Benedetta Prario

Mobile Television in Italy: Value Chains and Business Models of Telecommunications Operators

Abstract This article explores the Italian mobile television market and analyzes the value chain and business models used by the main operators. As suggested by the term itself, mobile television involves the coming together of two different industries, telecommunications and broadcasting. In the author’s view, the business models for offering mobile television services will not rely only on broadcasters but telecommunications operators will have a key role, too. To illustrate these aspects, the article considers the Italian case representing one of the main developed mobile television industries at European level.

The history of Fininvest/Mediaset’s media strategy: 30 years of politics, the market, technology and Italian society

In this article we will analyse Fininvest/Mediaset’s strategies in the media sector from its foundation to the present, considering four variables: politics, the market, technology and society. In particular, we will try to establish if, and to what extent, these four factors have affected and, in turn, have been affected by the company’s strategies. Our interest in studying Mediaset stems from the pivotal role the company plays in the Italian television and media sector. Indeed, according to European Audiovisual Observatory sources (2006: 8), Mediaset is now the leading Italian media enterprise and ranks 17th in the world, registering a turnover of €3397 million. Its core business is commercial television but, as we will see, in recent years it has continued to branch out and expand. First, it focused on the internet, then on digital terrestrial TV and, finally, on mobile TV. The key role that Mediaset now plays in the communications industry has spurred us to investigate the history of the group from its origins for two reasons. First, to discover whether, and if so which of the company’s current distinctive characteristics have distant origins. Second, to attempt to identify a guiding thread in Fininvest/Mediaset’s strategies, accompanying its success and favouring its presence in the Italian media market for over 30 years. Even if a number of primary sources were used, the truly innovative element of this research is its multi-target approach. We have avoided focusing solely on one aspect of the group’s history and, instead, have tried to set the entire history of Fininvest/Mediaset within a broader framework, encompassing political, economic, technological and social considerations (Richeri, 2006).

New ways of consumption: the audiences of public service media in Italy and Switzerland

The digital transformation of the broadcasting industry forces public service broadcasting (PSB) companies to restructure and rethink their offerings. Characteristic today is a keener attention to the preferences and behaviours of audiences, and the importance of the link between the concept of public service and the role of audience participation. PSB companies are engaged in a reconsideration of their audiences. This article discusses the central role of the audience in the transformation from PSB to public service media (PSM), connecting (1) what has been done by PSM companies to grasp opportunities of digitalization to increase their offerings and (2) the public response to these strategies, analysing the consumption of PSM. The article considers two companies as cases: Rai in Italy, a large country and SRG SSR in Switzerland, a small country. Italy and Switzerland differ in the size and structure of their television markets. The market structure, the television distribution systems and the funding schema of the PSM companies analysed have influenced the development of strategies adopted by these companies and also audience responses. Empirical research is based on analysis of relevant policy documents, the case companies’ offerings, interviews with the firms’ operators, and audiences and users data.