Television in Italy was introduced in 1939, when the first experimental broadcasts began. However, this lasted for a very short time: when fascist

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

entered

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1940, all transmissions were interrupted, and were resumed in earnest only nine years after the end of the war, on January 3, 1954. There are two main national television organisations responsible for most of the viewership: state-owned

RAI (), commercially styled as since 2000 and known until 1954 as (RAI), is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terrestrial and subscription television channels a ...

, accounting for 37% of the total viewing figures in May 2014, and

Mediaset Mediaset S.p.A. is an Italian mass media and television production and distribution company that is the largest commercial broadcaster in the country. The company is controlled by the holding company MFE – MediaForEurope (the original ...

, a commercial network which holds about 33%. The third largest player is the Italian branch of

Warner Bros. Discovery Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media and Outline of entertainment, entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It was formed from WarnerMedi ...

, which has a viewing share of 5.8%, whereas the fourth largest player is

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 Co ...

with a viewing share of 3.5%. According to the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, 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 which is controlled by a

board of governors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulations ...

regulated by

Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, internet, telecommunications and mail, postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-rang ...

, the public broadcaster RAI is under direct control of the parliament. According to a December 2008 poll, only 24% of Italians trusted television

news programme News broadcasting is the medium of broadcasting various news events and other information via television, radio, or the internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either produced locally in a radio studio or telev ...

s, 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 Terrestrial television, or over-the-air television (OTA) is a type of television broadcasting in which the content is signal transmission, transmitted via radio waves from the terrestrial (Earth-based) transmitter of a TV station to a TV rece ...

has historically been the dominant form of transmission in the country.

History

After some early tests in the 1930s, Italy experimented first regular electronic television transmissions from July 1939 to May 1940, through the state-owned

EIAR Ente Italiano per le Audizioni Radiofoniche (EIAR, "Italian Body for Radio Broadcasting") was the public service broadcaster in Fascist Italy and the only entity permitted to broadcast by the government. History In spite of the fact that the ra ...

. After the war, the state-owned

was established and regular transmissions began on 3 January 1954. At the end of the 1970s, local private television networks began broadcasting, among which the ones from

Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; 29 September 193612 June 2023) was an Italian Media proprietor, media tycoon and politician who served as the prime minister of Italy in three governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a mem ...

Fininvest Finanziaria d'investimento Fininvest S.p.A., also known as Fininvest, is an Italian holding company controlled by the Berlusconi family and managed by Silvio Berlusconi's eldest daughter Marina Berlusconi. Structure The Fininvest group is com ...

emerged in the 1980s, creating an holding that controls three major channels (

Rete 4 Rete 4 (in English Network 4, also known as Retequattro) is an Italian free-to-air television channel operated by Mediaset and owned by MFE - MediaForEurope MediaForEurope, officially MFE – MediaForEurope N.V., formerly Mediaset Grou ...

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 national coverage in Italy in 1980. On 4 December 2012, Mediaset launched Canale 5 HD, a ...

and

Italia 1 Italia 1 (Italian pronunciation ) is an Italian free-to-air television channel on the Mediaset network, owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. It is aimed at both a young adult and adult audience. Italia 1 was launched on 3 January 1982 and, was or ...

), opposed still today to the three ones from the RAI itself. File:Studio televisivo SAFAR.jpg, Early testing in 1933 from the italian company SAFAR. File:Padiglione SAFAR alla Fiera di Milano.jpg, SAFAR standing at the Milan fair in 1933. File:EIARtelevisione39.jpg, An early

television studio in 1939.

Television providers

Digital terrestrial television

Digital terrestrial television Digital terrestrial television (DTTV, DTT, or DTTB) is a technology for terrestrial television, in which television stations broadcast television content in a digital signal, digital format. Digital terrestrial television is a major technologica ...

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 Fe ...

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 The second Berlusconi government was the 57th government of the Italian Republic and the first government of the XIV Legislature. It took office following the 2001 Italian general election, 2001 elections, and held office from 11 June 2001 until ...

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 Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, RAI experimentally broadcast a number of sport events using a

1080i In high-definition television (HDTV) and video display technology, 1080i is a video display format with 1080 lines of vertical resolution and Interlaced video, interlaced scanning method. This format was once a standard in HDTV. It was particular ...

signal and

H264 Advanced Video Coding (AVC), also referred to as H.264 or MPEG-4 Part 10, is a video compression standard based on block-oriented, motion-compensated coding. It is by far the most commonly used format for the recording, compression, and di ...

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 The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

'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 () are the first-level administrative divisions of the Italy, Italian Republic, constituting its second Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, NUTS administrative level. There are twenty regions, #Autonomous regio ...

planned to interrupt analog transmission,

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

, 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. In April 2021, Byoblu began a national broadcaster and the first Italian TV network that was financially supported by private citizen's donations.

Satellite television

Italy has had digital satellite broadcasts since the 1990s, with the launch of

Stream TV Stream TV was an Italian digital television, digital satellite television pay TV company launched in 1993 and closed in 2003, due to the merge with TELE+ into Sky Italia. History Stream S.P.A. was the service provider, a television company ow ...

and TELE+. In 2003 these merged into

Sky Italia Sky Italia S.r.l. is an Italian satellite television platform owned by the American media conglomerate Comcast. Sky Italia also broadcasts three national free-to-air television channels: TV8, Cielo, and Sky TG24. Pay TV services on the Sky ...

, today this pay TV platform is broadcasting from

Hot Bird Hot Bird (also styled Hotbird) is a group of satellites operated by Eutelsat, located at 13 °E over the equator ( orbital position) and with a transmitting footprint over Asia, Europe, North Africa, Americas and the Middle East. Only digital r ...

satellites. HDTV regular services started in June 2006 under the name

Sky HD Sky HD may refer to: *Sky+ HD, a high-definition television service provided by British Sky Broadcasting Group in the United Kingdom and Ireland *Sky HD (Italy) Sky Italia S.r.l. is an Italian satellite television platform owned by the American ...

, with the broadcasting of the

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

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 Freesat is a British free-to-air satellite television service, first formed as a joint venture between the BBC and ITV plc and now owned by Everyone TV (itself owned by all of the four UK Public broadcasting, public service broadcasters, BBC, ...

, was launched in June 2009, ensuring access to national television channels from digital terrestrial television networks. Shareholders include

Telecom Italia Media TIM S.p.A. (formerly Telecom Italia S.p.A.) is an Italian telecommunications company with headquarters in Rome, Milan, and Naples (with the Telecom Italia Tower), which provides fixed, public and mobile telephony, and DSL data services. It is ...

and the State-owned company Rai.

Pay television

Current providers

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

(

Sky Group Sky Group Limited is a British media and telecommunications conglomerate owned by Comcast and headquartered in London. It has operations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. Sky is Europe's largest media co ...

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

Now TV Now (formerly Now TV and often stylised as NOW) is a subscription over-the-top streaming television service launched in the United Kingdom in 2012. It is operated by Sky Group in Europe, and Xfinity in the US; both owned by the American media ...

(

) (transmission: IPTV) *

Infinity TV Infinity+ (formerly Infinity TV) is an Italian streaming platform published by R.T.I. and owned by Mediaset. Inside there is a section dedicated to the rental of films, cartoons, TV series and content also available in the original language, wi ...

(

) (transmission: IPTV) *

TIMvision TIMvision (formerly Cubovision) is an Italian Internet video on demand service by TIM. It offers television shows, movies, and series, for rental or purchase through the use of a decoder as well as video on demand, smart TV, Android, and iO ...

(

Telecom Italia TIM S.p.A. (formerly Telecom Italia S.p.A.) is an Italian telecommunications company with headquarters in Rome, Milan, and Naples (with the Telecom Italia Tower), which provides fixed, public and mobile telephony, and DSL data services. It is ...

), with almost 2 million households (transmission: IPTV) *

Discovery+ Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discov ...

(

) (transmission: IPTV) * Chili; pay-per-view only (transmission: IPTV) *

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

( Netflix, Inc.) *

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

(

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

) *

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

(

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

) *

DAZN DAZN (; pronounced "da zone") is a British Over-the-top media service, over-the-top sports Sports broadcasting, streaming and entertainment platform. Founded in 2007 as Perform Group via the merger of Premium TV Limited and Inform Group, it is o ...

(

DAZN Group DAZN (; pronounced "da zone") is a British Over-the-top media service, over-the-top sports Sports broadcasting, streaming and entertainment platform. Founded in 2007 as Perform Group via the merger of Premium TV Limited and Inform Group, it is o ...

)

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 ...

(

) (transmission: DTT; IPTV) *

Europa 7 HD Europa 7 HD is an Italian group of television channels aired since October 11, 2010. It is one of the first broadcasters worldwide to use DVB-T2 technology, after United Kingdom's channels BBC HD, ITV HD and Channel 4 HD. Legal battle In Spring 2 ...

(Centro Europa 7 srl) (transmission: DTT) * Dahlia TV (Airplus TV) (transmission: DTT) * TV di Fastweb ( Fastweb) (transmission: IPTV) *

Infostrada TV Infostrada TV was an Infostrada IPTV service in Italy launched in 2007 by Wind. It was shut down in June 2012. Channel list DTT and radio channels * Rai 1 * Rai 2 * Rai 3 * Rai 4 * Rete 4 * Canale 5 * Italia 1 * La7 * Rai Gulp * MTV Ita ...

( Infostrada) (transmission: IPTV) * Tiscali TV (

Tiscali Tessellis S.p.A. (formerly Tiscali S.p.A.) is an Italian telecommunications company founded in 1998 and based in Cagliari, Sardinia, that provides Internet and telecommunications services in Italy, and, previously had operations in other Eur ...

) (transmission: IPTV) * Tele+ (Telepiù S.p.A.), with 1,8 million households in 2002 (transmission: DTH) *

(

and

News Corp The second and current incarnation of News Corporation, doing business as News Corp, is an American mass media and publishing company headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The company was formed on ...

) (transmission: DTH; Cable)

Cable television

In the 1960s the public television network RAI was a

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...

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 (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the northern Italy, Italian region of Piedmont, the capital of the Province of Biella, province of the same name, with a population of 44,324 as of 31 December 2017. It is located about northeast of ...

. 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 wikt:statesman, statesman who served as the 41st prime minister of Italy in seven governments (1972–1973, 1976–1979, and 1989–1992), and was leader of th ...

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

and then Fastweb created

optical fiber An optical fiber, or optical fibre, is a flexible glass or plastic fiber that can transmit light from one end to the other. Such fibers find wide usage in fiber-optic communications, where they permit transmission over longer distances and at ...

networks and launched their

IPTV Internet Protocol television (IPTV), also called TV over broadband, is the service delivery of television over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. Usually sold and run by a Telephone company, telecom provider, it consists of broadcast live telev ...

offers (however associated with

subscriptions). IPTV was the only service to offer

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films Digital distribution, digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typica ...

up until 2009.

List of nationwide television stations

All channels broadcast 24 hours, and are in 16:9 format. On satellite, as a result of restrictions on broadcasting rights, most of RAI's channels are permanently encrypted, and broadcast

free-to-view Free-to-view (FTV) is a term used for audiovisual transmissions that are provided free without any form of continual subscription. It differs from free-to-air (FTA) in that the program is encrypted. Free-to-view vs. free-to-air The free-to-vie ...

through the Tivúsat platform, or are temporarily encrypted when needed. However, Rai 1, 2, 3, Storia, Scuola and Gulp are left unencrypted. The channels from 10 to 19 are made available for Italian regional television.

RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A.

Rai is

's national

public broadcasting Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive f ...

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

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

Vatican City Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...

, southern

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, and across Europe on satellite. It is one of the 23 founding broadcasting organizations of the

European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; , UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations in countries within the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) or who are member states of the Council of Europe, members of the ...

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, for example. It was the United States' first model o ...

in Italy. The group competes primarily against the

public broadcaster Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...

and market leader

. Due to their proximity to (or encirclement by) Italy,

, the

and

can also receive Mediaset broadcasts. In addition to their domestic television channels, Mediaset also operates a series of

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the te ...

entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and Interest (emotion), interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but it is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have deve ...

and

sport Sport is a physical activity or game, often Competition, competitive and organization, organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The numbe ...

websites; owns 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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

broadcasting firm

Mediaset España Comunicación Mediaset S.p.A. is an Italian mass media and television production and distribution company that is the largest commercial broadcaster in the country. The company is controlled by the holding company MFE – MediaForEurope (the original iter ...

; owns the film production company

Medusa Film Medusa Film S.p.A. is an Italian film production and distribution company owned by Mediaset. It is one of the top film producers and distributors in the country. History Medusa Distribuzione S.p.A. was founded by Felice Colaiacono and Franco Po ...

; and heads a

consortium A consortium () 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 for achieving a ...

which owns the

television production A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

house

Banijay Banijay Entertainment S.A. (formerly Banijay Group and later Banijay) is a French multinational television production and distribution company which is the world's largest international content producer and distributor with over 130 production co ...

Cairo Communication S.p.A.

Warner Bros. Discovery Italia S.r.l.

Sky Italia S.r.l.

Paramount Networks Italia S.r.l.

Boing S.p.A. (51%
Mediaset Mediaset S.p.A. is an Italian mass media and television production and distribution company that is the largest commercial broadcaster in the country. The company is controlled by the holding company MFE – MediaForEurope (the original ...
, 49%
Warner Bros. Discovery Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media and Outline of entertainment, entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It was formed from WarnerMedi ...
)

Byoblu Edizioni S.r.l.s

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 QVC Group (formerly Qurate Retail, Inc., also known as Qurate Retail Group), is an American media conglomerate controlled by company chairman John C. Malone, who owns a majority of the Common stock, voting shares. History 1998 launch by Liberty ...

GM Comunicazione S.r.l.

Other national channels

Network of local televisions

7 Gold ''7 Gold'' is an Italy-based television network, Founded in 1999 by the Italian business people Giorgio Tacchino, Giorgio Galante and Luigi Ferretti, owned by some its affiliated, and operates as a broadcast network. It airs TV series, movies, ...

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

Foreign channels

* :

France 24 France 24 ( in French) is a French state-owned publicly funded international news television network based in Paris. Its channels, broadcast in French, English, Arabic and Spanish, are aimed at the overseas market. Based in the Paris suburb ...

* :

Vatican Media Vatican Media, formerly Centro Televisivo Vaticano from 1983 to 2017, is the national broadcaster of the Holy See. It first aired in 1983 and is based in Vatican City. Overview Created in 1983 by Pope John Paul II, Vatican Media has been legal ...

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 Northeast Italy under the name Serenissima TV, in 2004 it acquired UHF channels from France 2 relay ''Telecentrotoscan ...

: launched in 1976 as "Serenissima TV", changed name in 2004; airs

entertainment show Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but it is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousands ...

s, music and dance programmes (with the channel Canale Italia Musica),

home shopping show A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be pe ...

s 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 Telepace is an Italy-based broadcasting network, established in 1979, that carries Roman Catholic-themed programming. The programs include programming from Centro Televisivo Vaticano. Its headquarters are in Cerna, a frazione of Sant'Anna d'Alfa ...

: 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 Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

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 ava ...

: 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 China Global Television Network (CGTN) is one of three branches of state-run China Media Group and the international division of China Central Television (CCTV). Headquartered in Beijing, CGTN broadcasts news in multiple languages. CGTN is un ...

* :

Euronews Euronews (stylised in lowercase) is a pan-European television news broadcasting, news network, headquartered in Lyon, France. It is a provider of livestreamed news, which can be viewed in Europe and North Africa via satellite, and in most of the ...

, France 24 English,

TV5Monde TV5Monde (), formerly known as TV5, is a French public television network, broadcasting several channels of French-language programming. It is an approved participant member of the European Broadcasting Union. The network is available across ...

* :

Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave"), commonly shortened to DW (), is a German state-funded television network, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the Federal Government of Germany. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite tele ...

* :

Press TV Press TV (stylised as PRESSTV) is an Iranian state-owned news media organisation, owned by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), that broadcasts in the English and French languages. The 24-hour channel, which has headquarters in Tehra ...

* :

NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...

* :

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...

Al Jazeera English Al Jazeera English (AJE; , ) is a 24-hour English-language News broadcasting, news channel operating under Al Jazeera Media Network, which is funded by the government of Qatar. Al Jazeera introduced an English-language division in 2006. It is ...

* : 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 ...

* :

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 corporatio ...

* :

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

* :

Bloomberg Television Bloomberg Television (on-air as Bloomberg) is an American-based pay television network focusing on business and capital market programming, owned by diversified information and media private company Bloomberg L.P. It is distributed globally, re ...

CNN International Cable News Network International or CNN International (CNNi, simply branded on-air as CNN) is an international television channel and website, owned by CNN Worldwide. CNN International carries news-related programming worldwide; it cooperates ...

Former channels

Telemontecarlo La7 is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned by Cairo Communication. Cairo Communication acquired it from Telecom Italia Media, itself owned by Telecom Italia, in 2013. La7 features a generalist programming schedule, primarily ...

(1974-2001, broadcasting from

Principality of Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is a semi-enclave borde ...

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 t ...

(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 Ci ...

/TMC2 (1984-2000) * Rete Mia (1988-2000) * Italia 7 (1987-1999) *

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

(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 Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel and the flagship property of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, who operates it through the MTV Entertainment Group. The network's headquarters are located a ...

(2016-2022) * Case Design Stili (2017-2020) * Pop Economy (2018-2020) * Mediaset Extra 2 (2019-2020) *

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

(2016-2024)

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 (broadcasting), flagship television channel and is known for broadcasting ...

and

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

Rai 3 Rai 3 (formerly Rai Tre) 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 a ...

and

Rai 2 Rai 2 is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's second television channel, and is known for broadcasting '' TG2'' news bulletins, ta ...

with 14% of total share and finally a third group of stations made up of

and

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. Cairo Communication acquired it from Telecom Italia Media, itself owned by Telecom Italia, in 2013. La7 features a generalist programming schedule, primarily ...

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. The term is mainly used in ...

s had a slightly lower daily audience in 2013 compared with previous years, while

Comcast Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings,Before the AT&T Broadband, AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, not th ...

's pay TV platform called

(with its channels like

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

Fox Crime Fox Crime (stylized as FOXCRIME), was a television network, launched by the Fox Networks Group, which aired across several countries of Europe, Africa and Asia such as Italy, Portugal, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Turkey. Its basic programming including n ...

Sky Cinema Sky Cinema is a British subscription film service owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). In the United Kingdom, Sky Cinema channels currently broadcast on the Sky satellite and Virgin Media cable platforms, and in addition Sky Cinema ...

and

Sky Sport Sky Sport or Sky Sports may refer to: *Sky Group **Sky Sports, a group of sports television channels available in the UK and Ireland ** Sky Sport (Germany), a group of sports television channels available in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, formerl ...

), nationwide channel

owned by

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

Giallo In Italian cinema, (; : ; from , ) is a genre that often contains Slasher film, slasher, thriller (genre), thriller, psychological horror, psychological thriller, Sexploitation film, sexploitation, and, less frequently, supernatural, supernat ...

Rai 4 Rai 4 ("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 films, TV s ...

Iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (given name), a feminine given name, and a list of peopl ...

La5 La5 is an Italian entertainment television channel, launched on 12 May 2010, operated by the media company Mediaset and owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. It is broadcast in Italy on DTT channel 30 on mux ''Mediaset 4 ''and digital satellite telev ...

, Real Time, K2,

Rai Premium Rai Premium is an Italian free-to-air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to ...

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 terres ...

, Cielo, 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

History

Television providers

Digital terrestrial television

Satellite television

Pay television

Current providers

Defunct providers

Cable television

List of nationwide television stations

Byoblu Edizioni S.r.l.s

Television Broadcasting System S.r.l.

Alma Media S.p.A.

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

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

Former channels

Most viewed channels

See also

References

Bibliography

External links