Italy could privatize part of public television RAI

The Italian Minister of Economy, Giancarlo Giorgetti, has expressed the possibility of privatizing part of public television and radio, RAI, which are not intended for public service. "Privatizing Rai? Regarding the top management, the MEF is reasoning on the basis of legislation that we did not make, the left challenges what they did,” Giorgetti said in response to a question during a press conference following the last council of ministers before the start of the summer vacations.

Giorgetti added: “We need to understand what is meant by public service, then we can evaluate the hypotheses. If the law tells me that Rai does public service, such will remain the company. However, if RAI performs activities that are not considered public service, we could consider the possibility of partial privatization."

For some weeks now, rumors have been circulating in some media that the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, could be considering the privatization of public television. According to Italian newspaper Il Messaggero, the idea would be to sell a stake to private investors, while maintaining public control. This measure would be motivated by the need to increase RAI's independence and reduce political control, as well as to obtain financial resources for the next State Budget.