Television is the most widely used media in Italy, accessed by 97% of Italians at least once a week. However, Italians use other media like radio, newspapers, and the internet less than the European average. While internet use has increased in Italy and reached the same levels as newspapers and radio, traditional media have remained stable and television remains dominant. Younger generations are beginning to change media consumption habits, gaining news from various sources online rather than solely from television.

1. 11 July 2012
Media in Italy and the digital challenge
Part 1
Information sources
and the use of media
By Davide Morisi
With the support of

2. Information sources and the use of media – 11 July 2012
The Mapping Digital Media project
In early 2011 the Open Society Foundation (OSF)
launched the Mapping Digital Media project to examine
the global opportunities and risks created by the
transition from traditional to digital media.
Among the 60 countries in the study, the situation in
Italy was analysed in a detailed report published in
October 2011.
Thanks to funding from OSF quattrogatti.info has
developed a series of slide-shows and videos
highlighting key aspects of this report as well as new
data and analysis.
In this first presentation we concentrate on the use of media
and the main information sources in Italy.
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3. Information sources and the use of media – 11 July 2012
The most used media in Italy and Europe
People who at least once a week… According to Eurobarometer
100%
97% 96% data, television is the most
90%
EU 27 Italy
used media both in Italy and
80%
Europe, where almost
76%
70%
71% everybody watches it at least
60%
61% 62% 64%
61%1
once a week.
50%
40% Italians, however, use other
30%
media less than the European
average, especially radio.
20%
10%
The use of the Internet in
0%
Italy appears to have reached
watch television read newspapers listen to the browse the
radio internet the same level as newspapers
Source: Eurobarometre76, November 2011 and radio1.
1. NB: The Eurobarometer data on internet use in Italy should be used with
caution because it diverges from other official sources (Eurostat and Istat)
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which indicate a lower level of habitual users (51% of the population).

4. Information sources and the use of media – 11 July 2012
Internet does not replace other media
As the graph shows and as Censis stresses, «in digital society new media
do not substitute old ones», but are used in addition.
In the last ten years, although internet use has rapidly grown, radio and
newspaper use is stable and TV remains the leader.
People who use...
100%
% of people on the entire population
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
2001 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Television Dailies
Newspapers Radio Internet
Fonte: Author’s graph based on Istat data. NB: the frequency of use for every media is calculated ina different
way. Data for internet and newspapers refer to age 6 and above, while for radio and television age 3 and above.
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Data is missing for 2004.

5. Information sources and the use of media – 11 July 2012
Newspaper reading changes
With online editions, newspaper reading has changed:
while print sales have dropped significantly since 2000, readership
(including online) has increased.
7000 25
Sales* and readers** of daily newspapers This data shows
Readers 23 that newspapers’
6500
21
crisis affects
6000
print
19
editions, but not
5500
17 the newspaper
Sales market as a
15
5000
whole, because
13
there is no lack
4500 11 of readers.
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Vendite medie giornaliere (asse sinistro, copie x1000)
Average daily sales (left axis, x1000)
Lettori nelagiornoaverage net of dell'incremento della popolazione millions)
Readers day, media al netto population increase (right axis, (asse destro, milioni)
* Source: Fieg, ‘La Stampa in Italia 2008-2010’, April 2011 www.quattrogatti.info
** Source: Author’s graph based on Audipress data, in Fieg, ‘La Stampa in Italia 2008-2010’, April 2011

6. Information sources and the use of media – 11 July 2012
Sources of information: TV dominates…
The primary source of information for Italians is TV:
7 people out of 10 gain their information mainly through TV2.
80%
Where do you get most of your news
70% on national political matters? Firstly? TV is also the
71%
% of people on the entire population
Source: Eurobarometer 76, November 2011
main source of
60% 64%
EU 27
UE 27 Italia
Italy information in
50% the rest of
40% Europe, but
Europeans use
30%
newspapers,
20% radio and
10%
internet more
12% 11%
10%
8% 7% than italians.
0%
4%
Television Newspapers Radio Internet
Televisione Giornali Radio Internet
2. When survey respondents list more than one source of information, the overall picture is more
balanced, with newspapers still playing an important role (see data by Eurobarometer 76, November
2011, and AGCOM, Annual Report 2011).
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7. Information sources and the use of media – 11 July 2012
TV and radio news
At a more detailed level, Censis data shows that 8 Italians out of 10 gain their
information through TV news bulletins and more than half through radio news.
90%
The most used sources of information in Italy (2011)
80%
% of people on the entire population
Notwithstanding digital Search engines
70% media, teletext services by Rai play a key role as
and Mediaset are still very information filters
60%
much used by Italian citizens. on the internet.
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Source: Censis, Nono rapporto sulla comunicazione, 2011
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8. Information sources and the use of media – 11 July 2012
Adverstising revenues
Finally, if we consider the distribution of advertising – the main source of
revenuesfor media – it is no surprise that once again TV attracts the highest
investments.
While investments in other media have decreased, advertising on internet
continued to grow even in 2009.
Advertising investments in Italy
5000
The overall
4500
4000
volume of
3500 advertising
online,
Millions of euros
3000
2500
however, is still
2000
1500
significantly
1000 lower than that
500 of TV and
0
2006 2007 2008 2009
newspapers.
Televisione
Television Stampa
Press Radio Internet Other
Altro
Source: Agcom (Annual reports 2007, 2008, 2009 e 2010), Nielsen data www.quattrogatti.info

9. Information sources and the use of media – 11 July 2012
Advertising revenues: Mediaset dominates
Advertising investments in Italy in 2010
In 2010 TV attracted (Total revenues: 9635 millions of euros)
approximately 45% of all
Other
advertising investments 11% TV -
in Italy, while Mediaset
25%
Internet, with 10% Internet
10%
revenue, overtook radio.
Radio
Mediaset alone dominated 6%
with 25% of all advertising TV - RAI
Print - 10%
investments in Italy in Magazines
2010, more than the whole 13%
TV -
print-news sector 3. Print -
Others
10%
Dailies
15%
Source: Agcom, annual report 2011.
3. Latest 2012 data shows however a decrease in NB: The data in this graph cannot be compared with data in the previous
Mediaset’s revenues, partially due to the fact that Silvio slide because Agcom changed its methodology in 2010.
Berlusconi, Mediaset’s owner, is no longer Prime
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Minister, as the Economist states.

10. Information sources and the use of media – 11 July 2012
Television audience: the duopoly
The dominance of television is made more problematic because the Italian
television market is characterised by the two media giants Rai and Mediaset.
Despite the ascent of Sky and decreasing viewer figures, Auditel data show that at
the beginning of 2011 the two companies commanded between them almost 80%
of audience shares.
Average annual audience share (2000-2011)
In March 2011
the sum of Rai
and Mediaset
audiences equals
almost 80% of
total shares.
Other terrestrial Sky/Other satellite
televisions televisions
Source: Agcom, annual report 2011, Auditel data www.quattrogatti.info

11. Information sources and the use of media – 11 July 2012
Print readership: more pluralism
The most read national and multi-regional dailies in Italy*
There is no similar (number of readers, average day)
concentration in print IL FATTO
QUOTIDIANO –
media. 562,000
Altri
IL SECOLO XIX
La Repubblica and 580,000 2.218.000
IL GAZZETTINO LA REPUBBLICA
Corriere della Sera are 653,000 3,511,000
the most read newspapers LA GAZZETTA DEL
MEZZOGIORNO –
in Italy, but together they 698,000
make up only one third of IL GIORNALE
712,000
CORRIERE
DELLA SERA
total readership. 3,353,000
IL SOLE 24 ORE
1,243,000
In addition, national IL RESTO DEL
CARLINO + LA
newspapers are flanked by METRO NAZIONE + IL
1,449,000 GIORNO
numerous regional and 2,553,000
local papers which increase LEGGO LA STAMPA
IL MESSAGGERO
pluralism. 1,503,000 1,649,000 2,225,000
Source: Audipress, 1 trimester 2012
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* NB: Sports newspapers are not included

12. Information sources and the use of media – 11 July 2012
And yet something is changing…
Though the overall picture has not changed radically, digital media are
beginning to shift the balance.
Between 2002 and 2009 the percentage of Italians who gained their
information uniquely through TV has decreased from almost half the
population to 26%3, a shift that suggests a more varied media
consumption4.
In addition, recent data seems to confirm the gradual audience share’s
decline for Rai and Mediaset5. At the same time, tv viewing has
become more fragmented, with new digital channels gaining new
audience at the expense of the two main traditional channels, Rai 1
and Canale 56.
4. See Open Society Foundations, “Mapping Digital Media – Italy”.
5. See also “La Rai esca dal cimitero delle idee”, Il Fatto Quotidiano, 27 July2012.
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6. See “Per Rai e Mediaset annus horribilis”, TV Digital Divide, 3 January 2012

13. Information sources and the use of media – 11 July 2012
Young people use media in a different way
New generations in particular have changed
media use radically.
According to Censis, almost all 14-29 year olds
watch television, but 8 out of 10 of these use
internet as a source of information. Only a third of
them buy newspapers, but two thirds gain news
Clipart by Antoine
trough search engines and Facebook 7.
Young people represent a completely new segment of media consumers:
they still consume a large amount of audiovisual content, but this
consumption increasingly happens on different platforms (such as
pcs, tablets and smart phone) which allow a degree of interaction8.
7. Censis, Nono rapporto sulla comunicazione, 2011.
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8. See Interview to Flavia Barca on TV Digital Divide, 1 May 2012.

14. Information sources and the use of media – 11 July 2012
«TV addicts», for how much longer?
This generational shift, together with the
availability of digital media, suggests a trend
towards an increase in sources of
information among Italians, and a
consequent decrease in dependence on
television.
It is important to stress that the dominance of
television of Italy is not an anomaly in Europe.
The anomaly is the structure of the Italian
television market, still dominated by two
Rielaborazione da rg1024
media giants as we will show more in detail in
the next slide-shows
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15. Information sources and the use of media – 11 July 2012
Useful links
• Open Society Foundation, Mapping Digital Media – Italy
(Report in English / Report in italiano, versione non aggiornata )
• Eurobarometer, Standard Eurobarometer 76, Autumn 2011
• Agcom, Annual report 2011
• Censis, Nono rapporto sulla comunicazione, 2011
• FIEG, La stampa in Italia (2008 – 2010)
• Fondazione Rosselli, Istituto di Economia dei Media (IEM)
XIII Rapporto IEM. Gli investimenti pubblici in comunicazione e cultura in Italia
• Data on the use of the media by Istat:
• TV data by Auditel
• Newspaper data by Audipress
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16. Thanks!
If you appreciated the presentation forward it to your friends
and support our project!
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We thank
Flavia Barca (IEM), Iginio Gagliardone (Oxford University),
Gianpietro Mazzoleni (University of Milan),
and Cristian Vaccari (University of Bologna) for comments.
To contact the authors : info@quattrogatti.info
To participate: partecipa@quattrogatti.info