Radiotelevisione Italiana
Radiotelevisione Italiana, or RAI, is Italy’s state-owned public broadcaster founded in 1924 as Unione Radiofonica Italiana (URI) and becoming “RAI” in 1944. The group operates the nation’s largest television and radio network with a more than 30 percent market share, competing directly with the Mediaset empire of former Italian president Silvio Berlusconi. Headquartered at 14 Viale Giuseppe Mazzini in Rome, the company is 99 percent owned by Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance, funding operations through broadcast license fees and advertising revenue. RAI’s programming reaches beyond Italy’s borders into neighboring European countries, Albania, Tunisia and beyond via satellite, while its management and board are elected by Parliament every three years, ensuring close ties between the broadcaster and Italy’s ruling political majority.
