Sky top in troubled Italian market

Pay TV company Sky Italia has become Italy’s top broadcaster by revenue after rival Mediaset posted a drop of 13.2%.

In its annual report, the country’s media regulator AgCom said that while 21st Century Fox-owned Sky saw revenue drop 1.4% to €2.63bn (US$3.36bn) during 2012/13, Mediaset’s revenue now stood at just €2.48bn.

Sky has enjoyed success with local adaptations of international formats including The X Factor, MasterChef and The Apprentice.

However, Mediaset, which is owned by former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, remained top according to viewership figures and advertising revenue.

Italy’s media sector as a whole, including broadcasters, radio and publishing companies (on- and offline), was down for a third year in a row, with revenue contracting by nearly 10% to €15.7bn.

AgCom, which placed pubcaster Rai top of the free-to-air TV sector, said the decline was due to Italy’s shrinking economy and a reduction in ad revenue.

Andrea Zappia, CEO of Sky Italia, said: “The industry is going through pivotal changes, with the continuous arrival of new entrants, therefore we need to have the courage to look at it from a long-term perspective. We need new rules, the same rules for all, based on a technologically neutral approach that puts the client at the centre.

“Sky was rewarded by his subscribers for its investments in both technology and content despite the difficult economic situation – investments that support the Italian audio-visual industry along with the country’s talent and creativity.”