AUDIOVISUAL INDUSTRY: REFORM IN ITALY IS "MADE TO MEASURE" FOR BERLUSCONI.

The proposal also lets a single company accumulate up to 20% of the earnings of the entire communications market: royalties, subscriptions, national or local advertising and sponsorship. It also paves the way to partial privatisation of RAI, Italys public television, from 2005 and, from 2009, authorises a single group to operate as a multi-media undertaking (television, radio, press). One hundred fifty-five Senators voted for the reform and 128 against. None abstained. The Senate has 315 Members and the governing coalition headed by Mr Berlusconi has a majority of 177 seats.

The reform, officially intended to prepare Italy for the switchover in 2007 to terrestrial digital TV, which will make some 140 channels available via terrestrial broadcasting, is denounced by the opposition as being "made to measure" for Mr Berlusconi. The oppositions last slim hope is that President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi will refuse to sign the bill if he finds it unconstitutional and send it back to Parliament.

The owner of three television stations, an advertising business and a publishing firm, all big money makers, Mr Berlusconi is currently the countrys only audiovisual operator in a position to turn the reform to his advantage. Mediaset shares jumped 3% upon adoption of the draft reform on October 2, moreover. As further proof of Mr Berlusconis interest in seeing the Gasparri bill signed into law speedily, the government decided not to modify through legislative channels an amendment to which it is nevertheless opposed, which bans appearances by children in TV advertising, the case of one ad in three at present. This provision was passed by the House on October 1 thanks to the votes of a number of Members of the ruling coalition. But the government did not try to get it repealed in the Senate, which would have obliged the bill to go back to the House again. It plans simply to delete the provision later via a decree-law.

Television scene is highly concentrated

The Italian television scene can be described as a duopoly between the private group Mediaset and the State-owned RAI, whose Board of Directors is...