Rai Italia, the international TV channel of Italian public broadcaster Rai, is expanding to more European countries, including the UK and Spain, where there are large Italian expat communities.

This expansion marks a significant step forward for the channel, which already broadcasts to over 40 million homes across 174 countries via satellite, cable, IPTV and OTT platforms.

The new agreement with World Stream will also enable Rai Italia to be available in Ireland, Portugal, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Malta, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Romania, Moldova, Finland, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as the aforementioned UK and Spain. This adds to the existing coverage in Germany, Hungary and Luxembourg.

World Stream is part of the Melbourne-based media group Il Globo, which provides Italian and English language news and information to Italian communities around the world. This partnership strengthens Rai Italia’s position in key European markets and expands its reach to a wider audience.

With over 6 million registered Italian citizens living abroad and an estimated 80 million Italian descendants worldwide, Rai Italia plays a vital role in connecting Italians with their homeland.

Following a successful 2023 expansion that included doubling its programming with English-language news segments and subtitles for numerous TV shows, Rai says it is committed to further embracing multilingualism by adding Spanish subtitles to its offerings.

Rai Italia broadcasts four different schedules designed for specific regions of the world. Of the annual 8,760 hours of programming, 83 per cent consist of the ‘best of’ content from the three general entertainment channels (Rai Uno, Rai Due, and Rai Tre), while the remaining 17 per cent are original productions.