RAI
RAI (Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the
Italian public service broadcaster. It operates three terrestrial
television channels and three
radio channels, in addition to several satellite and digital terrestrial offerings. Created as URI in
1924, it started television broadcasts on
January 3,
1954. A very controversial plan to partly
privatise RAI, by selling 20% of the public broadcaster, was suspended in October 2005.
Half of RAI's revenues come from the broadcast
licence fee, half from
advertising. RAI has the highest
audience share (43%) of any public service broadcaster in
Western Europe, because the only serious competitor on Italian television is
Silvio Berlusconi's media conglumerate
Mediaset with a 44% market share. The fact that Berlusconi's government is pushing for a sale of Mediaset's public service rival has caused a very heated debate, with some of the critics claiming that Mediaset could become the buyer and thus increase its dominant position even further. However, in October 2005 it was announced that the privatisation plan had been suspended, following the revelation that the company would make a loss of €80m ($96m, £54m) during 2006. "RAI's privatisation is de facto suspended," its new director general, Alfredo Meocci, told a parliamentary watchdog committee. [
1] [https://registration.ft.com/registration/barrier?referer=http://www.ofcomwatch.co.uk/2005/11/rai-privatization-stopped&location=http%3A//news.ft.com/cms/s/4ff81270-474e-11da-b8e5-00000e2511c8.html]
RAI started off as a privately owned company. The
Unione Radiofonica Italiana (URI) was formed in
1924 by private entrepreneurs and part of the
Marconi group. Granted a monopoly of radio broadcasts in 1924,
URI made its first broadcast â€" a
Haydn quartet â€" on the
24th October of that year.
In
1927, URI was renamed
Ente Italiano Audizioni Radiofoniche (EIAR). It survived until
1944 when, under
Allied pressure, it was reborn as
Radio Audizioni Italiane, or RAI. Still a privately owned company, it operated two networks: Rete Rossa and Rete Azzurra, with Rossa playing more serious music and Azzura featuring occasional variety shows.
It was not until
1954 that RAI took on its modern form. In this year the state-controlled holding company
IRI became the sole shareholder, and RAI finally began a regular television service. The first day's schedule featured a report on the opening of RAI's studio at
Milan, sporting events of the day, and an early evening film.
The first few decades of programming were focused on strictly educational programming. During Reconstruction, programs like
Non è mai troppo tardi and
Un viaggo al Po were able to take people from their villages and small communities and see what life was like in other parts of Italy. The dialects of Italy also made it impossible for people to communicate, so RAI was instrumental in building a national, common language.
RAI is governed by a nine member Administrative Council. Seven of its nine members are elected by parliamentary committee, the remaining two (one of which includes the President) are nominated by the largest shareholder â€" that is, the
Finance Ministry. The Council appoints the director-general. Both director-general and members of the administrative council are appointed for a renewable term of three years.
Presidents of RAI
| Name | Took office | Left office |
|---|
| Arturo Carlo Jemolo | April 20, 1945 | August 9, 1946 |
| Giuseppe Spataro | August 9, 1946 | May 17, 1951 |
| Cristiano Ridomi | May 17, 1951 | March 11, 1954 |
| Antonio Carrelli | June 3, 1954 | January 4, 1961 |
| Novello Papafava | January 4, 1961 | March 25, 1964 |
| Pietro Quaroni | May 29, 1964 | April 12, 1969 |
| Aldo Sandulli | April 23, 1969 | February 18, 1970 |
| Umberto delle Fave | March 24, 1970 | April 22, 1975 |
| Beniamino Finocchiaro | May 23, 1975 | January 20, 1977 |
| Paolo Grassi | January 20, 1977 | June 12, 1980 |
| Sergio Zavoli | June 12, 1980 | October 23, 1986 |
| Enrico Manca | October 23, 1986 | February 19, 1992 |
| Walter Pedullà | February 19, 1992 | July 13, 1993 |
| Claudio Demattè | July 13, 1993 | July 12, 1994 |
| Letizia Moratti | July 12, 1994 | April 24, 1996 |
| Giuseppe Morello | April 24, 1996 | July 10, 1996 |
| Vincenzo Siciliano | July 10, 1996 | January 21, 1998 |
| Roberto Zaccaria | February 3, 1998 | February 17, 2000 |
| Roberto Zaccaria | February 17, 2000 | February 16, 2002 |
| Vittorio Emiliani | February 16 | February 22, 2002 |
| Antonio Baldassarre | March 5, 2002 | February 26, 2003 |
| Paolo Mieli | March 7, 2003 | March 13, 2003 |
| Lucia Annunziata | March 13, 2003 | May 4, 2004 |
| Francesco Alberoni | May, 2004 | May, 2005 |
| Sandro Curzi | June 1, 2005 | July 30, 2005 |
| Claudio Petruccioli | July 31, 2005 | present |
Second term
Temporary
Directors-general of RAI
| Name | Took office | Left office |
|---|
| Salvino Sernesi | 1949 | 1953 |
| Giovan Battista Vicentini | 1954 | 1955 |
| Rodolfo Arata | 1956 | 1960 |
| Ettore Bernabei | January 5, 1961 | September 18, 1974 |
| Michele Principe | May 23, 1975 | January 25, 1977 |
| Giuseppe Glisenti | January 26, 1977 | June 17, 1977 |
| Pierantonino Bertè | July 12, 1977 | June 18, 1980 |
| Villy De Luca | June 19, 1980 | July 21, 1982 |
| Biagio Agnes | July 29, 1982 | February 1, 1990 |
| Gianni Pasquarelli | February 5, 1990 | July 23, 1993 |
| Gianni Locatelli | July 23, 1993 | August 3, 1994 |
| Gianni Billia | August 3, 1994 | December 31, 1994 |
| Raffaele Minicucci | January 16, 1995 | February 29, 1996 |
| Aldo Materia | March 6, 1996 | July 15, 1996 |
| Franco Iseppi | July 15, 1996 | February 8, 1998 |
| Pier Luigi Celli | February 9, 1998 | February 17, 2000 |
| Pier Luigi Celli | February 17, 2000 | February 9, 2001 |
| Claudio Cappon | February 9, 2001 | March 19, 2002 |
| Agostino Saccà | March 19, 2002 | March 27, 2003 |
| Flavio Cattaneo | March 27, 2003 | August 5, 2005 |
| Alfredo Meocci | August 5, 2005 | June 20, 2006 |
| Claudio Cappon | June 22, 2006 | present |
|
Vice Director-general acting as Director-general
Second term
RAI broadcasts three main terrestrial channels.
Rai Uno is the main channel, and targets the family market.
Rai Due has in recent years lacked clear focus, but now attempts to focus on a slightly younger audience than RaiUno.
Rai Tre is the ‘alternative' channel, with a definite public service remit. Rai Due has been broadcasting since
November 4,
1961 (it was called the "Secondo Programma", while Rai Uno was the "Programma Nazionale") and Rai Tre first went on air on
December 15,
1979 as "TV3".
*
RAI Sat Extra*
RAI Sat Premium*
RAI Sat CinemaWorld*
RAI Sat Gambero Rosso*
RAI Sat Ragazzi*
RAI News 24*
RAI Sport Satellite*
RAI International — Broadcasts the best of RAI to International audiences
*Radio1
*Radio2
*Radio3
*Gr Parlamento - a radio station broadcasting the
Italian Parliament*Isoradio - a radio station designed for
motorway users
*FD Auditorium
*FD IV Canale
*
Rai Uno*
Rai Due*
Rai TreNews
TG 1TG 2TG 3TG RegionalTagesschau (German speaking news from
Bozen-Bolzano)
*Meteo
*Sports
Other programmes
Sanremo Music Festival (
Festival della canzone italiana)
Uno Mattina â€" morning magazine programme (RaiUno)
Domenica In â€" Sunday show (RaiUno)
* Italian version of
The Weakest LinkClub Disney â€" shown on RaiDue
Winx Club â€" since exported worldwide
* The
Rat-Man Animated Series
Series
McLeod's Daughters - shown on Rai Uno
*ER â€" shown on Rai Due
*Friends â€" shown on Rai Due
*The District â€" shown on Rai Due
*Charmed â€" shown on Rai Due
*JAG â€" shown on Rai Due
*The Practice â€" shown on Rai Due
*Without a Trace â€" shown on Rai Due
*Desperate Housewives â€" shown on Rai Due
*NCIS â€" shown on Rai Due
*Cold Case â€" shown on Rai Due
*Lost â€" shown on Rai Due
*Rome'' â€" shown on Rai Due
Other satellite TV programmes
The Late Show with David Letterman â€" shown on RAI Sat Extra
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno â€" shown on RAI Sat Extra
*
List of Italian language television channels*
Prix Italia*
Official website
