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Canale 5 is an Italian television station of Mediaset network, the media branch of Fininvest (controlled by Silvio Berlusconi's family). Canale 5 has been the first private television network to be founded in Italy in the year 1978 as TeleMilano 58 (it changed its name in 1980) and was offered as a superior alternative to RAI available only to residents of Milano 2, an newer and exclusive housing area of Milano, advertised by Berlusconi as the "place for number ones." It was the first private/commercial channel of Italian TV and is now the most watched private network in the country, beaten only by state-run Rai Uno.

The idea of commercials (known in Italian as "nero" in reference to the black frames needed on the show reels) was revolutionary; the only products on television were shown during RAI's Carosello. But after the Milan Miracle, more people had disposable income and were willing to spend it on the flashy commericals shown during the new, entertainment driven programming of Berlusconi's network. This also brought on the beginning of "neo-television" to Italy, a period marked by entertainment driven programming rather than didatic and uniting a common Italian identity and language as in "paleo-television."

Much of the earliest content came from American televisions shows dubbed over in Italian, a common trait in most Italian television today. These shows often sold the idea of the American Dream, but critics have said the programming also made Italians lose their closeness to family and instead be vapid consumers. Mike Bongiorno, the host of Lascia o Raddoppia?, was also wooed away from RAI to host an early quiz shows on TeleMilano - an important step in building a following of Mediaset's newest channel.

Today Fininvest controls 35% of Mediaset. The logo of Canale 5 is formed by the number five with the head of the biscione (a snake, the ancient symbol of Milan). The difference from the original one is a flower put in his mouth. In 2000 Canale 5 launched Grande Fratello (Big Brother), the first reality show in Italy. This was the beginning of a new era of television marked by the medium of television referring to itself both as an important part of daily life and treated itself as a member of the family or a close friend, sometimes called as "autoreferencia." In 2005 R.I.S. - Delitti Imperfetti was launched, an Italian fiction inspired by Crime Scene Investigation. There are many Italian fictions (loved by the public) and the most famous are: Carabinieri, Distretto di Polizia, R.I.S. - Delitti Imperfetti and Elisa di Rivombrosa.

Mediaset exported its main network, Canale 5, to Spain, naming it Telecinco.

Programs

Variety Shows

Reality shows

Soap operas

Telefilms

Italian fiction

Games

Talk Shows

  • Tutte le mattine
  • Mai dire

News

  • TG5
  • Verissimo
  • Terra!
  • Matrix
  • L'antipatico

Magazine

  • Nonsolomoda
  • Loggione

Sport

  • Controcampo
  • Serie A - il grande calcio

External links

Italian television networks

Canale 5 | Canale 5 | Canale 5

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Canale 5".

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