RAI scrambles its news programmes

Canadian television station Telelatino can no longer broadcast the Telegiornale newscast

In order to limit the unauthorized use of the RAI International signal by cable and satellite distributors, from July 28 we have been encrypting our signal for North America (NTSC)."
"This measure," explained RAI International vice-director Erasmo Leonetti in a communiqué, "will also affect Telelatino, which for close to one year has been broadcasting our 8pm TG1 newscast without a contract and defying RAI's requests to avoid any editing and advertising."
This means that Telelatino has had to drop Telegiornale, RAI's daily newscast "This is the real discrimination," claimed TLN President Aldo Di Felice, who entrusted host Roberto Zito a program titled Rai Canada, broadcast in the same time slot as the old Telegiornale where he restates the station's position.
In a recent press release, TLN remarked, "after over 20 years on air, RAI programmes are not being broadcast on Telelatino anymore. This 'Canadian crisis' wasn't caused by the CRTC nor by Telelatino, but by RAI International's management."
"Until September 2003," continued the communiqué, "Telelatino carried over 3,000 hours of RAI programmes a year. Then TLN relented to RAI International pressure and stopped broadcasting RAI programs, except for a daily newscast, TG1, aired at 8 p.m. in Italy.
"This week, RAI International took even that newscast away from TLN. Only in a 'Machiavellian [sic] nightmare' one can believe that all this is done to favour the interests of Italian-Canadians.
"Telelatino regrets that the current management of RAI International continues to politicize this issue instead of taking this opportunity for a concrete dialogue among the parties."
"Telelatino hopes that the management of RAI International will reconsider its strategy, stop withholding RAI programs from TLN, and will start implementing the agreements reached four years ago for the launch of RAI Canada, a channel with 20 hours a day of RAI programmes," concluded the communiqué. "With RAI International's co-operation, this channel could be launched within a very short time, benefiting the whole Italian-Canadian community."
Apparently, over the last few weeks Telelatino tried to obtain permission to broadcast TG1, but got a counter-offer detailed in Leonetti's note. "In regard to Telelatino's recent request to clarify the situation, given that TG1 of 8 p.m. is already being broadcast, in compliance with a legal contract, by Toronto's OMNI TV, RAI International confirmed the availability of TG2 of 1 p.m., at the same conditions originally applied to TG1."
"This offer came too late, and anyway it would deprive Canadian watchers of what they really want, i.e. TG1," responded Di Felice, whose station, when broadcasting RAI International, rotated between TG1, TG2 and TG3.
In his broadcast, Roberto Zito also said, "in the last few years we paid over $10 million to RAI." Asked about how many years he was talking about, Telelatino did not answer. However, according to information obtained by Corriere Canadese, up until recently TLN was paying RAI US$35,000 a month for 10 months, and US$25,000 a month for the remaining two; overall, $400,000 (about CDN $600,000) a year.
Dividing this amount by the 3,000 hours of RAI programmes, one finds that TLN was paying RAI $200 (CDN) per hour, where, as Roberto Zito explained, TLN inserted 12 minutes of paid advertising.

Publication Date: 2004-08-08
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=4259