RAI

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For the IATA airport code, see Praia International Airport.
RAI - Radiotelevisione Italiana S.p.a.
Type Government-owned corporation
Genre Italian Public Broadcasting Service
Founded 1924
Founder Italian Government
Headquarters Flag of Italy Rome, Italy
Revenue €3144 million (2006)[1]
Owner Min. of Economy & Finance
Employees 13248 (2008)[2]
Divisions Rai Cinema
Rai Corporation
Rai Way
Sipra
Rai Trade
Rai Net
Rai Click
Rai Teche
Rai Fiction
Rai Eri
Rai Vaticano
Rai Quirinale
Rai Sat (95% RAI - 5% RCS MediaGroup)
Website rai.it rai.tv

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.

Contents

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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

[edit] 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, 2002
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

[edit] 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.

[edit] Terrestrial channels

[edit] Analogue

[edit] Digital

[edit] Satellite channels

[edit] Free-to-air

[edit] On SKY Italia

[edit] IPTV channels

[edit] On Alice Home TV

  • Rai Fiction
  • Viva la Rai entertainment
  • Rai Supercult entertainment
  • Rai Magazine
  • Rai Storia
  • Rai Ritratti
  • Rai Junior

[edit] On Tiscali TV

  • Rai Teen
  • Rai di Più

[edit] On TV di FASTWEB

  • 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

[edit] International

  • RAI Italia — Broadcasts the best of RAI to International audiences

[edit] Defunct Channels

[edit] Radio channels

[edit] News

[edit] Other programmes

[edit] Foreign Series

[edit] Other satellite TV programmes

[edit] Foreign programmes no longer broadcast

[edit] See also

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ "RAI Annual Report 2006" (English) Retrieved on 2008-06-16
  2. ^ "Rai, l'orgia del potere" (Italian) Retrieved on 2008-07-09
  3. ^ La radio in Italia cronologia (Italian) Retrieved on 2007-11-28
  4. ^ "Basta con il governo padrone, così cambierà la Tv pubblica" (Italian) Retrieved on 2007-10-10
  5. ^ " DDL Riforma Rai" (Italian) Retrieved on 2007-10-10
  6. ^ ::: RAI - Bilancio 2005 ::: (Italian) Retrieved on 2007-12-29

[edit] External links

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Defunct television channels
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Coordinates: 41°55′4″N, 12°27′59″E

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