“He lives by format, Rai continues even without him”

«Amadeus it’s a man format. His farewell is not an irreparable damage.” Giancarlo Leoneformer manager Raisays it with his usual affable and velvety tone, but in the meantime he reduces the general panic that has been generated after the news that the presenter will not renew his contract with Rai to arrive on the screens of Nine (Warner-Discovery Group).

Leone was a Rai columnist from 1983 to 2006. He started by covering Teletext. He was deputy general director, director of Raiuno in the years of Sanremo by Carlo Conti, director of Rai Entertainment and Rai Cinema. Today he is president of the Italian Audiovisual Observatory and CEO of Q10 Media. Few people know as much about television dynamics as he does. Rai says that he will continue even without Amadeus, despite the five glorious years in Sanremo. He says that many have left and then even come back.

What do you think?
«Amadeus’ farewell was a loss. Yes. He is a number one on TV, but let’s not forget that he lives on formats, like Carlo Conti, Paolo Bonolis and Antonella Clerici. There is irreparable and repairable damage. His farewell is part of the seconds. Because it is enough for Rai to find a replacement for the program Affari Tui as it had found for L’Eredità which was then also conducted very well by others (Conti, Frizzi, Liorni etc.)”.
So what goodbyes do you put in the “irreparable damage” category?
«Fabio Fazio was it, Fiorello would be it but he always works on a project basis. Or Roberto Benigni: they are the program, the brand. The others work in the programs.”
But others dream of the ratings that Amadeus achieved in Sanremo.
«He carried out an extraordinary operation, but the modern triumph of the Sanremo Festival was possible thanks to three key steps. First: Paolo Bonolis in 2005 who made him glamorous again. Second: Carlo Conti who conducted three editions of great pace and growth, with a synthetic and fast model. Third: Amadeus, which lasted until two in the morning, inevitably increasing its share. I don’t forget the editions of Fabio Fazio and Gianni Morandi, but there were three stages.”
So, after that, who would you place?
«I wouldn’t talk about names, but about formulas. Closing at half past midnight instead of two in the morning, 20 singers instead of 30. I would focus on the number of viewers: if the program is shorter, they get up. I would postpone the Dopofestival to have advertising coverage until late at night. The other path would be to consolidate Amadeus’ path but I would avoid it so as not to get caught up in the media whirlpools of flop or non-flop”.

Let’s talk about politics. Former Rai general director Agostino Saccà on the pages of Libero stated that Rai has been weakened by politics (Renzi reform) and that it now has few resources to be competitive on the market. Do you agree?
«Rai has a huge problem: the wicked reform that Renzi carried out with his government, which reduced salaries and set ceilings, creating a system of public control in which the government is the shareholder and parliament indicates the councillors. All this strengthened political control. Therefore political responsibility belongs to everyone. This government has been in existence for two years, it has inherited ancient problems but it could intervene. Rai must be taken care of.”
Should the fee be raised?
«It is among the lowest in Europe. Renzi lowered it from 110 euros to 90, giving a share to the government. This executive has lowered it even further. 400 million came out which can be redistributed, or not, with the finance company. This fact that politics can decide or not to reallocate resources is a slap that further strengthens the power in the hands of politicians. In short, reform is needed. Let’s not forget what happened in 2010.”
What happened?
«Until that day, Rai was a joint stock company and had lived very well, then it changed its legal nature. Now it is a public body: this bind forces Rai to follow rules as if it were a ministry, for example in terms of procurement. This is Rai’s great weakness. Competing in this way is difficult, if not impossible.”
Now what should Rai do post Amadeus?
«On the one hand it must strengthen the bench, which has become shorter, on the other it must have the right products, invest in strong formats that work, and this is where the industrial theme comes into play».
There is talk of pressure to place so and so in Sanremo. When you were at the top of state TV, did you receive any hassles from politics? Saccà she told us it never happened to him…
«I received pressure. As deputy general director I received some. And also when I was director of Rai Uno and Rai Cinema. I can say that politics respects those who make themselves respected. Of course he expects favors, you have to have the strength to impose yourself and say no. And above all, it is essential that those who have reached managerial roles are there not because they asked a powerful person to do so.”