Advanced Television

Report: €8.2bn generated by Italian TV in 2023

July 19, 2024

From Branislav Pekic in Rome

Italy’s digital communications market was worth over €27 billion in 2023, reversing a long-term decline although still 10 per cent down compared to 2019.

According to the annual report of the Italian Communications Authority (AgCom), overall broadband lines reached around 19.12 million units (+110,000 on an annual basis), counterbalancing the decline in DSL lines.

AgCom president, Giacomo Lasorella, highlighted the role of industry consolidation, particularly the separation of Tim’s network and the merger of Fastweb and Vodafone Italia.

The media market (TV, radio, newspapers, and magazines) was worth around €11.5 billion in 2023, down from €12.2 billion in 2019, with TV generating €8.2 billion (+1.3 per cent year-on-year).

Pay-TV continues to be the main source of financing for the TV sector (40.6 per cent of the total), followed by advertising (35.9 per cent, stable compared to last year), while public funding accounted for 23.6 per cent.

The top three broadcasters still account for 70 per cent of the resources in Italy, with public broadcaster Rai in the lead with a share of 28.4 per cent, followed by Sky Italia (22.2 per cent ), and Mediaset (19.4 cent).

Online streaming giants such as Netflix, DAZN, Tim, Amazon, and Disney are significantly reshaping the TV industry in Italy. Their combined revenue now accounts for nearly 20 per cent of the entire TV sector’s economic resources, an increase of almost 13 percentage points since 2019.

Content purchase by users was down by 2 per cent compared to the previous year, a figure that includes pay-TV subscriptions.

The report also underscores the increasing importance of Connected TV, with TV regaining prominence in Italian households. However, challenges such as frequency management, broadcast quality, misinformation, and the protection of minors and pluralism remain key concerns for the regulator.

Categories: Articles, Broadband, Broadcast, DTH/Satellite, FTTH, OTT, OTT, Pay TV, Premium, Telco, VOD

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