Name | Rai 3 |
Category | General |
Country | Italy |
Rai 3 (until May 2010 Rai Tre) is the third Italian television program, which belongs to the public service Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI). The broadcast began on 15 December 1979 (at that time rete 3 ("Network 3") of the RAI). The audience's success was low at the beginning. The initial focus was on cultural topics, analogous to the 3rd radio program radio 3 of the RAI. Under the leadership of Angelo Guglielmi and Alessandro Curzi (PCI member) at the time, the program developed politically to the left in 1987, which earned it the nickname Telekabul (in allusion to then-communist Afghanistan).
Trade union issues and reports of strikes were frequent topics in the news. During this time, the RAI 1 program tended to be considered a mouthpiece of the Democrazia Cristiana (and the Catholic Church); RAI 2 tended to be considered PSI-friendly. Some RAI 3 broadcasts addressed controversial topics as part of investigative journalism. in 1999 there was a restructuring of the program; the political orientation to the left weakened significantly.
Rai Tre is the only Rai television channel that offers local coverage tailored to the Italian regions (comparable to the German federal states). The focus (as of 2006) is also on educational programs, sports broadcasts as well as talk and quiz shows. During a live interview during the 2006 election campaign, Silvio Berlusconi called the channel a "channel infiltrated by the left" and a "war machine" that was targeting him and his government. Throughout Europe, the program (like the other RAI programs) can be received unencrypted via the Hotbird satellite with a receiver.