Advanced Television

Italy’s RAI plans pay-TV offer

November 24, 2015

From Branislav Pekic in Rome

Italian public broadcaster RAI is planning to present a plan to the government that envisages the creation of a pay-TV offering.

According to a report in Italian daily La Repubblica, the new director general of RAI, Antonio Campo Dall’Orto, is seeking approval from the government to introduce a subscription-based online service.

The plan, which would be implemented over the next five years, would include a twofold model – a standard VoD service with payment for individual pieces of content, as well as a SVoD service similar to the Netflix model, with a subscription for online access to the RAI catalogue.

The premium content that would be offered would mainly include sporting events, especially football and tennis, but also movies and TV series. One of the highlights of the new offer could be the so-called ‘package D’ of the Italian Football League, which includes rights for online streaming of 114 Serie A matches, three matches per day of the championship.

In an interview for daily Corriere della Sera, Dall’Orto announced the setting up of a digital unit with the aim of making RAI a “media company”. He added that TV should not see the internet as its counterpart, but rather involve it as part of a long-term outreach policy.

Categories: Articles, Broadcast, Pay TV, VOD