Television in Italy was introduced in 1939, when the first experimental broadcasts began. However, this lasted for a very short time: when fascist Italy entered World War II in 1940 all transmissions were interrupted, and were resumed in earnest only nine years after the end of the conflict, on January 3, 1954. There are two main national television organisations responsible for most viewing: state-owned

RAI RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...

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

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

, a commercial network which holds about 33%. The third largest player, the Italian branch of Warner Bros. Discovery, had a viewing share of 5.8%. Apart from these three free to air companies,

Comcast Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...

's satellite pay TV platform

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. As of 2018, following an agre ...

is increasing in viewing and shares. According to the BBC, the Italian television industry is widely considered both inside and outside the country to be overtly

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

. Unlike the BBC which is controlled by an

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

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

Terrestrial television Terrestrial television or over-the-air television (OTA) is a type of television broadcasting in which the signal transmission occurs via radio waves from the terrestrial (Earth-based) transmitter of a TV station to a TV receiver having an ante ...

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

Television providers

Digital terrestrial television

Digital terrestrial television Digital terrestrial television (DTTV or DTT, or DTTB with "broadcasting") is a technology for terrestrial television in which land-based (terrestrial) television stations broadcast television content by radio waves to televisions in consumers' ...

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

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

format, while analog broadcasts were continued until the end of the transition, originally set by law to December 31, 2006, but later pushed back to the end of 2012. The

Berlusconi II Cabinet 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 elections, and held office from 11 June 2001 until 23 April 2005, a total of 1,41 ...

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 ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) 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 ...

, RAI experimentally broadcast a number of sport events using a

1080i 1080i (also known as Full HD or BT.709) is a combination of frame resolution and scan type. 1080i is used in high-definition television (HDTV) and high-definition video. The number "1080" refers to the number of horizontal lines on the scree ...

signal and H264 coding. The HD signal has been transmitted over the Turin area, using DVB-T hierarchical modulation, and only specially crafted decoders have been able to receive this signal: they were placed in strategical points in the town. During the UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2008 Summer Olympics, RAI started experimental high definition broadcasting on ''Rai Test HD'', available only in Turin, Milan, Rome, Sardinia and Aosta Valley, continuing with the

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

and a few matches of the UEFA Champions League. In July 2008 the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

's directorate for competition expressed concerns on whether the actions taken by the current Italian government would be able to alter the current status of duopoly in the broadcasting market held by RAI and Mediaset. Beginning October 31, 2008, in the first

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

planned to interrupt analog transmission,

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label= Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, aft ...

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

Satellite television

Italy has had digital satellite broadcasts since the 1990s, with the launch of Stream TV and TELE+. In 2003 these merged into

, 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 d ...

satellites. HDTV regular services started in June 2006 under the name Sky HD, with the broadcasting of the

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

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 Digital UK. The service was formed as a memorandum in 2007 and has been marketed since 6 May 2008. Free ...

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

, Telecom Italia Media and the State-owned company Rai.

Pay television

Current providers

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

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

(

) (transmission: IPTV) *

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

(

) (transmission: IPTV) *

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

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

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

Disney+ Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television se ...

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

DAZN DAZN ( "da zone") is a global sports entertainment platform. Different to traditional linear and satellite broadcasting, DAZN is an over-the-top (OTT) streaming service meaning that it is delivered directly to viewers via the internet. The ...

Defunct providers

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

(

) (transmission: DTT; IPTV) *

Europa 7 HD Europa 7 HD is an Italian group of channels aired since 11 October 2010. It's one of the first broadcasters in the world to use the DVB-T2 technology, after United Kingdom's channels BBC HD, ITV HD and Channel 4 HD. Legal battle In Spring 201 ...

(Centro Europa 7 srl) (transmission: DTT) * Dahlia TV ( Airplus TV) (transmission: DTT) * Fastweb TV ( Fastweb) (transmission: IPTV) * Infostrada TV ( Infostrada) (transmission: IPTV) * Tiscali TV ( Tiscali) (transmission: IPTV) * TELE+ ( Telepiù S.p.A.), with 1,8 million households in 2002 (transmission: DTH) * Stream TV (

Telecom Italia Gruppo TIM, legally TIM S.p.A. (formerly Telecom Italia S.p.A.), also known as the TIM Group in English, is an Italian telecommunications company with headquarters in Rome, Milan, and Naples, (with the Telecom Italia Tower) which provides fixed ...

and

News Corp News Corporation, stylized as News Corp, is an American mass media and publishing company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The second incarnation of the original News Corporation, it was formed on June 28, 2013, following a ...

) (transmission: DTH; Cable)

Cable television

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

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

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

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

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 in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass ( silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair Hair is a protein filament that grows ...

networks and launched their

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

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 without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...

up until 2009.

List of nationwide television stations

Most important all national free-to-view channels

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

RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A.

Rai is

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

's national

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

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

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

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

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

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

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = ...

San Marino San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

, and southern

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. It is one of the 23 founding broadcasting organizations of the

European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who are members of the C ...

Mediaset S.p.A.

Mediaset is the largest

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

in the country. The group competes primarily against the

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

and market leader

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

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

, the

and

also receive Mediaset broadcasts. In addition to its domestic television interests, Mediaset also operates a series of

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to event ...

entertainment 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 is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousa ...

and

sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

websites; holds 50.1% of the

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

broadcasting firm Mediaset España Comunicación; owns the film production company

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

; and heads a

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

which owns the

television production A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

house

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

Cairo Communication S.p.A.

Discovery Italia S.r.l.

Sky Italia S.r.l.

Paramount Networks Italia S.r.l.

Boing S.p.A. (51%
Mediaset Mediaset Italia S.p.A., also known as Mediaset, is an Italian-based mass media company which is the largest commercial broadcaster in the country. The company is controlled by the holding company MFE - MediaForEurope. Founded in 1987 by former ...
, 49% Warner Bros. Discovery)

Television Broadcasting System S.r.l.

Alma Media S.p.A.

GEDI Gruppo Editoriale S.p.A.

RTL 102.5 HIT RADIO S.r.l

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

GM Comunicazione S.r.l.

Other national channels

Network of local televisions

7 Gold ''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 international news television network based in Paris. Its channels broadcast in French, English, Arabic, and Spanish and are aimed at the overseas market. Based in the Paris suburb of Issy-les-Mo ...

* : Vatican Media

Lower channels, teleshopping channel, lower network and local channels

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

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

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

entertainment 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 is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousan ...

s, music and dance programmes (with the channel Canale Italia Musica), home shopping shows and classical movies. Also available on digital satellite and digital terrestrial * Odeon: launched in 1987 from some local television stations that were previously affiliated to "Euro TV". The group also includes the channels TLC Telecampione launched in 1982 and TeleReporter launched in 1977 as "Tele Radio Reporter", "Telereporter-Canale 7" between 2002 and 2004 *

Telepace 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'Al ...

: 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 ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in 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 av ...

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

Digital satellite only (free to air)

Foreign channels

* :

CGTN China Global Television Network (CGTN) is the international division of state media outlet China Central Television (CCTV), headquartered in Beijing, China. CGTN broadcasts six news and general interest channels in five languages. CGTN is re ...

* :

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

, 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 Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave" in English), abbreviated to DW, is a German public, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the German federal tax budget. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite television service cons ...

* :

Press TV Press TV (stylised as PRESSTV) is an Iranian state-owned news network that broadcasts in the English and French languages owned by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the only organization legally able to transmit radio and TV broadc ...

* :

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

* :

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

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

* : RT * :

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

* :

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

* : 24 Horas,

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

* :

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

* :

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

CNN International CNN International (CNNI, simply branded on-air as CNN) is an international television channel that is owned by CNN Global. CNN International carries news-related programming worldwide; it cooperates with sister network CNN's national and inter ...

Italian programming

Top Crime

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

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

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

Judging Amy ''Judging Amy'' is an American legal drama television series that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS. This TV series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly. Its main character (Brenneman) is a judge who serves in a ...

'' * ''

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

'' * ''Undercovers'' * ''White Collar'' * '' Rescue: Special Ops'' * '' Magnum, P.I.'' * ''Rescue Me'' * '' RIS Delitti Imperfetti'' * ''Law & Order: SVU'' * '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' * ''

Prison Break ''Prison Break'' is an American serial drama television series created by Paul Scheuring for Fox. The series revolves around two brothers, Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) and Michael Scofield ( Wentworth Miller); Burrows has been sentenced ...

'' * ''GSG 9''

Premium Crime

* ''

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

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

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

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

Monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedic ...

'' * ''

The Closer ''The Closer'' is an American television police procedural starring Kyra Sedgwick as Brenda Leigh Johnson, a Los Angeles Police Department deputy chief. A CIA-trained interrogator originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Brenda has a reputation as a c ...

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

Motive Motive(s) or The Motive(s) may refer to: * Motive (law) Film and television * ''Motives'' (film), a 2004 thriller * ''The Motive'' (film), 2017 * ''Motive'' (TV series), a 2013 Canadian TV series * ''The Motive'' (TV series), a 2020 Israeli T ...

'' * ''Major Crimes'' * ''The Killing'' * '' The Chicago Code'' * ''The Glades'' * ''Southland'' * ''

Rizzoli & Isles ''Rizzoli & Isles'' is an American crime drama television series starring Angie Harmon as Jane Rizzoli and Sasha Alexander as Maura Isles. Based on the series of ''Rizzoli & Isles'' novels by Tess Gerritsen, the plot follows Boston Homicide po ...

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

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

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

Veronica Mars ''Veronica Mars'' is an American teen noir mystery drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas. The series is set in the fictional town of Neptune, California, and stars Kristen Bell as the eponymous character. The series pr ...

'' (st. 4)

AXN

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

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

'' * ''

'' * ''The Collector'' * ''Damages'' * ''

Fear Factor ''Fear Factor'' is an American stunt/dare game show that first aired on NBC from 2001 to 2006 and was initially hosted by comedian and UFC commentator Joe Rogan. The show was adapted by Endemol USA from the original Dutch series titled ''Now ...

'' * '' .hack//Sign'' * ''

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' is an American television series filmed in New Zealand, based on the tales of the classical Greek culture hero Heracles (Hercules was his Roman analogue). Starring Kevin Sorbo as Hercules and Michael Hurst as ...

'' * ''Kidnapped'' * ''Kung Fu'' * ''MacGyver'' * '' Man's Work'' * ''Michael Hayes'' * ''Mission: Impossible'' * '' Most Shocking'' * ''Murder'' * ''Mutant X'' * ''The Net'' * ''

New York Undercover ''New York Undercover'' is an American police drama that aired on the Fox television network from September 8, 1994, to February 11, 1999. The series starred Malik Yoba as Detective J.C. Williams and Michael DeLorenzo as Detective Eddie Torre ...

'' * ''

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

'' * '' Odyssey 5'' * ''The Outer Limits'' * ''Quantum Leap'' * ''Painkiller Jane'' * ''

Planetes ''Planētes'', "Wanderers", lead=yes is a Japanese hard science fiction manga written and illustrated by Makoto Yukimura. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Morning'' between January 1999 to January 2004, with its ...

'' * ''

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

'' * ''Rescue Me'' * ''

Ripley's Believe It or Not! ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' fea ...

'' * ''Seven Days'' * ''

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

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

'' * ''

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

'' * ''

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

'' * ''

Strong Medicine ''Strong Medicine'' is an American medical drama with a focus on feminist politics, health issues and class conflict that aired on the Lifetime network from 2000 to 2006. It was created and produced in part by Whoopi Goldberg, who made cameo ...

'' * ''

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

'' * ''

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

'' * ''

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

'' * ''

Wire in the Blood ''Wire in the Blood'' is a British crime drama television series, created and produced by Coastal Productions for Tyne Tees Television and broadcast on ITV from 14 November 2002 to 31 October 2008. The series is based on characters created by ...

'' * ''

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

Universal Channel

* '' 24: Legacy'' * ''

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

'' * ''

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

'' * ''

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

'' * ''

Common Law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omniprese ...

'' * ''

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

'' * ''

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

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

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...

'' * ''

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

'' * ''

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

'' * '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' * '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' * '' The Listener'' * ''

'' * ''

'' * '' NCIS: Los Angeles'' * ''

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

'' * ''

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

'' * '' Parenthood'' * ''

'' * ''

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

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

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

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

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

'' * ''

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

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

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

'' * ''

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

'' * ''

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

'' * ''

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

'' * '' Eureka'' * ''

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Pu ...

'' * '' The Event'' * ''

The Good Wife ''The Good Wife'' is an American legal and political drama television series that aired on CBS from September 22, 2009, to May 8, 2016. It focuses on Alicia Florrick, the wife of the Cook County State's Attorney, who returns to her career in l ...

'' * ''

'' * '' The Mindy Project'' * '' Saving Hope'' * ''

Scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always en ...

'' * '' Shameless'' * ''

The Unit ''The Unit'' is an American action-drama television series created by David Mamet that aired on CBS from March 7, 2006, to May 10, 2009 with the total of four seasons and 69 episodes. The series focuses on a top-secret military unit modeled ...

Former channels

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

(1974-2001, broadcasting from

Principality of Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Monégasque dialect, Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riv ...

up to 1999) *

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

(1983-2005) *

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Most viewed channels

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

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

and

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

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

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

and

Rai 2 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, tal ...

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

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

and

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

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

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

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

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

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

's pay TV platform called

(with its channels like Fox,

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

, Sky Cinema and Sky Sport), nationwide channel

owned by

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

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

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

, Rai 4, Iris, La5, Real Time, K2,

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

, Top Crime,

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

, DMAX) are increasing in ratings day by day.

References

Bibliography

External links

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

Television providers

Digital terrestrial television

Satellite television

Pay television

Current providers

Defunct providers

Cable television

List of nationwide television stations

Most important all national free-to-view channels

Television Broadcasting System S.r.l.

Alma Media S.p.A.

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

GM Comunicazione S.r.l.

Other national channels

Network of local televisions

Foreign channels

Lower channels, teleshopping channel, lower network and local channels

Digital satellite only (free to air)

Foreign channels

Italian programming

Top Crime

Premium Crime

AXN

Universal Channel

Former channels

Most viewed channels

See also

References

Bibliography

External links