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La7 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 the content without requiring a subscri ...
television channel owned by Cairo Communication. Cairo Communication acquired it from
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 ...
, itself owned by
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 ...
, in 2013. La7 features a generalist programming schedule, primarily focused on
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 ...
, current affairs, and entertainment. The channel is known for its in-depth political analysis, talk shows, and investigative journalism, often serving as an alternative to Italy’s major public and commercial broadcasters. The official voice-over announcer of La7 is the renowned dubbing artist Francesco Prando, while advertising sales are managed by Cairo Pubblicità. The channel is available across Italy via
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 ...
, as well as on satellite platforms such as
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 ...
and Tivùsat. It is also accessible in
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 ...
through cable providers. Signal overspill means that parts of
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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, ...
and
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 ...
also receive La7 broadcasts.


History


Telemontecarlo

Telemontecarlo (TMC), founded in 1974, was the Italian language television channel from
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, ...
. At that time, the channel was one of the only two competitors of the Italian public television network
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 ...
, broadcasting in
colour Color (or colour in Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though color is not an inherent property of matter, color perception is related to an object's light absorp ...
(
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 ...
launched in 1971). After the introduction of the
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 ...
channels, TMC struggled until 2001. However, in 1999, its last owner, the film producer Vittorio Cecchi Gori, sold the network to SEAT Pagine Gialle. In the 1970s and early 1980s, the Monegasque network was the main alternative to the RAI television channels. It was one of the international Italian-language television broadcasters available in the Italian peninsula. Starting from the mid-eighties, Telemontecarlo increasingly became a niche channel, after the rise of the Fininvest channels, in particular Canale 5. In 1990 it obtained the concession to broadcast across the entire national territory from the Mammì law.


Télé Monte Carlo administration

The birth of the Italian TMC (Telemontecarlo) was influenced by the
Italian government The government of Italy is that of a democratic republic, established by the Italian constitution in 1948. It consists of Legislature, legislative, Executive (government), executive, and Judiciary, judicial subdivisions, as well as of a head of ...
's decision to adopt color television broadcasts, with the choice between the PAL and SÉCAM standards to be determined later. In 1971, during the debate over these standards, French industrialists reportedly proposed to President
Georges Pompidou Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou ( ; ; 5 July 19112 April 1974) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1969 until his death in 1974. He previously served as Prime Minister of France under President Charles de Gaulle from 19 ...
that TMC broadcast in Italian and in color by using the SÉCAM standard. The broadcasts would target Rome and the Italian coast from the ORTF transmitter in Bastia, Corsica, aiming to promote SÉCAM receivers in the Italian market. However, President Pompidou declined the proposal. Technical tests in SÉCAM color intended for Italy took place in June 1971 with the establishment of UHF channel 35, broadcast in the PAL-G standard with a power of 50 kW. After several tests, in 1973 TMC broadcast some programs in Italian on this channel in an experimental form, which subsequently became Tele Monte Carlo in 1974. The official inauguration of the Italian service was held on 5 August 1974, one month after the ruling of the Italian Constitutional Court of 10 July 1974, number 225, which sanctioned the legitimacy of foreign relay systems. The first show transmitted by Telemontecarlo was ''Un peu d'amour, d'amitié et beaucoup de musique'' ("A Little Bit of Love, Friendship and a Lot of Music"), hosted by Jocelyn Hattab, who couldn't speak proper Italian at the time, and his wife Sophie. In its first year, Télé Monte Carlo began broadcasting its programs in color, standing out among Italian viewers' television options, as RAI channels didn't have this technology until 1977. In addition to operating outside Italian borders (but with many repeaters in Italian territory, covering a large part of the Italian peninsula), the broadcaster also broadcasts its programs in Italy on a national scale, thus becoming (along with the other two foreign networks of Italy, TV Koper-Capodistria and TSI) one of the first alternatives to RAI channels for the Italian public. As a Monegasque TV, Telé Monte Carlo could broadcast live on a national network, unlike private Italian networks, for which this was not possible until 1991, as it was an exclusive right of the public television service. Like RAI, Telé Monte Carlo was also a member of Eurovision. The network had its first collaborators, the sports journalist Gianni Brera, director of the network's first sports program, Puntosport, and also
Mike Bongiorno Michael Nicholas Salvatore Bongiorno (; May 26, 1924 – September 8, 2009) was an American Italian television presenter. After a few experiences in the U.S., he started working on RAI in the 1950s and was considered to be the most popular host ...
, although not in an official way. Indro Montanelli also worked at the network, creating in 1976, the network's news program Il Giornale Nuovo, produced by the Milanese newspaper of the same name, which he himself founded. The program lasted ten minutes, being divided into two parts: in the first (Notiziario), the announcer Antonio Devia read the most important news of the day, written by Il Giornale. In the second (Editoriale), Indro Montanelli (or one of the Milanese newspaper's main columnists, such as Enzo Bettiza, Mario Cervi or Cesare Zappulli) presented his opinion on the day's event. The commentary was recorded late in the morning in Milan and then transported to Monaco by car. From 29 August 1977, the newscast was divided into two nightly editions. From 17 January to 28 August 1977, the news program was preceded by the nightly journalistic study program presented by Luisella Berrino, entitled Montecarlo Sera. Furthermore, from 1980 to 1982, a short news program lasting about a quarter of an hour, Monte-Carlo News, was broadcast. From 1976 to 1980, engineer Henri de France participated in the creation and operation of the Télé Monte Carlo repeater network in Italy. From 1978 to 1980, the network had TV presenter and author Paolo Limiti as programming director, responsible for creating several programs, including the cooking show Telemenù, hosted by Wilma De Angelis. The program was later renamed Sale, pepe e fantasia (Salt, Pepper and Fantasy). In 1979, Sandra Mondaini also joined the Monegasque channel with a variety program Stasera mi sento milionaria, in prime time. In 1980, TV presenter Ettore Andenna became programming director, remaining in the position for a year. That year, some programs (produced in the Antenna 3 Lombardia studios, in Milan) started to be broadcast on the Monegasque network, such as the morning show Telemattina and the quiz Scusi, le faccio un assegno? Shown in the early evening. Also in 1980, Gianfranco Funari debuted his own program, the nightly talk show Torti in faccia, recorded at the station's Milan branch. In 1981, rumors arose of the intention of the French-Monegasque ownership of the Italian-language branch of Télé Monte Carlo to be put up for sale. This was confirmed in 1983, with the adoption of a new logo at the branch, to distinguish it from its French-speaking sister, after years of using a unified brand. In the station's logo, the spelling used was French, so the word Tele was written Télé, a script that, however, was never used by the Italian press. Also in the early years, when the opening signal of the Eurovision network appeared, the name that appeared was Radio Télé Monte Carlo or Radio Télévision de Monte Carlo, also known in Italian as Radio Televisione de Monte Carlo. With this, the network came to be called Tele Monte-Carlo. On 18 March 1982,
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 ...
acquired half of the network's share package, out of fear that
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 ...
would control the satellite available to Tele Monte-Carlo. This act soon caused misunderstandings that resulted in the Il Giornale editorial team leaving the network and the cancellation of Monte-Carlo news. There were, therefore, only two short news programs (Notizie Flash), reduced to just one in 1985. During this period, the network repeated some old RAI programs, such as '' Lascia o raddoppia?'', '' Studio Uno'' and ''
Discoring ''Discoring'' was a music show broadcast by Rai 1 from 1977 to 1989, created by Gianni Boncompagni, aired mainly on Sunday. The program could be considered analogous to the English show ''Top of the Pops''. History The first episode was broa ...
''. From the mid-eighties onwards, Tele Monte-Carlo, which until then had a good audience in Italy, gradually began to disappear from the television scene, due to the growth of large national private networks, mainly the Fininvest Group.


Globo administration

On 4 August 1985, 90% of the network was purchased by
Organizações Globo Grupo Globo (), formerly and still legally known as Organizações Globo (), is a Brazilian private entertainment and mass media conglomerate based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Founded in 1925 by Irineu Marinho, it is the largest media group i ...
, to which
Rede Globo TV Globo (stylized as tvglobo; , ), formerly known as Rede Globo de Televisão (; shortened to Rede Globo) or simply known as Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto Marinho on 26 April 1965 ...
belongs. The remaining 10% remained owned by RAI. The direction of the channel was entrusted to Herbert Fiuza, who delegated the management of internal productions to Carlo Briani. From then on, the network's name began to be spelled Telemontecarlo, and the logo became the same as that used by the Brazilian network from 1981 to 1983. With the arrival of Rede Globo, there was also the inauguration of TMC's new TV production center in
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, at Piazza della Balduina, 48. Opened in 1986, it became Telemontecarlo's main studio (while the Monte Carlo and Milan branches had their functions increasingly reduced) and remained in operation until 1998. As a result of the purchase, several Brazilian programs were shown in an Italian version, such as the telenovelas '' Gabriela'', '' Dancin' Days'', '' Água Viva'', '' Louco Amor'', ''Pão Pão, Beijo-Beijo'', ''Final Feliz'', '' Selva de Pedra'', '' Sinhá Moça'', '' Cambalacho'', '' Guerra dos Sexos'', ''Terras dos Sem-Fim'' and ''
Roda de Fogo ''Roda de Fogo'' is a Brazilian telenovela produced and broadcast by TV Globo TV Globo (stylized as tvglobo; , ), formerly known as Rede Globo de Televisão (; shortened to Rede Globo) or simply known as Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air Tel ...
''. In addition to telenovelas, the network also aired miniseries and Brazilian TV series, such as ''Rabo de Saia'', ''A Máfia no Brasil'', ''Lampião e Maria Bonita'', ''Anarquistas, Graças a Deus'' and ''Armação Ilimitada''. At that time, some American TV shows for children were also shown, such as ''
Get Smart ''Get Smart'' is an American comedy television series parodying the Spy fiction, secret agent genre that had become widely popular in the first half of the 1960s with the release of the ''James Bond'' films. It was created by Mel Brooks and Bu ...
'', ''
Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
'', '' I misteri di Nancy Drew'' and ''Secrets and Mysteries''. TMC also had in its programming the children's program Il paese della cuccagna, with studio jokes, games and anime, presented by Marina Perzy and Paolo Limiti and produced in Brazil. With regard to its own productions, Telemontecarlo had the talk show ''Specchio della vita'', the TV Donna program, presented by Carla Urban, in addition to the consolidated cooking program ''Sale, pepe e fantasia''. The network's journalism also went through many changes at this stage, and in February 1986, under the direction of Ricardo Pereira, in partnership with Roberto Quintini, the TMC News television news program began to be produced. It was the first in Italy to be presented in a duo (alternating between a male journalist and a female journalist) and with camera movement, an innovation in Italian television journalism at the time. Some Brazilian journalists also worked on the network's team, such as José Altafini. At that time, Telemontecarlo broadcast celebrations and events related to the
Rio Carnival The Carnival in Rio de Janeiro ( Portuguese: ''Carnaval do Rio de Janeiro'') is a festival held every year before Lent; it is considered the biggest celebration of Carnival in the world, with two million people per day on the streets. The first ...
, and in the sports field, football matches for the Brazilian Championship and the Brazilian National Team were broadcast, in addition to
Formula 1 Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
races. The graphic part of the network had also been changed with the arrival of Rede Globo, adopting soundtracks and station bumpers from the Brazilian network. Most of the graphics were adapted in Rome by graphic designers such as Fiammetta Grasselli (who at the time was art director and responsible for the network's graphics sector), while most of the tracks were composed or rearranged by Silvio Amato. In October 1987, Telemontecarlo's programming was removed from the air on its affiliates Canale 7 Roma and Canale 21 Roma, due to a legal challenge to the network's right to carry out live broadcasts in Italian territory made by the Fininvest group, of
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 ...
, who alleged that the Monegasque network had undue privileges. The determination was that the network should stop broadcasting live in Rome and the Lazio region. The following were the affiliates TMC had before the passage of the Mammì law in 1990 that caused TMC to become a national network: In 1990, due to the network's low audience and debts, Globo began to withdraw its shares from Telemontecarlo, transferring 40% of the channel's ownership to Montedison, led at the time by Raul Gardini. Several celebrities, displaced by the main networks, were hired by Telemontecarlo, such as Luciano Rispoli, with the program Ho fatto 13!!! and Mino Damato, who from 1991 to 1992, presented the talk show I.T. – Incontri Televisivi, and Loretta Goggi, who at the same time presented the evening variety program Festa di compleanno. Names that would become popular a few years later were also launched, such as Alessia Marcuzzi (host, together with Mauro Serio, of the children's program Amici mostri, from 1992 to 1993), Paola Perego, host of the program Settimo squillo, accompanied by actor Remo Girone. Perego also presented the health program Quando c'è la salute. Also during this period, newcomer Simona Ventura worked at the channel as a sports journalist. Still in 1992, Telemontecarlo covered part of the
1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...
, held in
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
. From 1992 to 1993, the schedule was also filled with new programs such as La più bella sei tu and Tappeto Volante, with Luciano Rispoli (accompanied by Melba Ruffo), Verde Fazzuoli, by Federico Fazzuoli, and began a series of experimental programs targeting young people, produced by Lorenzo Torraca, such as T.R.I.B.U., with Gegè Telesforo, and The Lion Trophy Show, with Emily De Cesare. The network's strong point, however, was sports broadcasts. Football (TMC could broadcast, as it was Monegasque and a member of Eurovision, the matches of the European Championship and World Cups, thus avoiding the exclusivity of RAI channels), the yacht races for the Copa América, and alpine skiing, whose World Cup and World Championship races were broadcast with commentary by Bruno Gattai. The biggest highlight of sports programming was Galagoal, a program that debuted in 1990 and had Alba Parietti and Massimo Caputi as presenters. Alba also presented, on Telemontecarlo, the variety program Tre donne intorno al coro, together with Athina Cenci and Susanna Agnelli, and the talk show Corpo a corpo. In 1992, Telemontecarlo was one of the first private broadcasters in Italy to activate its own
teletext Teletext, or broadcast teletext, is a standard for displaying text and rudimentary graphics on suitably equipped television sets. Teletext sends data in the broadcast signal, hidden in the invisible vertical blanking interval area at the to ...
service, TMCVideo. In 1993, Sandro Curzi, former director of TG3 on Rai 3, was appointed director of TMC News.


Montedison administration

On 4 January 1994, Montedison (which was already controlled by Antonio Ferruzzi) completed the acquisition of Telemontecarlo, and appointed Emmanuele Milano (former director of
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 ...
) to the role of general manager of the network. In the same year, journalist Corrado Augias was hired from RAI, who created a daily news section after TMC News and then an electronic culture and current affairs newsmagazine in prime time entitled Domino. The network's limited coverage, combined with not very competitive and much reformulated programming, as well as an advertising market mostly controlled by Fininvest Group networks (Canale 5, Italia 1 and Rete 4) were the main problems of Montedison's management at Telemontecarlo, which did not achieve good results. Globo's identity was used until January 1995.


Cecchi Gori administration

On 20 July 1995, filmmaker and businessman Vittorio Cecchi Gori, through his company Cecchi Gori Group, after obtaining the consent of the authorities of the Principality of Monaco, purchased Telemontecarlo aiming to create, through Videomusic, another network owned by him, TMC 2, thus creating a third television group focused on breaking the duopoly of the RAI 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 ...
groups (Canale 5, Italia 1 and Rete 4). The new network was officially launched on 1 June 1996. From 28 April 1996, Telemontecarlo's ratings began to be measured by Auditel. Some well-known faces, such as Marco Balestri (with the sentimental talk show Strettamente personale), Jocelyn Hattab, who together with
Sabrina Salerno Sabrina Debora Salerno (; born 15 March 1968), known mononymously as Sabrina, is an Italian singer, songwriter, model, actress and television presenter. During her career, she has scored ten international hits, including three number ones. Inte ...
and Simona Tagli presented the game show Il grande gioco del mercante in fiera, a new version of Il grande gioco dell'oca, another program presented by Jocelyn on Rai 2,
Toto Cutugno Salvatore "Toto" Cutugno (; 7 July 1943 – 22 August 2023) was an Italian Italian popular music, pop singer-songwriter, musician, and television presenter. He was best known for his worldwide hit song, "", released on his 1983 album of the sam ...
(with the musical program Sei Forte), Gianfranco D'Angelo and Cinzia Leone, together with a team of comedians (with the program Retromarsh!!!, based on Italia 1's Drive In), Luciano Rispoli (with the variety program Tappeto Volante, one of the network's few major successes), and the youth program Generazione X, presented by Pierluigi Diaco. An afternoon slot dedicated to children was also created entitled Zap Zap (presented by Guido Cavalleri and Marta Iacopini, who previously presented Ciao Ciao), broadcast every day at 6pm, which basically returned to showing various anime series previously broadcast on other networks. Still for children, the network also acquired the right to broadcast some of
Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...
's cartoons, which were included in a morning slot with the same name, presented by Emanuela Panatta and Beppe Rispoli. However, the network's average audience did not reach (except in some cases) the expected levels, not even managing to consolidate the channel as the third largest on Italian TV. Furthermore, the problem of few retransmitters and the resulting limited territorial coverage of Telemontecarlo remained. From 1996 to 1997, the network won the rights to the Italian
Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...
football championship, taking them from RAI, but did not give Lega Calcio bank guarantees in time to guarantee payment of the rights. After a series of complaints and agreements, the broadcaster was able to broadcast, thanks to the unbundling of broadcasting rights on terrestrial TV, the championship goals from 7pm to 8:30pm. In football, however, an international trophy was broadcast: the
African Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...
. The highlights of the sports programming of the period were Il Processo di Biscardi on Monday nights, migrated from TMC 2 to the main network, and Goleada (updated version of Galagol) with Massimo Caputi (also previously broadcast on TMC 2), in the first edition accompanied by Martina Colombari, in the second by Ela Weber and in the third by footballer and coach Carolina Morace. On 12 February 1997, Telemontecarlo was the first private television network to broadcast an exclusive football match for the Italian team valid for the World Cup qualifiers, England x Italy. In the autumn of 1997, Wilma De Angelis returned to the network, presenting a morning program entitled Due come voi, presented in a duo with Benedicta Boccoli. On 7 April 1997, Antonio Lubrano agreed to be transferred to the network, becoming director of journalism at TMC and presenter of the daily program ''Candido''. Biagio Agnes was appointed director of the channel, and despite putting the medical program Check up back on the schedule, renamed Check up-salute and presented by Annalisa Manduca, he was unable to revive TMC's uncompetitive programming. The network was entrusted to Rita Rusić, wife of the then owner Vittorio Cecchi Gori and a well-known film producer. In autumn 1998, the programming was renewed again with the aim of directly reaching an audience profile. Thanks to this latest change in the editorial line, Telemontecarlo hired former RAI announcer Ilaria Moscato (for the morning program Casa, amore e fantasia) and makeup artist Diego Dalla Palma (for the program Questione di stile). Alain Elkann was promoted to host of the Sunday talk show, Il caffè della domenica. Rita Forte also became the presenter of the program Forte fortissima. On 10 March 2000, at 11:10pm, the first episode of the series ''
Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO, based on Sex and the City (newspaper column), the newspaper column and 1996 book by Candace Bushnell. It premiered in th ...
'' with
Sarah Jessica Parker Sarah Jessica Parker (born March 25, 1965) is an American actress and television producer. In a career spanning over five decades, she has performed across several productions of both Sarah Jessica Parker filmography, screen and stage. List o ...
aired, part of a women's talk show entitled Sesso, parlano le donne, presented by Anna Pettinelli. In the same year, the Telemontecarlo branch in Monte Carlo was closed, as a result of the broadcaster's intention to transmit its signal from Italy. This resulted in the dismissal of all employees working in that branch. As a result, a protest was held, which caused TMC to go off the air on 30 May 2000 from 8:05pm to 8:33pm, displaying a slide that explained the reason for the interruption of transmissions: Until the summer of that year, Telemontecarlo transmitted its signal directly from the offices in Milan and Rome, and sent it to the transmitter in the Monaco office, from where it then reached the Principality, southern France and Italy. This system served to maintain the legal status of foreign television, operating as a Monegasque channel. After that, the network was broadcast directly from Rome (nothing was produced in the Milan office) and began to change the name Telemontecarlo, starting to use the acronym TMC, officially becoming an Italian broadcaster. The Monaco office remained open for a few more months due to the fact that the network broadcast the European Football Championship in Belgium and the Netherlands in 2000.


Seat Pagine Gialle administration and conversion to La7

On 6 August 2000, Cecchi Gori, a month and a half of long negotiations after the emergence of financial difficulties, sold TMC and TMC 2 to Seat Pagine Gialle, from
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 ...
. The new owner decided that, to relaunch the network once and for all, it was necessary to adopt an entirely new form and name, to make it capable of competing with the main national channels of the time. The new company intended to target, as it had stated from the beginning, a young target for the relaunch of the network, and so Roberto Giovalli, former director of Italia 1, was appointed director. At a press conference held on 3 May 2001, in the presence of director Ernesto Mauri and network manager Roberto Giovalli, it was officially announced that TMC would become LA7, and that the new network would be launched on 24 June. A series of hires soon began for the new broadcaster, and the most important was that of Gad Lerner, former director of Rai 1's TG1, who on 6 June was appointed new director of TMC News. He was also entrusted with managing the sports newsroom at TMC Sport, and journalism at TMC 2, the latter role assumed on 18 June. Much was invested in the advertising campaign with TV promos on both networks, as well as billboards in the streets. Also in the previous two months, every five minutes the TMC logo rotated for a few seconds, showing the LA7 logo, then returning to the TMC logo. On 24 June of that year, during the gala program Prima serata, presented by Fabio Fazio and Luciana Littizzetto, LA7 was officially launched through a symbolic gesture carried out at 10:35pm, when the presenters made a live link at a viewer's home, asking her to press the 7 button on her remote control to stop the rotation of the logo, which began to rotate on the screen as the program began. From that moment on, TMC was officially extinguished and became LA7. However, the TMC logo was placed side by side with the new brand in the upper right corner of the screen, to gradually accustom the public to the new network's identification. The TMC logo remained up until midnight on 9 September of the same year. Part of the Telemontecarlo collection became the property of LA7. The material corresponding to the 1974 to 1985 phase of TMC is still owned by Groupe TF1 (the company that owns the French TMC), and consequently, LA7 only has ownership of material produced from 1985 onwards.


La7

In 2001, Lorenzo Pellicioli and Roberto Colaninno of Telecom Italia announced they had acquired Telemontecarlo, to create a strong competitor against the six other national channels in Italy. On 24 June 2001, the network changed the station name to ''La7''. Against the initial premises, like the hiring of popular TV hosts, anchors and journalists, La7's ratings and shares were much lower than its major competitors. However, in 2010–2011, the channel began doubling its rates, also thanks to current News director
Enrico Mentana Enrico Mentana (born 15 January 1955) is an Italian journalist and television presenter. He founded the Italian news programme '' TG5'' and directed it from 1992 to 2004. In 2005, as Canale 5's editorial director, he conceived and curated th ...
and his news programme '' TG La7''. On 4 March 2013, it was announced the acquisition by
Urbano Cairo Urbano Cairo (born 21 May 1957) is an Italian businessman and media proprietor. Biography Cairo was born in Milan. His parents were originally from Masio, within the province of Alessandria. He is the first of four children born from the union ...
's Cairo Editore. The sale was effective from 30 April 2013.


Programmes


Talk shows

* ''Coffee Break'', daily morning talk show hosted by Tiziana Panella and Enrico Vaime; weather reports are narrated by meteorologist Paolo Sottocorona; * ''Piazzapulita'', prime time political talk show directed by Corrado Formigli, airing every Thursday at 21:10 after ''Otto e mezzo''; * ''Propaganda Live'' every Friday night, created and hosted by Diego Bianchi and cartoonist Marco "Makkox" Dambrosio;


News programmes

* '' TG La7'', main news programme, directed by
Enrico Mentana Enrico Mentana (born 15 January 1955) is an Italian journalist and television presenter. He founded the Italian news programme '' TG5'' and directed it from 1992 to 2004. In 2005, as Canale 5's editorial director, he conceived and curated th ...
; * '' Omnibus'', morning news block hosted by ''TG La7'' anchorpersons Manuela Ferri, Edgardo Gulotta, Andrea Molino, Andrea Pancani and Alessandra Sardoni; weather forecasts are presented by meteorologist Paolo Sottocorona; * ''Gli Intoccabili'', with Gianluigi Nuzzi every Wednesday at 23:10; * ''Otto e mezzo'', access prime time information programme hosted by Lilli Gruber, airing every weekday at 20:35 after TG La7; in Summer time it is substituted by ''In Onda''; * ''In Onda'' access prime time information programme hosted by journalists Luca Telese and Marianna Aprile, airing every weekend at 20:35 after TG La7; in Summer time it substitutes ''Otto e mezzo'' every weekday; * ''L'aria che tira'', business programme hosted by David Parenzo;


Cultural programmes

* ''Atlantide – Storie di uomini e di mondi'', main documentary evening block airing every weekday, hosted by Natasha Lusenti (now by Greta Mauro); * ''Impero'', hosted by
Valerio Massimo Manfredi Valerio Massimo Manfredi (born 8 March 1943) is an Italian historian, writer, essayist, archaeologist and journalist. Biography He was born in Piumazzo di Castelfranco Emilia province of Modena and, after getting a degree in Classical Arts at ...
; * ''Due minuti Un libro'', book-related programme hosted by Alain Elkann; * '' Prehistoric Park'', documentary; * ''Missione Natura'', summertime nature programme, hosted by biologist and ornithologist Vincenzo Venuto, with the external intervention of herpetologist Austin Stevens.


TV series and miniseries

* '' A Touch of Frost'' * '' The Borgias'' * ''
Charmed ''Charmed'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, with Brad Kern serving as showrunner. The series was originally broadc ...
'' * '' Cold Squad'' * '' The Commish'' * ''
Crossing Jordan ''Crossing Jordan'' is an American crime drama television series created by Tim Kring, that aired on NBC from September 24, 2001, to May 16, 2007. It stars Jill Hennessy as Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh, a crime-solving forensic pathologist employed ...
'' * ''
Dirt Dirt is any matter considered unclean, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty. Common types of dirt include: * Debris: scattered pieces of waste or remains * Du ...
'' * ''
The District ''The District'' is an American crime drama and police procedural television series that aired on CBS from October 7, 2000, to May 1, 2004. The show followed the work and personal life of the chief of Washington, D.C.'s police department. P ...
'' * '' Due South'' * '' F/X: The Series'' * ''
Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series focusing on the personal and professional lives of surgical internship (medicine), interns, residency (medicine), residents, and attending physician, attendings at the fictional ...
'' * '' Hustle'' * '' In the Heat of the Night'' * '' The Kennedys'' * '' Leverage'' * ''
The L Word ''The L Word'' is a television drama series that aired on Showtime in the United States from 2004 to 2009. The series follows the lives of a group of lesbian and bisexual women who live in West Hollywood, California. The premise originated wit ...
'' * ''
MacGyver Angus "Mac" MacGyver is the title character and the protagonist in the TV series ''MacGyver''. He is played by Richard Dean Anderson in the MacGyver (1985 TV series), 1985 original series. Lucas Till portrays a younger version of MacGyver in Mac ...
'' * '' Matlock'' * ''
Midsomer murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British Mystery fiction, mystery television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the ''Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series created by Caroline Graham (writer), Caroline Graham. ...
'' * '' Mike Hammer'' * '' Murder Call'' * ''
New Tricks ''New Tricks'' is a British television police procedural comedy drama, created by Nigel McCrery and Roy Mitchell, produced primarily by Wall to Wall (until its final year, when it was handled by Headstrong Pictures), and broadcast on BBC On ...
'' * ''
Relic Hunter ''Relic Hunter'' is a Canadian adventure television series, starring Tia Carrere and Christien Anholt. It centres on Sydney Fox, a professor who is also a globe-trotting "relic hunter" who looks for ancient artifacts to return to museums and ...
'' * ''
Remington Steele ''Remington Steele'' is an American television series co-created by Robert Butler and Michael Gleason. The series, starring Stephanie Zimbalist and Pierce Brosnan, was produced by MTM Enterprises and first broadcast on NBC from October 1, 1982, ...
'' * ''
Saving Hope ''Saving Hope'' is a Canadian supernatural medical drama television series set in Toronto in the fictional hospital Hope Zion. The series stars Erica Durance and Michael Shanks. The show's premise originated with Malcolm MacRury and Morwyn Br ...
'' * ''
Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO, based on Sex and the City (newspaper column), the newspaper column and 1996 book by Candace Bushnell. It premiered in th ...
'' * '' Sliders'' * '' Star Trek: The Original Series'' * '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' * ''
Stargate SG-1 ''Stargate SG-1'' (often stylized in all caps, or abbreviated ''SG-1'') is a military science fiction Adventure fiction, adventure television series within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate, ''Stargate'' franchise. The show, created by Brad Wrig ...
'' * ''
The Practice ''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy i ...
'' * '' This Is Wonderland'' * ''
Touched by an Angel ''Touched by an Angel'' is an American drama television series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994, and ran for 211 episodes over nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and executive produced by Ma ...
'' * '' Undercover Boss'' * ''
Unforgettable Unforgettable may refer to: Film * ''Unforgettable'' (1996 film), a thriller starring Ray Liotta * ''Unforgettable'' (2014 film), a Bollywood film * ''Unforgettable'' (2016 film), a South Korean film * ''Unforgettable'' (2017 film), an America ...
''


Sports events

* ''
America's Cup The America's Cup is a sailing competition and the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one from the yacht club that currently holds the trophy (known ...
'' * ''
Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...
'' matches * ''
Six Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Six Nations, branded as Guinness M6N) is an annual international rugby union competition by the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It is the oldest sports tournament conte ...
'' * ''
Superbike World Championship Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette road racing series based on heavily modified production sports motorcycles. The championship was founded in . The Superbike World Champion ...
'' * ''
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...
'' * ''
Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...
'' * ''
Superstars Series The Superstars International Series was a production-based touring car racing championship held between 2004 and 2013. It was managed by the "Superstars World of Racing SpA", SWR, a company of FG Group with headquarters in Rome and sanctioned by ...
''


Defunct Italian programmes

* ''Crozza Italia'' (known as ''Italialand'' in 2011), comedy show hosted by ''Maurizio Crozza'', airing four episodes in May 2011 at 21:10; * ''Cuochi e Fiamme'', cooking talent show hosted by professional chef Simone Rugiati, with the collaboration of Fiammetta Fadda, Riccardo Rossi and Chiara Maci (as "judges"), airing every weekday (now on La7d); * ''Fratelli e Sorelle d'Italia'', comedy and historical show hosted by Veronica Pivetti with collaboration of
Carlo Lucarelli Carlo Lucarelli (born 26 October 1960) is an Italian crime-writer, TV presenter, and magazine editor. In 2003, his novel ''Almost Blue'' was shortlisted for the Gold Dagger award given by the Crime Writers' Association. Early life Lucarelli wa ...
, Ascanio Celestini, Paolo Hendel,
Virginia Raffaele Virginia Raffaele (born 27 September 1980) is an Italian comedian, actress, impersonator and presenter. Life and career Born in Rome, the daughter of two circus performers of Sinti origins, Raffaele studied classical and modern dance at the ...
and Lillo & Greg, airing every Friday night at 21:10; * ''La Gaia Scienza'', scientific comedy show hosted by geologist
Mario Tozzi Mario Tozzi (30 October 1895 – 8 September 1979) was an Italian painter. He was awarded the Legion of Honour by the French government. Biography Tozzi studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna in Italy where he met Giorgio Morandi ...
and the comedian group Trio Medusa (1 season); * ''Victor Victoria'', late night weekday show hosted by
Victoria Cabello Victoria Ellen Cabello (born 12 March 1975, in London) is an Italian television presenter, and actress. She was born in London to an Italian father and an English mother, and grew up in Valsolda, a small town in the province of Como, just a few ...
, Geppi Cucciari, singer Arisa and MelissaP (4 seasons); * ''Stargate – Linea di Confine'', documentary series, replaced by ''Impero'' (9 seasons); * ''Exit'', prime time talk hosted by Ilaria D'Amico (5 seasons); * '' Niente di Personale'', with Antonello Piroso; * ''Tetris'', prime time talk show hosted by Luca Telese (2 seasons); * ''I Fantastici 5'', Italian version of ''
Queer Eye for the Straight Guy ''Queer Eye'' is an American reality television series that premiered on the Bravo (American TV network), Bravo network in July 2003, initially broadcast as ''Queer Eye for the Straight Guy''. The series was created by executive producers David ...
'' (1 season); * ''Markette'', late night weekday show hosted by Piero Chiambretti (2 seasons); * ''100%'', game show hosted by Gigio D'Ambrosio (1 season); it has been the only game show aired by La7 so far; * ''Altra Storia'', history deepening programme (5 seasons); * '' Il Processo di Biscardi'', sport review programme hosted by Aldo Biscardi (now moved on 7 Gold Channel); * ''Wife Swap'' (4 seasons, now on
Fox Life Fox Life, now rebranded as Star Life and FX Life, was an international pay television network, launched by the Fox Networks Group in 2004. The network has been discontinued in several markets over time. The network's scheduling has varied wi ...
and Cielo); * ''Il Contratto'', hosted by Sabrina Nobile, aired until April 2011 every Wednesday at 21:10. * ''G'Day with Geppi Cucciari'', evening comedy show, airing at 19:20 every weekday; * ''(ah)iPiroso'' with Antonello Piroso, former La7 News & Sports director, and former tennis player
Adriano Panatta Adriano Panatta (born 9 July 1950) is an Italian former professional tennis player. He won the French Open in 1976 French Open – Men's singles, 1976, becoming the first Italian man in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, major ...
, and writer Fulvio Abbate; It airs every weekday (late night show); * ''25a Ora – Il Cinema Espanso'' (hosted by ''Davide Dileo'', founder of '' Subsonica''); it airs at about midnight on Fridays and Saturdays; * ''Italialand Nuove attrazioni'', comedy show hosted by ''Maurizio Crozza'', airing every Friday at 21:10; * ''I Menù di Benedetta'', cooking show hosted by ''Benedetta Parodi'', airing at 12:25 every weekday; * ''Interno Giorno'', afternoon movie block, airing old Italian and US movies every weekday at 14:00; * ''La Valigia dei Sogni'', weekend and summer late-night movie block; the movie is introduced by Simone Annichiarico; from July to August 2011 it will be airing on Monday nights at 21:10; * ''Ma anche no'', an Italian entertainment television news programme hosted by ''Antonello Piroso'', airing every Sunday at 14:05; * ''Chef per un Giorno'', celebrity cooking talent show hosted by professional chefs Sergio Maria Teutonico, Maurizio Di Mario, Velia De Angelis and Alessio Pizzi, airing every weekend; * '' Le Invasioni Barbariche'', with Daria Bignardi; * '' L'Infedele'', Monday night review with Gad Lerner;


Cartoons and animes

*
Digimon , short for "Digital Monsters" ( ''Dejitaru Monsutā''), is a Japanese media franchise, which encompasses virtual pet toys, anime, manga, video games, films, and a trading card game. The franchise focuses on the eponymous creatures who inhabit a ...
*
Dragon Ball is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The Dragon Ball (manga), initial manga, written and illustrated by Toriyama, was Serial (literature), serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1984 to 1995, with the 519 indi ...
*
Dragon Ball Z ''Dragon Ball Z'' (''DBZ'') is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. Part of the ''Dragon Ball'' media franchise, it is the sequel to the 1986 ''Dragon Ball'' television series and adapts the latter 325 chapters ...
*
Dragon Ball GT is a Japanese anime television series based on Akira Toriyama's ''Dragon Ball'' manga franchise that ran from February 1996 to November 1997. Produced by Toei Animation, the series premiered in Japan on Fuji TV and ran for 64 episodes. Unl ...
*
Pokémon is a Japanese media franchise consisting of List of Pokémon video games, video games, Pokémon (TV series), animated series and List of Pokémon films, films, Pokémon Trading Card Game, a trading card game, and other related media. The fran ...


References


External links

* Official Websites (in Italian)
la7.itla7.tv

La7 channel
on YouTube



{{DEFAULTSORT:7, La Telecom Italia Media Television channels in Italy Television channels and stations established in 2001 Italian-language television stations 2001 establishments in Italy