its second NUTS administrative level. There are twenty regions, five of which have higher autonomy than the rest. U ...

planned to interrupt analog transmission, Sardinia, television networks broadcast multiplexes only in digital format. Licence fee payers from the region were entitled to a 50 euros discount off the price of a digital television decoder or a new, digital-compatible TV set.

Satellite television

Italy has had digital satellite broadcasts since the 1990s, with the launch of Stream TV and TELE+. In 2003 these merged into Sky Italia, today this pay TV platform is broadcasting from Hot Bird satellites. HDTV regular services started in June 2006 under the name Sky HD, with the broadcasting of the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

in High Definition. As of today, almost all channels on the platform broadcasts in HD. '' Tivù Sat'', a Free Satellite Service similar to the UK version Freesat, was launched in June 2009, ensuring access to national television channels from digital terrestrial television networks. Shareholders include Mediaset,

Telecom Italia Media Telecom may refer to: * Telecommunications ** A telephone company (or ''telecommunications service provider'') ** The telecommunications industry * Telecom Animation Film, a Japanese studio See also * Telcom (disambiguation) * Telekom (disamb ...

and the State-owned company Rai.

Pay television

Current providers

* Sky Italia (

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In the field of astronomy, ...

), with about 5 million households (transmission: DTH; IPTV; DTT) *

Now (Sky) Now (formerly Now TV and often stylised as NOW) is a subscription over-the-top internet television service operated by British satellite television provider Sky. Launched in the United Kingdom in 2012, the service is now also available in Ir ...

( Sky Italia) (transmission: IPTV) *

Mediaset Infinity Mediaset Infinity (formerly Mediaset Play and Mediaset Play Infinity) is an Italian streaming platform for viewing streaming content via the Internet, both live and on demand. The platform is published by RTI, a subsidiary of MFE - MediaForEurop ...

( Mediaset) (transmission: IPTV) * TIMvision ( TIM), with almost 2 million households (transmission: IPTV) * Chili; pay-per-view only (transmission: IPTV) * Netflix * Disney+ *

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pr ...

* DAZN

Defunct providers

Mediaset Premium Mediaset Premium was an Italian pay TV provider owned by Mediaset. Until closure in 2019, it provided subscription TV channels and pay-per-view events (only for football matches) via the Italian digital terrestrial television network through the ...

( Mediaset) (transmission: DTT; IPTV) * Europa 7 HD (Centro Europa 7 srl) (transmission: DTT) * Dahlia TV ( Airplus TV) (transmission: DTT) * Fastweb TV ( Fastweb) (transmission: IPTV) * Infostrada TV ( Infostrada) (transmission: IPTV) * Tiscali TV ( Tiscali) (transmission: IPTV) * TELE+ ( Telepiù S.p.A.), with 1,8 million households in 2002 (transmission: DTH) * Stream TV ( Telecom Italia and News Corp) (transmission: DTH; Cable)

Cable television

Italy currently has the lowest percentage (less than 1%) of transmissions from cable television of almost all of the world's developed countries. In the 1960s the public television network RAI was a monopoly and the only network authorized to broadcast in Italy. Giuseppe Sacchi, a former RAI editor, launched on April 21, 1971, the first "free" television station, called ''Telebiella'' and based in

Biella Biella (; pms, Biela; la, Bugella) is a city and '' comune'' in the northern Italian region of Piedmont, the capital of the province of the same name, with a population of 44,324 as of 31 December 2017. It is located about northeast of Turin a ...

. It started to broadcast on April 6, 1972, devoted primarily to news and information. Immediately the government led by

Giulio Andreotti Giulio Andreotti ( , ; 14 January 1919 – 6 May 2013) was an Italian politician and statesman who served as the 41st prime minister of Italy in seven governments (1972–1973, 1976–1979, and 1989–1992) and leader of the Christian Democrac ...

forced Sacchi to dismantle Telebiella. Later a new law was issued to regulate and allow cable broadcasting, although with tight limitations: only one cable system for every city and only one TV channel for each system. Cable television remained undeveloped for many years, with the exception of a few amateur projects. In the 1990s, first Telecom Italia and then Fastweb created

optical fiber An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means t ...

networks and launched their

IPTV Internet Protocol television (IPTV) is the delivery of television content over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. This is in contrast to delivery through traditional terrestrial, satellite, and cable television formats. Unlike downloaded medi ...

offers (however associated with Sky Italia or

subscriptions). IPTV was the only service to offer video on demand up until 2009.

List of nationwide television stations

Most important all national free-to-view channels

All channels broadcast 24 hours, are in 16:9 SDTV format and also FTA on digital satellite. The channels from 10 to 19 are made available for Italian regional television.

RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A.

Rai is Italy's national

public broadcasting Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

company, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Rai's broadcasts are also received in neighboring countries, including

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares la ...

, Croatia,

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, Monaco, Montenegro, San Marino, Slovenia, Vatican City, and southern Switzerland. It is one of the 23 founding broadcasting organizations of the European Broadcasting Union.

Mediaset S.p.A.

Mediaset is the largest

commercial broadcaster Commercial broadcasting (also called private broadcasting) is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship. It was the United States′ first model of radio (an ...

in the country. The group competes primarily against the

public broadcaster Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

and market leader RAI. Due to their proximity to (or encirclement by) Italy,

, Croatia, Switzerland,

, San Marino, the Vatican City and Slovenia also receive Mediaset broadcasts. In addition to its domestic television interests, Mediaset also operates a series of news, entertainment and sport websites; holds 50.1% of the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

broadcasting firm

Mediaset España Comunicación Mediaset Italia S.p.A., also known as Mediaset, is an Italian-based mass media company which is the largest commercial broadcaster in the country. The company is controlled by the holding company MFE - MediaForEurope. Founded in 1987 by former ...

; owns the film production company

Medusa Film In Greek mythology, Medusa (; Ancient Greek: Μέδουσα "guardian, protectress"), also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those ...

; and heads a

consortium A consortium (plural: consortia) is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources fo ...

which owns the television production house

Banijay Banijay (formerly Banijay Entertainment and later Banijay Group) is a French television production and distribution company which is the world's largest international content producer and distributor with over 120 production companies across 22 ...

Cairo Communication S.p.A.

Discovery Italia S.r.l.

Sky Italia S.r.l.

Paramount Networks Italia S.r.l.

Boing S.p.A. (51% Mediaset, 49%
Warner Bros. Discovery Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at 230 Park Avenue South in New York City. It was formed after the spin-off of WarnerMedia by AT&T, and its merger with ...
)

Television Broadcasting System S.r.l.

Alma Media S.p.A.

GEDI Gruppo Editoriale S.p.A.

RTL 102.5 HIT RADIO S.r.l

Liberty Interactive Qurate Retail Group (commonly known as Qurate Retail, Inc.) is an American media conglomerate controlled by company chairman John C. Malone, who owns a majority of the voting shares. History 1998 launch by Liberty Media Liberty Interactive wa ...

GM Comunicazione S.r.l.

Other national channels

Network of local televisions

* 7 Gold: launched in 1999 as "Italia 7 Gold", changed name in 2003; airs movies, sport debates and old TV series

Foreign channels

* : France 24 * :

Vatican Media Vatican Media, formerly Centro Televisivo Vaticano, is the Holy See's national broadcaster based in Vatican City which first aired in 1983. History of the channel Created in 1983 by Pope John Paul II, Vatican Media is, since November 1996, an in ...

Lower channels, teleshopping channel, lower network and local channels

* Canale 63 (63) * Canale 65 (65) * ibox.it (68) * Capri Store (122), home shopping *

Canale Italia ''Canale Italia S.r.l.'' is a Veneto-based Italian broadcasting company. History After more than 20 years broadcasting in the North-East area of Italy with the name ''Serenissima Tv'', in 2004 it acquired UHF channels from France 2 relay ''Tele ...

: launched in 1976 as "Serenissima TV", changed name in 2004; airs entertainment shows, music and dance programmes (with the channel Canale Italia Musica), home shopping shows and classical movies. Also available on digital satellite and digital terrestrial * Odeon: launched in 1987 from some local television stations that were previously affiliated to "Euro TV". The group also includes the channels TLC Telecampione launched in 1982 and TeleReporter launched in 1977 as "Tele Radio Reporter", "Telereporter-Canale 7" between 2002 and 2004 * Telepace: launched in 1977 as a radio and, two years later, as a syndication, it is a religious channel and airs direct-to-videos holy masses, holy celebrations and Christian holidays, it is visible only in some regions and it broadcast from near Verona *

Televisione Cristiana in Italia Televisione Cristiana in Italia (TCI), also known as TBNE (Trinity Broadcasting Network Europe), is a free-to-air Italian religious TV channel headquartered in Marnate, Italy. It was founded by Chuck Hall and his late wife Nora in 1979. It is av ...

: launched in 1979, it is a religious channel too and it was named previously TBNE (Trinity Broadcasting Network Europe), this channel is visible only in some regions too

Digital satellite only (free to air)

Foreign channels

* : CGTN * :

Euronews Euronews (styled on-air in lowercase as euronews) is a European television news broadcasting, news network, headquartered in Lyon, France. The network began broadcasting on 1 January 1993 and covers world news from a European perspective. The ...

, France 24, France 24 English, TV5Monde * : Deutsche Welle * : Press TV * :

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestria ...

* :

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera M ...

Al Jazeera English Al Jazeera English (AJE; ar, الجزيرة‎, translit=al-jazīrah, , literally "The Peninsula", referring to the Qatar Peninsula) is an international 24-hour English-language news channel owned by the Al Jazeera Media Network, which is own ...

* : RT * :

San Marino RTV Radiotelevisione della Repubblica di San Marino, commonly known as San Marino RTV (abbreviated SMRTV), is the public service broadcaster of San Marino. On 13 June 2011, San Marino RTV changed its name to SMtv San Marino. In November 2013, the n ...

* :

TV Koper-Capodistria TV Koper Capodistria is a Slovene free-to-air television channel based in Koper, Slovenia. Mainly funded by state aid, the channel serves the Italian-speaking minority in Slovenia and Croatia. It can also be received in the Italian region of ...

* : 24 Horas,

TVE Internacional TVE Internacional is a Spanish satellite free-to-air and pay television channel owned and operated by Televisión Española (TVE), the television division of state-owned public broadcaster Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE). It is the corporati ...

* :

BBC World News BBC World News is an international English-language pay television network, operated under the ''BBC Global News Limited'' division of the BBC, which is a public corporation of the UK government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media an ...

* :

Bloomberg Television Bloomberg Television (on-air as Bloomberg) is an American-based pay television network focusing on business and capital market programming, owned by Bloomberg L.P. It is distributed globally, reaching over 310 million homes worldwide. It is head ...

, CNN International

Italian programming

Top Crime

* ''Hannibal'' * ''Motive'' * ''Major Crimes'' * ''Person of Interest'' * ''Damages'' * ''Chase'' * ''Bones'' * ''Life'' * ''

The Shield ''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series starring Michael Chiklis that premiered on March 12, 2002, on FX in the United States, and concluded on November 25, 2008, after seven seasons. Known for its portrayal of corrupt poli ...

'' * ''24'' * ''Raising the Bar'' * ''Women's Murder Club'' * '' Judging Amy'' * ''

Psych ''Psych'' is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks for USA Network. The series stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened obser ...

'' * ''Undercovers'' * ''White Collar'' * '' Rescue: Special Ops'' * '' Magnum, P.I.'' * ''Rescue Me'' * ''

RIS Delitti Imperfetti R.I.S - Delitti Imperfetti (R.I.S - imperfect crimes) is an Italian television series, created in 2004 by Pietro Valsecchi, broadcast since January 2005 on Canale 5. The title, where ''RIS'' is an acronym for '' Reparto Investigazioni Scientifich ...

'' * ''Law & Order: SVU'' * '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' * '' Prison Break'' * ''GSG 9''

Premium Crime

* ''

100 Code ''100 Code'' (also known as ''The Hundred Code'') is an internationally co-produced Swedish crime drama series, created by Ken Bruen and developed by Bobby Moresco, that first aired on German premium channel Sky Krimi on May 14, 2015. The seri ...

'' * ''Falco'' * ''Flikken - Coppia in giallo'' * ''Murder in the First'' * '' Blindspot'' * ''Shades Of Blue'' * ''Hannibal'' * ''

The Mentalist ''The Mentalist'' is an American drama television series that ran from September 23, 2008, until February 18, 2015, broadcasting 151 episodes over seven seasons, on CBS. Created by Bruno Heller, who was also its executive producer, the show ...

'' * ''Person of Interest'' * '' Monk'' * ''

The Closer ''The Closer'' is an Television in the United States, American television police procedural starring Kyra Sedgwick as Brenda Leigh Johnson, a Los Angeles Police Department Chief of police#United States, deputy chief. A CIA-trained interrogator o ...

'' * '' Law & Order - Unità vittime speciali'' (st. 14–22) * '' Law & Order: LA'' * ''Golden Boy'' * '' Motive'' * ''Major Crimes'' * ''The Killing'' * ''

The Chicago Code ''The Chicago Code'' is an American crime drama television series created by Shawn Ryan that aired on Fox in the United States. The series was filmed in Chicago, Illinois, originally airing from February 7 to May 23, 2011, with Fox announcing ca ...

'' * ''The Glades'' * ''Southland'' * '' Rizzoli & Isles'' * ''Sherlock'' * ''Stalker'' * ''Ironside'' * ''Chase'' * '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' (st. 8–10) * ''Animal Kingdom'' * ''The Forgotten'' * ''

DCI Banks ''DCI Banks'' is a British television crime drama series produced by Left Bank Pictures for the ITV network. Originally broadcast over five series in 2010–2016, the series was based on Peter Robinson's Inspector Alan Banks novels and s ...

'' * '' Chicago P.D.'' * ''

Veronica Mars ''Veronica Mars'' is an American teen film noir, noir Mystery fiction, mystery Drama (film and television), drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas (writer), Rob Thomas. The series is set in the fictional town of Neptune, Ca ...

'' (st. 4)

AXN

* ''Afterworld'' * ''Andromeda'' * ''Blood Ties'' * ''

Breaking Bad ''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited hi ...

'' * ''

'' * ''The Collector'' * ''Damages'' * '' Fear Factor'' * '' .hack//Sign'' * '' Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' * ''Kidnapped'' * ''Kung Fu'' * ''MacGyver'' * ''

Man's Work ''Man's Work'' is a television series produced in the United Kingdom which broadcasts on the UK channel Bravo. It features Ashley Hames, who has to trial some of the toughest, hardest & demanding jobs on the planet. * Episode list *Episode 1 � ...

'' * ''Michael Hayes'' * ''Mission: Impossible'' * ''

Most Shocking ''Most Shocking'' is an American reality television show produced by Nash Entertainment and truTV Original Productions. A spin-off series entitled '' Top 20 Countdown: Most Shocking'' aired from 2006 to 2012. The program held a TV-14 rating du ...

'' * ''Murder'' * ''Mutant X'' * ''The Net'' * '' New York Undercover'' * ''

Noein , also known simply as ''Noein'', is a Japanese science fiction anime television series directed by Kazuki Akane and produced by Satelight. The series has 24 episodes which make up a complete storyline. The English version was produced and dubb ...

'' * ''

Odyssey 5 ''Odyssey 5'' is a Canadian science fiction series, which was shown in 2002 on Space in Canada and on Showtime in the United States. The premise involves five space travelers who witness the destruction of the Earth; they are given the opportu ...

'' * ''The Outer Limits'' * ''Quantum Leap'' * ''Painkiller Jane'' * '' Planetes'' * ''

Plunkett & Macleane ''Plunkett & Macleane'' is a 1999 British historical action comedy film directed by Jake Scott, and starring Robert Carlyle, Jonny Lee Miller and Liv Tyler. Gary Oldman was executive producer. The story was co-written by Neal Purvis and Robe ...

'' * ''Rescue Me'' * '' Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' * ''Seven Days'' * ''

'' * ''Sleeper Cell'' * ''

Sliders Slider or Sliders may refer to: Arts * K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise * ''The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex * ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series * ...

'' * ''

Stargate Universe ''Stargate Universe'' (often abbreviated as ''SGU'') is a military science fiction television series and part of MGM's ''Stargate'' franchise. It follows the adventures of a present-day, multinational exploration team traveling on the Ancient ...

'' * ''

Starsky & Hutch ''Starsky & Hutch'' is an American action television series, which consisted of a 72-minute pilot movie (originally aired as a ''Movie of the Week'' entry) and 92 episodes of 50 minutes each. The show was created by William Blinn (inspired by th ...

'' * '' Strong Medicine'' * ''

Third Watch ''Third Watch'' is an American crime drama television series created by John Wells and Edward Allen Bernero that aired on NBC from September 26, 1999, to May 6, 2005, with a total of 132 episodes spanning over six seasons. It was produced b ...

'' * ''

Ultimate Force ''Ultimate Force'' is a British television action drama series that was shown on ITV, which deals with the activities of Red Troop of the SAS (Special Air Service). The first episode was broadcast on 16 September 2002, and a total of four s ...

'' * ''

The Vision of Escaflowne is a 26-episode Japanese anime television series created by Shōji Kawamori and Sunrise Studios and directed by Kazuki Akane. It premiered in Japan on April 2, 1996 on TV Tokyo, and the final episode aired on September 24, 1996. Sony's ...

'' * '' Wire in the Blood'' * ''

World's Most Amazing Videos ''World's Most Amazing Videos'' was an American reality television series that ran on NBC from March 3, 1999 until 2001, as a filler program when other shows were cancelled and later revived on Spike from 2006 until 2008. The show showcases ac ...

Universal Channel

* '' 24: Legacy'' * ''

Agatha Raisin Agatha Raisin is a fictional detective in a series of humorous mystery novels, originally written by Marion Chesney using the pseudonym M. C. Beaton. Chesney's friend Rod W. Green took over as writer with ''Hot to Trot''. The books are publish ...

'' * ''

'' * '' Brothers & Sisters'' * '' Chicago Fire'' * ''

'' * ''

Cold Case A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or r ...

'' * '' Common Law'' * ''

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', also referred to as ''CSI'' and ''CSI: Las Vegas'', is an American procedural forensics crime drama television series that ran on CBS from October 6, 2000, to September 27, 2015, spanning 15 seasons. This wa ...

'' * ''

Drop Dead Diva ''Drop Dead Diva'' is an American legal comedy-drama/ fantasy television series that aired on Lifetime from July 12, 2009, to June 22, 2014. The series was created by Josh Berman and produced by Sony Pictures Television. It stars Brooke Ell ...

'' * '' ER'' * '' Flashpoint'' * '' For All Mankind'' * '' Harry’s Law'' * '' House'' * ''

In Plain Sight ''In Plain Sight'' is an American drama television series that premiered on the USA Network on June 1, 2008. The series revolves around Mary Shannon (Mary McCormack), a Deputy United States Marshal attached to the Albuquerque, New Mexico, office ...

'' * ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...

'' * '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' * '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' * '' The Listener'' * '' Monk'' * '' Motive'' * '' NCIS: Los Angeles'' * ''

Nurse Jackie ''Nurse Jackie'' is an American medical comedy-drama television series. It premiered on Showtime on June 8, 2009, and its seventh and final season premiered on April 12, 2015. The series finale aired on June 28, 2015. The show stars Edie Falco ...

'' * ''

The Office ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original ser ...

'' * '' Parenthood'' * ''

'' * ''

Rookie Blue ''Rookie Blue'' is a Canadian police drama television series starring Missy Peregrym and Gregory Smith. It was created by Morwyn Brebner, Tassie Cameron, and Ellen Vanstone. The series premiered on June 24, 2010, at 9:00 p.m. Eastern/8 ...

'' * '' Royal Pains'' * '' Sea Patrol'' * '' Shattered'' * '' Suits'' * ''

Teen Wolf ''Teen Wolf'' is a 1985 American coming-of-age romantic fantasy comedy film directed by Rod Daniel and written by Jeph Loeb and Matthew Weisman. Michael J. Fox stars as the title character, a high school student whose ordinary life is chang ...

'' * '' The Walking Dead'' * '' Transplant'' * ''

Without a Trace ''Without a Trace'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Hank Steinberg that aired on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009 with the total of seven seasons and 160 episodes. The series focuses the cases of ...

'' * ''

30 Rock ''30 Rock'' is an American satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live'', takes ...

'' * Thirteen Sisters of Florida, lá vonde verék * ''

American Horror Story ''American Horror Story'' is an American anthology horror television series created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for the cable network FX. The first installment in the '' American Story'' media franchise, each season is conceived as a ...

'' * ''

Brooklyn Nine-Nine ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' is an American police procedural comedy television series that aired on Fox, and later on NBC. The show aired from September 17, 2013, to September 16, 2021, for a total of eight seasons and 153 episodes. Created by Dan G ...

'' * ''

Covert Affairs ''Covert Affairs'' is an American action drama television series filmed in Toronto, Canada, starring Piper Perabo and Christopher Gorham that premiered on Tuesday, July 13, 2010. On January 6, 2015, USA Network canceled ''Covert Affairs'' after ...

'' * ''

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

'' * ''

Eureka Eureka (often abbreviated as E!, or Σ!) is an intergovernmental organisation for research and development funding and coordination. Eureka is an open platform for international cooperation in innovation. Organisations and companies applying th ...

'' * '' Hannibal'' * '' The Event'' * '' The Good Wife'' * ''

'' * '' The Mindy Project'' * '' Saving Hope'' * '' Scorpion'' * '' Shameless'' * '' The Unit''

Former channels

Telemontecarlo La7 is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned by Cairo Communication. Until 2013 it was a pay-per-view channel owned by Telecom Italia Media and operated by Telecom Italia. Signal overspill means that parts of Albania, Croatia, Swit ...

(1974-2001, broadcasting from

Principality of Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Liguria ...

up to 1999) *

Rete A Nove is an Italian general entertainment cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA. Originally known as Deejay TV, the channel was renamed and its logo redesigned on 22 February 2016. It offers programming aimed to appeal to th ...

(1983-2005) *

Videomusic Videomusic was an Italian music channel and one of the first music channels in Europe. It was launched in early 1984 and was owned by Marialina Marcucci and Pier Luigi Stefani (VM's Managing Director). It used to air from a location called "Il C ...

TMC2 Transmembrane channel-like protein 2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''TMC2'' gene. Function This gene is considered a member of a gene family predicted to encode transmembrane proteins. The specific function of this gene is u ...

(1984-2000) * Rete Mia (1988-2000) * Italia 7 (1987-1999) *

Pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

(2017-2019) * Cine Sony (2017-2019) * Alpha (2017-2019) * Spike (2017-2022) *

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

(1999-2020) * Marcopolo (1997-2020) * Paramount Network (2016-2022) * Case Design Stili (2017-2020) * Pop Economy (2018-2020) * Mediaset Extra 2 (2019-2020)

Most viewed channels

The Auditel measures television ratings in Italy. The two most watched channels are still

Rai 1 Rai 1 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's flagship television channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream and gene ...

and

Canale 5 Canale 5 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel of Mediaset, owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. It was the first private television network to have a national coverage in Italy in 1980. On 4 December 2012, Mediaset launched Canale 5 HD, a s ...

which together share 33% of the audience. Following these in terms of ratings are

Rai 3 Rai 3 (formerly Rete 3) is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It was launched on 15 December 1979 and its programming is centred towards cultural and ...

and Rai 2 with 14% of total share and finally a third group of stations made up of Italia 1 and

Rete 4 Rete 4 (in English Network 4) is an Italian free-to-air television channel operated by Mediaset Italia and owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. Presently the director is Sebastiano Lombardi. Programs TV Programmes (currently) Rete 4's streng ...

which together reach 12% of TV ratings. Apart from the seventh ex analogue television

La7 La7 is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned by Cairo Communication. Until 2013 it was a pay-per-view channel owned by Telecom Italia Media and operated by Telecom Italia. Signal overspill means that parts of Albania, Croatia, Swi ...

with a market share of 4%. All the six RAI and Mediaset

generalist channel A generalist channel is a television or radio channel whose target audience is not confined to a particular set of people, but instead aims to offer a wide range of programs and program genres to a diverse general public. In radio, this is someti ...

s had a slightly lower daily audience in 2013 compared with previous years, while Comcast's pay TV platform called Sky Italia (with its channels like Fox, Fox Crime, Sky Cinema and Sky Sport), nationwide channel

owned by

Cairo Communication Cairo Communication S.p.A. is an Italian media and publishing company based in Milan. The shares of the company float in Borsa Italiana. Urbano Cairo, via UT Communications, UT Belgium Holding, owned 50.101% stake of the company. In turn Cairo C ...

and several new free-to-air digital stations (like

Giallo In Italian cinema, ''Giallo'' (; plural ''gialli'', from ''giallo'', Italian for yellow) is a genre of mystery fiction and thrillers that often contains slasher, crime fiction, psychological thriller, psychological horror, sexploitation, and, ...

Rai 4 Rai 4 (pronounced ''Rai Quattro'') is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. Launched on 14 July 2008 with the film ''Elephant'', Rai 4 targets youths with ...

Iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...

, La5, Real Time, K2,

Rai Premium Rai Premium is an Italian free-to-air television channel that broadcasts reruns of popular fiction and films that were produced by State-owned broadcaster RAI RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known unt ...

Top Crime Top Crime, often stylised TOPcrime, is a thematic television channel, dedicated to the TV series and movies on the world of crime, operated by Mediaset and owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. The broadcasts began on 1 June 2013 both on digital terrest ...

Cielo Cielo (Spanish and Italian for "heaven" or "sky"), El Cielo (in Spanish) or Il Cielo (in Italian) may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Cielo'' (film), a 2017 Chile-Canadian documentary film * Cielo (TV channel), an Italian television ...

, DMAX) are increasing in ratings day by day.

References

Bibliography

External links

MAVISE – TV market in ItalyDVB-T in Italy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Television In Italy Entertainment in Italy Italian-language television

Television providers

Digital terrestrial television

Satellite television

Pay television

Current providers

Defunct providers

Cable television

List of nationwide television stations

Most important all national free-to-view channels

Boing S.p.A. (51% Mediaset, 49% Warner Bros. Discovery Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at 230 Park Avenue South in New York City. It was formed after the spin-off of WarnerMedia by AT&T, and its merger with ...)

Television Broadcasting System S.r.l.

Alma Media S.p.A.

Liberty Interactive Qurate Retail Group (commonly known as Qurate Retail, Inc.) is an American media conglomerate controlled by company chairman John C. Malone, who owns a majority of the voting shares. History 1998 launch by Liberty Media Liberty Interactive wa ...

GM Comunicazione S.r.l.

Other national channels

Network of local televisions

Foreign channels

Lower channels, teleshopping channel, lower network and local channels

Digital satellite only (free to air)

Foreign channels

Italian programming

Top Crime

Premium Crime

AXN

Universal Channel

Former channels

Most viewed channels

See also

References

Bibliography

External links