Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

RAI

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Type
  
Spa (State Owned)

Genre
  
TV Broadcasting

Revenue
  
€2.4 billion (2014)

Headquarters
  
Rome, Italy

Founded
  
1944, Rome, Italy

Industry
  
Media

Area served
  
Italy

Customer service
  
00 39 06 8740 8197

Founder
  
Government of Italy

RAI httpssmediacacheak0pinimgcomoriginalsdb

Key people
  
Antonio Campo Dall'Orto (CEO), Monica Maggioni (Chairman)

Subsidiaries
  
Rai 3, Rai Fiction, Rai Click SpA, Rai Way, RaiSat

TV shows
  
Che tempo che fa, Don Matteo, Inspector Montalbano, L'ispettore Coliandro, Ballarò

Films produced
  
The Heart in the Well, Francesco, Flight Of The Innocent, The Name of the Rose, The Cave of the Golden R

Profiles

Questa e la musica di tg1 note la tv di servizio per tutti gli artisti italiani


RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. ([ˈrai ˌradjoteleviˈzjoːne itaˈljaːna]; commercially styled Rai; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is Italy's national public broadcasting company, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

Contents

RAI operates many DVB and Sat television channels and radio stations, broadcasting via digital terrestrial transmission (15 television and 7 radio channels nationwide) and from several satellite platforms. It is the biggest television broadcaster in Italy and competes with Mediaset, and other minor television and radio networks. RAI has a relatively high television audience share of 33.8%.

RAI's broadcasts are also received in neighboring countries, including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, San Marino, Slovenia, Vatican City, Switzerland, and Tunisia, and elsewhere on cable and satellite.

Half of RAI's revenues come from broadcast receiving licence fees, the rest from the sale of advertising time.

In 1950, RAI became one of the 23 founding broadcasting organizations of the European Broadcasting Union.

1924

The Unione Radiofonica Italiana (URI) was formed in 1924 with the backing of the Marconi Company following a model adopted in other European countries. URI made its inaugural broadcast — a speech by Benito Mussolini at Teatro Costanzi — on 5 October. Regular programming began the following evening, with a quartet performing Haydn's Quartet No. 7 in A major from the Palazzo Corradi. At 21.00 CET, Ines Donarelli Viviani announced for the first time: "URI—Unione Radiofonica Italiana Rome station 1RO 425 meters wavelength. To all those who are listening our greetings, good evening." Guglielmo Marconi's S.A. Radiofono—Società Italiana per le Radiocomunicazioni Circolari (Radiofono) held 85% of URI shares and Western Electric's Società Italiana Radio Audizioni Circolari (SIRAC) held the remaining 15%.

Under the provisions of Royal Decree No. 1067 of 8 February 1923, wireless broadcasting became a state monopoly under the control of the Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs; URI was commissioned to provide services for a minimum of six years pursuant to Royal Decree No. 2191 of 14 October 1924 "Concessione dei servizi radioauditivi circolari alla Società Anonima Unione Radiofonica Italiana". However, when URI's contract expired in 1927, it was succeeded under Royal Decree Law No. 2207 of 17 November 1927 by the partially nationalised Ente Italiano per le Audizioni Radiofoniche (EIAR), which became Radio Audizioni Italiane S.p.A. (RAI) with investment from Società Idroelettrica Piemontese (SIP) in 1944.

1940's

During the reconstruction following World War II, much of RAI's early programming was influenced by the "Reithian" style of the BBC. The emphasis was on educational content. Programs like Non è mai troppo tardi and Un viaggio al Po introduced people to what life was like in other parts of the country, at a time when most people couldn't afford to travel.

Over the following years RAI made various changes to its services. Rai reorganized its radio stations in November 1946 into two national networks, Rete Rossa and Rete Azzurra ("Red Network" and "Blue Network"). Rai added the culture-based Terzo Programma in October 1950. On 1 January 1952 the Rete Rossa became the Programma Nazionale (focusing on informational content) and the Rete Azzurra became the Secondo Programma (with a greater emphasis on entertainment). The three radio channels eventually became today's Rai Radio 1, Rai Radio 2, and Rai Radio 3.

1950's

In 1954 the state-owned holding company Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale (IRI) became the sole shareholder and RAI – now renamed RAI—Radiotelevisione italiana to reflect its extended responsibilities – finally began a regular television service. On 3 January at 11.00 CET, the first RAI television announcer presented the day's schedule, which was broadcast from the service's Milan headquarters and relay stations in Turin and Rome. At 14.30, the first regular programme in Italian television history was broadcast: Arrivi e partenze, hosted by Armando Pizzo and Mike Bongiorno. The evening's entertainment was a theatre performance, L'osteria della posta, written by Carlo Goldoni. 23.15 saw the start of the day's concluding programme, La Domenica Sportiva – the first edition of a weekly series which continues to this day.

Management

RAI was originally the subsidiary of RAI Holding S.p.A. RAI Holding was absorbed into RAI as of 1 December 2004, per Article 21 of Law 112/04.

RAI is governed by a nine-member Administrative Council. Seven of members are elected by a committee of the Italian Parliament. The other two (one of which is the President) are nominated by the largest shareholder: the Ministry of Economic Development. The Council appoints the Director-General. The Director-General and the members of the Administrative Council are appointed for a renewable three-year term. In 2005, the government of Silvio Berlusconi proposed partial privatization of RAI by selling 20% ownership. This proposal was very controversial, in part because Berlusconi was the head of the leading private broadcaster Mediaset. Some critics claimed that Mediaset could become the buyer and thus increase its dominant position. However, after the revelation that RAI would lose €80m ($96m, £54m) in 2006, the privatization plan was suspended in October 2005.

2010's

On 17 May 2010, Raisat received a major upgrade and re-branded with a new logo and a new name. It and all of the sister channels dropped the sat part from the name and became Rai YoYo, Rai 5 (formerly known as Rai Extra), Rai Premium, and Rai Movie (formerly known as Raisat Cinema).

On June 11, 2013, RAI was one of the few known European broadcasters to condemn and criticize the closure of Greece's state broadcaster ERT.

Criticism

RAI company has been criticized because as of 2015 it had 46 directors and 262 head offices and they are considered too many; RAI Spa is a private company but it's 100% owned by the Italian Government and subscribers have to pay an annual tax of 100 euros.

RAI Spa company is 99% owned by the Italian Government Ministry of Economy and Finance, so it is said that it broadcasts content that may politically influence people.

Debt Level

As March 2015, Rai has a debt of 442 million euros and the Italian "Corte dei Conti" (an Italian public finance examination institution).

Rai mandatory annual fee on all televisions in Italy

Italians must purchase an annual television license for about €100 every year in order to legally own a TV or HDTV. It is known as Canone Rai, "Rai Tax" because it is used to part-fund RAI.

Discontinued channels

  • Rai Azzurri: UEFA Euro 2004 (2004, broadcast using Rai Utile frequencies)
  • Rai Doc: cultures, styles (April 1, 2004—June 1, 2007)
  • Rai Extra: generalist (July 31, 2003—November 26, 2010)
  • Rai Festival (broadcast using Rai Utile frequencies)
  • Rai Futura: technologies, games, etc. (May 30, 2005—February 1, 2007, broadcast on the same frequences of Rai Doc at settled times)
  • Rai HD (April 22, 2008—September 18, 2016)
  • Rai Med (April 26, 2001—April 2014)
  • Rai Olimpia: 2004 Summer Olympics (2004, broadcast using Rai Utile frequencies)
  • Rai Sport 2 (May 18, 2010—February 5, 2017)
  • Rai Sport 2 HD (August 1, 2016—September 19, 2016, HD version launched for 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games)
  • Rai UniNettuno Sat Uno (November 10, 1997—April 2014)
  • Rai UniNettuno Sat Due (2003—February 1, 2009)
  • Rai Utile (January 4, 2004—January 1, 2008)
  • Rai Widescreen: 1998 FIFA World Cup (1998—1999)
  • Rai On Cultura (IPTV)
  • Rai On Fiction (IPTV)
  • Rai On Fiction Live (IPTV)
  • Rai On News (IPTV)
  • Rai On Ragazzi (IPTV)
  • Rai On Spettacolo (IPTV)
  • Rai On Sport (IPTV)
  • RaiSat 1 (1998—1999)
  • RaiSat 2 (September 29, 1997—July 1, 1999)
  • RaiSat 3 (October 13, 1997—September 7, 2000)
  • RaiSat Album (June 1, 1999—July 30, 2003)
  • RaiSat Art (1999—July 30, 2003)
  • RaiSat Fiction (March 1, 2001—July 30, 2003)
  • RaiSat Gambero Rosso Channel (1999—July 31, 2009)
  • RaiSat Ragazzi (July 1, 1999—October 31, 2006)
  • RaiSat Show (June 1, 1999—July 31, 2003)
  • RaiSat Smash Girls (November 1, 2006—August 1, 2009)
  • Radio channels

    FM, AM, Satellite, DAB/DAB+, DTT, Filodiffusion, Web:

  • Rai Radio 1: news and information
  • Rai Radio 2: adult contemporary music and conversation
  • Rai Radio 3: classical music and culture
  • Rai Radio 4 Light: easy-listening music
  • Rai Radio 5 Classica: classic and opera music
  • Rai Radio 6 Teca: featuring items from the radio archives
  • Rai Radio 7 Live: music
  • Rai Radio 8 Opera: opera music
  • Rai GR Parlamento: coverage of proceedings in the Italian Parliament
  • Rai IsoRadio: for motorway users
  • Rai Südtirol Radio: German-language programmes for the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region
  • Rai Radio Trst A: Slovene-language programmes for the Friuli-Venezia Giulia/Furlanija Julijska Krajina region
  • Discontinued channels

  • RadioStereoDue (1982—1991)
  • RadioVerdeRai (1991—1994)
  • Rai Italia Radio (July 1, 1930—December 31, 2011)
  • On demand service

  • Rai Play
  • Local offices

  • North-West: Genoa, Saint Christophe
  • North-East: Bologna, Bolzano, Trento, Trieste, Venice
  • Centre: Ancona, Florence, Perugia, Pescara
  • South: Bari, Campobasso, Cosenza, Potenza
  • Islands: Cagliari, Palermo
  • Foreign offices

    There are RAI offices in foreign countries, which produce news reports that are broadcast live in Italy. These offices are in: Brussels, Paris, Berlin, London, New York City, Beijing, Cairo, Jerusalem, Nairobi, Moscow, Rio de Janeiro.

    References

    RAI Wikipedia