Rai - Radiotelevisione Italiana, known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane,[3] is the Italian public service broadcaster, and is considered the biggest public television company in Europe with the British BBC. 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. RAI was one of the 23 founding broadcasting organisations of the European Broadcasting Union in 1950.
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.[4][5] RAI has a relatively high audience share of 43.55%[6]. The fact that Berlusconi's government pushed for a sale of Mediaset's public service rival had 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.citation needed "RAI's privatisation is de facto suspended", its new director general, Alfredo Meocci, told a parliamentary watchdog committee. [1] [2] RAI broadcasts three main terrestrial channels: Rai Uno, Rai Due and Rai Tre.
Early history
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 — a Haydn quartet — on the 24 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 radio networks: Rete Rossa (red) and Rete Azzurra (blue), with Rossa playing more serious music and Azzurra 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 in Milan, sporting events of the day, and an early evening film.citation needed
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 difficult for people to communicate, so RAI was instrumental in building a national, common language.
Management
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 — that is, the Italian Minister of Economy and Finance. 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 |
| Enzo Siciliano |
July 10, 1996 |
January 21, 1998 |
| Roberto Zaccaria |
February 3, 1998 |
February 17, 2000 |
| Roberto Zaccaria [1] |
February 17, 2000 |
February 16, 2002 |
| Vittorio Emiliani |
February 16, 2002 |
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 [2] |
May, 2004 |
May, 2005 |
| Sandro Curzi [2] |
June 1, 2005 |
July 30, 2005 |
| Claudio Petruccioli |
July 31, 2005 |
present |
[1] Second term
[2] 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 [3] |
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 [4] |
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 |
[3] Vice Director-general acting as Director-general
[4] Second term
Television
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 Rai Uno. 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 color television broadcasts started in an experimental capacity in 1971, with the two existing RAI channels at the time starting full-time color broadcasting on February 1, 1977.
Terrestrial channels
Analogue
Digital
Satellite channels
Free-to-air
IPTV channels
- Rai Fiction
- Viva la Rai entertainment
- Rai Supercult entertainment
- Rai Magazine
- Rai Storia
- Rai Ritratti
- Rai Junior
- Rai Click Cinema
- Rai Click Fiction
- Rai Click Fiction Live
- Rai Click Junior
- Rai Click News
- Rai Click Spettacolo
- Rai Click Culture
- Rai Click Oggi
International
Defunct Channels
Radio channels
News
Other programmes
Foreign Series
Other satellite TV programmes
Foreign programmes no longer broadcast
See also
Footnotes
External links
|
Rai - Radiotelevisione Italiana |
|
| Radio |
|
|
| Current television channels |
|
|
| Defunct television channels |
|
|
Coordinates: 41°55′4″N, 12°27′59″E
|
