Rai Italia Radio

Rai Internazionale Radio

Type	Radio network
Country	Italy
Availability	International
Owner	RAI through Rai Internazionale
Key people	Maurizio Imbriale (Head of the Rai International Internet project)
Launch date	July 1, 1930
Official website

Rai Internazionale Radio, formerly known as Rai Italia Radio, Rai International Radio, Rai Satelradio and Raitalia Radio, was the official international broadcast radio service of Rai Internazionale, a subsidiary owned by RAI, Italy's public broadcaster.

History

Rai Internazionale Radio has been broadcasting from Rome to the rest of the world for the past 72 years under various names.

In the 1930s Italy was one of the first countries to begin international shortwave broadcasts. Guglielmo Marconi, the man who invented radio, oversaw the construction of the first short-wave transmitter at Prato Smeraldo outside Rome on July 1, 1930. Four years later two more transmitters were completed and broadcasts began in English and Italian to North America. In 1935 broadcasting of programmes in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish began to South America.

In 1939, after the completion of six new transmitters, programmes in English were beamed to the Far East, Europe and countries around the Mediterranean. It is from the short-wave radio centre at Rome-Prato Smeraldo that all Rai International's programmes are broadcast.

During the Second World War to the original aim of linking Italy with the vast community of Italian migrants around the world were added the political and strategic motives for international broadcasting common to all the Great Powers, beginning with the former colonial nations: France, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, the Soviet Union and the United States. After Italy entered the war short-wave broadcasts were suspended following the armistice signed with the Allies on September 8, 1943, and were only resumed on September 3, 1946, with the broadcast of news bulletins in English, Italian, French, Portuguese and Spanish.

A 1962 law allocated management of international short-wave broadcasts, for which a special committee of the Cabinet Office is responsible, to state broadcaster Rai. As the years went by the programmes lost their character of official - sometimes even propaganda - broadcasts to become a news source that fully reflects the democratic nature of the Italian Republic. Today Radio Roma offers a comprehensive news service on Italian politics, society and culture, not least within the context of the European Union.

In 1975 the setting up of a special management section for foreign broadcasting and journalism laid the foundations for significant development of the sector. Subsequently the existing services for foreign broadcasting were expanded to include Rai International's new intercontinental television channels. In the near future Rai International is destined to be transformed into an autonomous company within state broadcaster Rai.

Last broadcasts

Each day Rai Internazionale's editorial team turned out ten editions of "Italia chiama Italia News" in Italian: this 25-minute news programme was designed for Italian listeners throughout the world.

The editorial team also produced "Racconto Italiano, Taccuino Italiano, Tutto di Prima and Storia e Storie

In many countries it was possible to receive several Rai Internazionale programmes or the entire programme schedule of Rai Internazionale through local radio stations that re-transmit the signal in their own zone, on AM, FM, short wave or via cable.

On October 1, 2007, all broadcasts on short wave were discontinued and foreign language services were closed. On December 31, 2011 Rai Internazionale Radio closed down its operations.

English news were transmitted as part of "Notturno Italiano" programme on medium wave until December 31, 2011.

Rai Internazionale Radio

Rai Internazionale Radio transmitted its channel online and on satellite, 24 hours. Thus the radio and news programmes produced by RAI was available to worldwide without any special technical devices (apart from a computer and Internet connection). Rai Internazionale Radio has broadcast the best of Rai International Radio and the three Radio Rai networks daily, 24 hours. Music, information and entertainment programmes, until its closing down on December 31, 2011.

Comparison

**Estimated total direct programme hours per week of some external radio broadcasters for 1996**
Broadcaster	1950	1960	1970	1980	1990	1996^[2]
VOA, RFE/RL & Radio Martí	497	1,495	1,907	1,901	2,611	1,821
China Radio International	66	687	1,267	1,350	1,515	1,620
BBC World Service	643	589	723	719	796	1,036
Radio Moscow / Voice of Russia^[1]^[3]	533	1,015	1,908	2,094	1,876	726
Deutsche Welle	0	315	779	804	848	655
Radio Cairo (ERTU)	0	301	540	546	605	604
IRIB World Service / Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran	12	24	155	175	400	575
All India Radio	116	157	271	389	456	500
NHK World Radio Japan	0	203	259	259	343	468
Radio France Internationale	198	326	200	125	379	459
Radio Netherlands Worldwide^[1]	127	178	335	289	323	392
Israel Radio International^[1]	0	91	158	210	253	365
Voice of Turkey	40	77	88	199	322	364
Radio Pyongyang / Voice of Korea	0	159	330	597	534	364
Radio Bulgaria^[1]	30	117	164	236	320	338
Radio Australia	181	257	350	333	330	307
Radio Tirana (RTSH)	26	63	487	560	451	303
Radio Romania International	30	159	185	198	199	298
Radio Exterior de España^[5]	68	202	251	239	403	270
RDP Internacional^[1]	46	133	295	214	203	226
Radio Havana Cuba	0	0	320	424	352	203
Rai Italia Radio^[1]	170	205	165	169	181	203
Radio Canada International^[1]	85	80	98	134	195	175
Radio Polonia^[1]	131	232	334	337	292	171
Radio RSA / Channel Africa	0	63	150	183	156	159
Sveriges Radio International^[1]	28	114	140	155	167	149
Magyar Rádió^[1]	76	120	105	127	102	144
Radio Prague^[4]	119	196	202	255	131	131
Voice of Nigeria	0	0	62	170	120	127
Radio Belgrade / International Radio of Serbia	80	70	76	72	96	68

Source: International Broadcast Audience Research, June 1996

The list includes about a quarter of the world's external broadcasters whose output is both publicly funded and worldwide. Among those excluded are Taiwan, Vietnam, South Korea and various international commercial and religious stations.

Notes:

Does not broadcast on shortwave as of 2014.

1996 figures as at June; all other years as at December.

Before 1991, broadcasting for the former USSR.

Before 1996, broadcasting for the former Czechoslovakia.

REE ceased all shortwave broadcasts in October 2014 but announced in December that it would resume shortwave transmission in Spanish only for four hours a day in order to accommodate Spanish fishing trawlers who were otherwise unable to receive REE at sea.

External links