Italy ends 2021 with 421 TV channels
April 22, 2022
From Branislav Pekic in Rome
After a persistent drop in recent years, the number of TV channels in Italy started growing again in 2021, mainly on the free-to-air DTT platform, according to the annual report of sector organisation Confindustria Radio TV.
At the same time, as a result of closures of third party channels (Disney, AXN, Fox, Discovery, RCS) due to the expansion of streaming services, Sky Italia continued consolidating its pay-TV offer.
At the end of December 2021, there were 412 TV channels broadcasting in Italy via the main distribution platforms, owned by 100 Italian and foreign media groups (80 of them based in Italy).
Italian media groups accounted for 354 TV channels, of which 147 were aired via DTT and 258 via satellite (FTA and pay-TV). Some 51 TV channels were distributed by both platforms.
Over the past ten years, the number of DTH/satellite channels dropped from 274 to 258, the DTT channel offer has grown from 95 to 147, HD channels went up from 61 to 117, while PPV services dropped from 48 to 12.
Out of the total TV channels, 211 are free-to-air and 143 are subscription-based.
The main Italian broadcasters present on all platforms are Sky Italia with 94 channels, followed by Rai (50), Mediaset (36), Discovery Italia (21), Sciscione Group (21).
Significantly, the five leading groups account for 216 TV channels or 60 per cent of the total offer.
However, Mediaset dominates on the DTT platform with 28 TV channels, ahead of Scisione Group (21), Rai (18), Sky Italia (13) and Discovery Italia (9).