RAI

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 metres wavelength. To all those who are listening our greetings, good evening".[9] 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".[10] 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.

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 could not afford to travel.

Over the following years the RAI made various changes to its services. It reorganised its radio stations in November 1946 into two national networks, Rete Rossa and Rete Azzurra ("Red Network" and "Blue Network"). It 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.

In 1954 the state-owned holding company Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale (IRI) became the sole shareholder and IRI – 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.[11]

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.

The 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 privatisation 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 privatisation plan was suspended in October 2005.[12][13]

On 18 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 11 June 2013, RAI was one of the few known European broadcasters to condemn and criticize the closure of Greece's state broadcaster ERT.

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 is 100% owned by the Italian Government and all the TV owners in Italy have to pay an annual tax of 100 euros.[14]

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.[15][16]

• 
  The Erberto Carboni logo used from 3 January 1954 to 1967.
• 
  Rai logo from 3 October 1983 to 25 September 1986 (Studio ARA).
• 
  The Giorgio Macchi redesign used from 26 September 1986 to 30 September 2000.
• 
  The "butterfly" logo used from 1 October 2000 to 17 May 2010 (Società AReA).
• 
  Rai logo from 18 May 2010 to 11 September 2016 (Società FrameByFrame).
• 
  Current variation of the logo introduced on 12 September 2016.

The Alberto Ribera logo was introduced in 1967, however, this did not have significant application except on studios and portable cameras. A second variation of the Carboni logo was introduced in 1977, which was not officially adopted but appeared in some graphics, including that of the time signal.[17]

Logo	Name	Channel	Type	Launched	Description
	Rai 1	1	Free-to-air Satellite	3 January 1954	generalist and family-oriented
	Rai 2	2	Free-to-air Satellite	4 November 1961	generalist, catering towards urban audiences
	Rai 3	3	Free-to-air Satellite	15 December 1979	generalist and regional programming
	Rai 4	21	Free-to-air Satellite	14 July 2008	TV series, movies and shows
	Rai 5	23	Free-to-air Satellite	26 November 2010	culture, music, documentaries
	Rai Gulp	42	Free-to-air Satellite	1 June 2007	kids/teens
	Rai Movie	24	Free-to-air Satellite	1 July 1999	movies
	Rai News24	48	Free-to-air Satellite	26 April 1999	all news
	Rai Premium	25	Free-to-air Satellite	31 July 2003	fiction
	Rai Scuola	146	Free-to-air Satellite	19 October 2009	educational
	Rai Sport	58	Free-to-air	1 February 1999	sports
	Rai Storia	54	Free-to-air	2 February 2009	history
	Rai Yoyo	43	Free-to-air	1 November 2006	kids
	Rai 1 HD	501	Free-to-air	25 October 2013	HD version of Rai 1
	Rai 2 HD	502	Free-to-air	25 October 2013	HD version of Rai 2
	Rai 3 HD	503	Free-to-air	25 October 2013	HD version of Rai 3
	Rai 4 HD	521	Free-to-air	22 January 2016	HD version of Rai 4
	Rai 5 HD	113	Free-to-view	19 September 2016	HD version of Rai 5
	Rai Movie HD	114	Free-to-view	26 May 2016	HD version of Rai Movie
	Rai Premium HD	525	Free-to-air	26 May 2016	HD version of Rai Premium
	Rai Sport + HD	57	Free-to-air	14 September 2015	HD version of Rai Sport
	Rai 4K	210	Free-to-view	17 June 2016	Ultra Definition channel
	Rai Italia		International	1 January 1992	reaching out to Italian expatriates
	Rai World Premium		International		Italian culture
	Rai Ladinia		Regional		Ladin language channel in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol
	Rai Südtirol		Regional		German language channel in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol
	Rai 3 BIS FJK	103	Regional	1995	Slovene language channel in Friuli-Venezia Giulia/Furlanija Julijska Krajina

Due to the broadcasting rights of the free-to-air satellite channels Rai 1, Rai 2, Rai 3 and Rai Sport in some programs, broadcasts outside Italy are encrypted. In particular, it takes part in copyrighted programs (mostly foreign productions) and international sports competitions. In the past, it was encrypted as Discrete in analog satellite television broadcasts due to broadcasting rights outside Italy. Rai channels will not be broadcast due to broadcasting rights on digital platforms outside Italy.

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

• RadioStereoDue (1982—1991)
• RadioVerdeRai (1991—1994)
• Rai Italia Radio (1 July 1930 — 31 December 2011)
• Rai Radio 8 Opera (6 August 2015 — 11 June 2017)

RAI's history in print with the Unione Radiofonica Italiana (URI)'s weekly magazine Radio Orario which debuted in January 1925 and became Radiocorriere in 1930. Edizioni Radio Italiana (ERI) was founded in 1949 in Turin, formed entirely from RAI capital to build on Radiocorriere's success. In 1954 primary ownership was split between RAI and Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale (IRI).[18] That same year Radiocorriere became Radiocorriere TV, which would continue to be published until RAI divested in 1995.[19]

During the 50s and 60s the ERI published Classe Unica, L'Approdo letterario and L'Approdo Musicale, and in 1969 the first edition of the DOP. The 80s saw the premiere of the monthlies Moda (1983) and King (1987),[20] along with registering a new company name in 1987: Nuova Eri Edizioni Rai-Radiotelevisione Italiana S.p.A., or "Nuova ERI".[18]

Since the 90s RAI/ERI has increasingly focused on publishing books written by its own broadcast stars, both in news and entertainment. In 1995 Nuova ERI closed and reopened in 1996 as "Rai Eri".[21] On 15 October 2018 they renamed to "Rai Libri".

Rai Libri also edits technical publications: Elettronica e telecomunicazioni since 1946,[22] Nuova rivista musicale italiana since 1967,[23] and Nuova civiltà delle macchine since 1957.[24] It produces its own reports on communications and media, with the second edition of the book-and-documentary RicordeRai released in 2004 in collaboration with Rai Teche.

RAI (originally URI) had printed its broadcast schedules nearly without interruption starting in 1925 as Radio Orario, then from 1930 as Radiocorriere,[25][26] then continuously from 1954 as Radiocorriere TV, until RAI divested in 1995.

The magazine was restarted under publisher Rcc edizioni with a print edition from 1999 to 2008, closing due to poor sales. It reopened in 2012 as an online-only publication, with a handful of special-occasion independent print runs in the intervening years, including 2005 (its 80th anniversary),[27] 2010 (switchover to DTTV),[28] and 2011 (150th Anniversary of the Unification of Italy).[29] The "Rai Ufficio Stampa [press office]" website has meanwhile published programming schedules and television blurbs online since 2011 under the magazine's name. On 3 January 2014 Rai Teche published online the complete 1925–1995 archives of URI/RAI's Radio Orario/Radiocorriere/TV.[30]

• 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

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.

As March 2015, the RAI has a debt of €442 million and the Italian Court of Audit was worried about the size of RAI's debt for the impact that this may have on Italian people, as the company is owned by the state.[31]

Italians must purchase an annual television licence for about €90 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 the RAI. Since 2016, it is financed through the electricity bill.[32]