For private television broadcasters, today, May 9th, is certainly a historic day. The Medianordest network, leader in the North-East with the local televisions Antenna Tre Nordest, Rete Veneta, Telenordest, Telequattro and Tv 12, has in fact acquired 21.71% in Mediapason spa, itself a leader in the North-West, with the local televisions Telelombardia, Antenna Tre, Top Calcio 24, Milanow and Videogruppo. Thus a group of ten broadcasters was formed, with coverage ranging from Turin and Trieste, with the ambition of wanting to dominate the sector throughout Northern Italy.
The operation, as explained in a note released by Ansa, is “conducted in full harmony and with mutual enthusiasm by the managements of the two companies”, aims to “consolidate leadership in the local broadcasting sector, significantly extending the influence and the range of action on the two main Italian demographic areas, Nielsen 1 and Nielsen 2″. With this acquisition, Medianordest and Mediapason spa consolidate their presence on the market and also establish a collaboration model in terms of content, technology and market strategies that could define the future of local broadcasting in Italy”. Medianordest (with 107 employees of which 43 journalists) and Mediapason (with 121 employees of which 42 journalists), in their respective areas have an audience share of 60% of all local regional TV stations that provide minute-by-minute Auditel data. The sector, it is underlined, has recorded , “over the last 10 years, an increase in its overall audience share, despite the increase in competition from national and OTT broadcasters, confirming the solidity of the distinctive success factors of quality regional TV”.
