2012 was a particularly significant year for the evolution of the television broadcasting market:
• the switchover to the digital broadcasting platform throughout the whole of Italy was completed on 4 July. Italy now has a full digital television broadcasting market, with over sixty free national channels plus local networks and pay-to-view bouquets broadcast on the digital terrestrial platform, which, according to Auditel figures, reached 97% of the population at the end of the year;
• the segment of live and on demand video services and applications available through Internet and also available for the latest connectable devices (smartphones, tablets, smart tvs/decoders, etc.), which are becoming increasingly popular, has really taken off. Among the most important effects, with a considerable impact particularly on the future, the extensive innovation of the offering and business models, as well as the entry of new players, often of a global nature and from a noneditorial background, into the sector;
• the further consolidation of the socalled ‘social tv’ phenomenon, i.e.: the integration between live television and social media, also thanks to the editorial innovation proposed by broadcasters. While, on one hand, a certain segment of live television is enjoying a new season of vitality, on the other we are witnessing the unstoppable growth of the role and value of the social platforms as holders of an inestimable wealth of knowledge of users.

The tv multi-channel format, accessibility on several screens and platforms and real-time interaction through the social media have attributed even greater value to television, which, despite the crowded and extremely competitive digital media context, confirms its central role in the information and entertainment system.

The historical record of television consumption rose again in 2012. According to the Auditel figures, viewing on televisions in first homes alone rose 2% for the full day and 1% for prime time, reaching unprecedented levels of 10.4 and 26.0 million viewers respectively. The inevitable redistribution of market shares among the traditional seven general-interest channels and new channels continued, drawn by the national digital terrestrial free-view channels. The general-interest channels (Rai 1, Rai 2, Rai 3, Canale 5, Italia 1, Rete 4 and La7) totalled a 65.4% share, down more than 5 points on 2011. Compared to 2008, the year in which the switchover to the digital platform began, with the pilot experience in Sardinia, these channels have fallen almost 20 points.

In economic terms however, the year was not particularly positive.

The worsening of the on-going economic crisis has had a considerable impact on the television system:
•investments in advertising fell by 14.3% (source: Nielsen Media Research), with a performance that is slightly worse than the total advertising market, and the redistribution of investments in favour of the new free-view and pay-to-view


channels, alternative to the generalinterest channels, was accentuated;
• the pay-tv sector experienced a reduction in the number of customers, which the operators tried to offset by raising the average level of spending. Specifically, the leading operator Sky ended the year with over 4.5 million households (about 18% of the population), with a drop of about 300,000.

Lastly, the satellite television platform grew again. Tivù Sat (Joint venture between Rai, Mediaset and Telecom Italia Media), which reached 1.7 million active cards and 1.5 million households at the end of 2012, as well as the substantial elimination of Iptv, partly due to the closure of the Fastweb service.