Advanced Television

Italy: TV revenues rise despite dip in consumption

August 3, 2026

From Branislav Pekic in Rome

Italian TV revenues rose from €8.02 billion to €8.93 billion between 2021 and 2025, according to the latest Communications Observatory report by the Communications Regulatory Authority (AGCOM).

Despite financial growth, overall viewer engagement on traditional screens dipped across both prime-time and full-day slots in early 2026, accelerating a multi-year shift toward digital and subscription platforms.

Daily broadcast viewership across both connected traditional TV sets and digital devices contracted year-over-year in Q1 2026 by 1.4 per cent year-over-year in prime time and by 1.6 per cent in full-day.

A broader two-year comparison against 2024 reveals a bigger decline, with prime-time dropping by 567,000 viewers (-2.6 per cent) and full-day audiences shrinking by 296,000 viewers (-3.2 per cent).

Over the 2024–2026 timeframe, Cairo Communication/La7 was the only broadcaster to post full-day audience growth (+15.3 per cent), while Rai (-1.8 per cent), Mediaset (-2.9 per cent), Warner Bros Discovery (-11.1 per cent), and Comcast/Sky (-4.6 per cent) all surrendered ground.

SVoD platforms reached 15.49 million unique visitors in March 2026 (+2.7 per cent year-over-year), while total viewing duration expanded to nearly 43 million hours (+3.5 per cent). Netflix led with 9.3 million users (+13.1 per cent), ahead of Prime Video with 7.4 million (+2.7 per cent), Disney+ with 3.5 million (-4.9 per cent) and Now (Sky) with 1.5 million users (+2.1 per cent).

Ad-supported and free digital VoD platforms logged 38.89 million unique users in March 2026 (+4.6 per cent YoY), while total browsing time increased 12 per cent to exceed 40 million hours, or over 62 minutes per user.

Categories: Articles, Broadcast, Consumer Behaviour, Markets, Pay TV, Research, VOD

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