Television Industry Italy

Do touch that dial! That is the invitation to TV-watching Italian voters this weekend from reformers plotting to overhaul the most blatantly political and closely held national television system in Western Europe. Ninety percent of Italy's 57 million viewers regularly watch one of six channels--three of them state-owned, the other three owned by former and would-be Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Several Italian state television officials resigned Thursday after state TV aired graphic images in a prime-time news report on child pornography. The broadcasts, seen by nearly 11 million people, shocked Italy and ignited a political firestorm. The Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano criticized TV for worshiping a "cult" of sensational images and said the broadcasts had "violated Italian families" in the guise of news. An anchorman and two assistant news directors resigned Thursday.

Telecom Italia, Italy's leading phone company, hired Credit Suisse First Boston, Banca IMI and J.P. Morgan & Co. to help repel a hostile $59-billion bid by its rival Olivetti, people familiar with the situation said Sunday. Europe's biggest takeover offer, in cash, bonds and stock, values Telecom Italia shares at $11 each, or 10.5% above Friday's closing price. Telecom Italia, which described the offer as "void," wouldn't comment on its next move. The banks also declined to comment.

Roman homemaker Michela Sportelli tuned in to "The Guiding Light" and struggled to follow the tangled plot: Will Reva escape her shipwrecked companion? Will Josh, after giving her up for dead, take Reva back? What will Josh do with the other Reva--the clone of his missing mate? But what really baffled Sportelli was this week's unscripted twist in her favorite soap opera.

Several Italian state television officials resigned Thursday after state TV aired graphic images in a prime-time news report on child pornography. The broadcasts, seen by nearly 11 million people, shocked Italy and ignited a political firestorm. The Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano criticized TV for worshiping a "cult" of sensational images and said the broadcasts had "violated Italian families" in the guise of news. An anchorman and two assistant news directors resigned Thursday.

Italian couch patate are not mogul-wary. They like the well-tried commercial television formula of variety shows, movies, soap operas, soccer and glitzy ads--even if they do enrich a politically ambitious billionaire. Final returns Monday from a national referendum endorsed the ownership of three major national networks by former and would-be Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

After years of TV addiction, Italians are finding their way out of the house and rediscovering the pleasures of theatergoing. Internationally known actors are turning down movie scripts in favor of the stage, and spectators are responding by forming ticket lines at dawn to get into the hottest shows. Marcello Mastroianni has tackled Russian drama.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. might be willing to pay more than $2 billion for Silvio Berlusconi's TV interests, but that has little to do with the scantily clad women who dominate the light entertainment programs on the former Italian prime minister's networks. The strategic worth of Europe's second-largest private media empire--with programming best described as brassy and news standards that would embarrass even Murdoch's infamous British tabloids--is the key to current negotiations.

The frustrating experience of watching his films being interrupted every 12 minutes on commercial Italian TV provided the impetus for writer-director-actor Maurizio Nichetti to make his latest film, "The Icicle Thief." It was his chance to get even, so to speak. When, in the movie, a mysterious power outage mixes up the worlds of the film with that of the commercials, Nichetti, playing himself as the director, magically gets into the scene, desperate to get his story back on the right track.

Telecom Italia, the world's eighth-largest telecommunications company, said Sunday that it is close to selling as much as 80% of its Stream pay-TV unit to News Corp. for as much as $118.8 million. This would give News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch his long-sought entry into the Italian television market. The Italian company also said that it and News Corp. Europe, a News Corp.

Roman homemaker Michela Sportelli tuned in to "The Guiding Light" and struggled to follow the tangled plot: Will Reva escape her shipwrecked companion? Will Josh, after giving her up for dead, take Reva back? What will Josh do with the other Reva--the clone of his missing mate? But what really baffled Sportelli was this week's unscripted twist in her favorite soap opera.

Italian couch patate are not mogul-wary. They like the well-tried commercial television formula of variety shows, movies, soap operas, soccer and glitzy ads--even if they do enrich a politically ambitious billionaire. Final returns Monday from a national referendum endorsed the ownership of three major national networks by former and would-be Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Do touch that dial! That is the invitation to TV-watching Italian voters this weekend from reformers plotting to overhaul the most blatantly political and closely held national television system in Western Europe. Ninety percent of Italy's 57 million viewers regularly watch one of six channels--three of them state-owned, the other three owned by former and would-be Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. might be willing to pay more than $2 billion for Silvio Berlusconi's TV interests, but that has little to do with the scantily clad women who dominate the light entertainment programs on the former Italian prime minister's networks. The strategic worth of Europe's second-largest private media empire--with programming best described as brassy and news standards that would embarrass even Murdoch's infamous British tabloids--is the key to current negotiations.

The frustrating experience of watching his films being interrupted every 12 minutes on commercial Italian TV provided the impetus for writer-director-actor Maurizio Nichetti to make his latest film, "The Icicle Thief." It was his chance to get even, so to speak. When, in the movie, a mysterious power outage mixes up the worlds of the film with that of the commercials, Nichetti, playing himself as the director, magically gets into the scene, desperate to get his story back on the right track.

Telecom Italia, the world's eighth-largest telecommunications company, said Sunday that it is close to selling as much as 80% of its Stream pay-TV unit to News Corp. for as much as $118.8 million. This would give News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch his long-sought entry into the Italian television market. The Italian company also said that it and News Corp. Europe, a News Corp.

Telecom Italia, Italy's leading phone company, hired Credit Suisse First Boston, Banca IMI and J.P. Morgan & Co. to help repel a hostile $59-billion bid by its rival Olivetti, people familiar with the situation said Sunday. Europe's biggest takeover offer, in cash, bonds and stock, values Telecom Italia shares at $11 each, or 10.5% above Friday's closing price. Telecom Italia, which described the offer as "void," wouldn't comment on its next move. The banks also declined to comment.

After years of TV addiction, Italians are finding their way out of the house and rediscovering the pleasures of theatergoing. Internationally known actors are turning down movie scripts in favor of the stage, and spectators are responding by forming ticket lines at dawn to get into the hottest shows. Marcello Mastroianni has tackled Russian drama.