Although the consumption of information and content in the middle of the quarentene increased, advertising revenue decreased exponentially and in view of this scenario, the Government took action on the matter.
Italy is experiencing a very delicate situation due to the expansion of the coronavirus in the country and although the consumption of news and content increased considerably, advertising investments in the media plummeted.
Against this background, the Italian Government announced a set of measures aimed at giving the industry a break, allowing companies to deduct 30% of all advertising investments for the year 2020 in newspapers and digital media, in addition to local television and radio stations.
"The ads have practically disappeared from the newspapers," Fabrizio Carotti, director general of the Italian Federation of Newspaper Publishers (FIEG), told to El País. "Most of the products that were advertised can no longer be sold and all events are suspended," adds and estimates a drop in advertising of between 25 and 30% in the first half of the year.
The Italian Goverment also included newspapers in the category of essential goods and this new measure will allow them to deduct up to 4,000 euros in costs such as rent, electricity, telephone, internet or home delivery costs.
Kiosks, along with food businesses and pharmacies are the few establishments that remain open in all of Italy because the government considers newspapers and magazines to be a basic necessity that guarantees the right to information.
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