Canale 5

Canale 5 is an Italian free-to-air television channel of Mediaset, owned by MFE - MediaForEurope. It was the first private television network to have national coverage in Italy in 1980. On 4 December 2012, Mediaset launched Canale 5 HD, a simulcast of Canale 5 in high-definition. The channel is aimed at a primarily adult audience, offering, mainly, entertainment, movies and TV series. Since January 2013, Canale 5 has been directed by Giancarlo Scheri.

1970s
In 1974 in Milano 2, a satellite city built by Silvio Berlusconi, Giacomo Properzj and Alceo Moretti, the private cable television station Telemilanocavo was founded, whose transmissions began on 24 September. The channel was able to broadcast via cable after a verdict of the Constitutional Court in July of that year, which liberalised regulations pertaining to this type of television broadcasting. Approximately 5,000 households were connected to the cable system, which corresponded to ca. 20,000 viewers.

Then, following the liberalization of terrestrial local broadcasting, many other television stations were founded and competition, causing a drop in revenues, led the owners to sell the station in 1976 for the symbolic price of one lira to a company of the Berlusconi group, based in a basement of an apartment building near the Palazzo dei Cigni, also condoning the unpaid rent.

With the transition from cable to terreatrial, Telemilanocavo moved its studios to the Palazzo dei Cigni and became Telemilano 58, from the name of the UHF channel frequency used and taken over by the local broadcaster TVI Television International of Milan, with a system in Hotel Michelangelo. At the same time, technical investments were made with the alliance of an entrepreneur specialized in the production of equipment for the reception of television signals, Adriano Galliani, who assumed an important role in the production of the broadcaster's television equipment. Success came in the 1979-1980 season with several broadcasts conducted, among others, by Mike Bongiorno, Claudio Lippi, Claudio Cecchetto and I Gatti di Vicolo Miracoli.

On 23 February 1979, the trademark "Canale 5" was registered in Milan. A few months later, on 12 November, the trademark "Canale 5 Music Srl" was also registered in the same city. The name was chosen by Berlusconi with Adriano Galliani "for a matter of euphony" but also because a local name like that of Telemilano was starting to feel tight for a broadcaster that aspired to become a major national television network. In this period Berlusconi bought several local private broadcasters scattered throughout Italy: the idea of the "pizzone" (the shipment of pre-recorded videotapes from one broadcaster to another) emerged after Berlusconi bought Tele Torino International from FIAT.

1980s
On 10 January 1980, Silvio Berlusconi and Mike Bongiorno held a press conference in the Telemilano studios. With a view to create a national network, Berlusconi agrees with about 50 private broadcasters (even those not owned by him) scattered throughout Italy, to broadcast the same programmes at the same time on all stations. The experiment officially begins with the game show I sogni nel casetto (Dreams in the Drawer), hosted by Mike Bongiorno and produced by Reteitalia. The game show, together with other Reteitalia productions, would have largely positive audience results, also thanks to the "pizzone" technique, thanks to which Reteitalia's productions were broadcast nationwide.

Thus began, in this period, the broadcasts of Canale 5 as a network at an extra-regional level throughout the north. In the centre-south, the network was called Canale 10 and had the same programming, logo and ownership as Canale 5. In Lombardy, programming covered the whole day, while in the other regions, it could be broadcast starting in the late morning or only in the evening thanks to the interconnection with the local broadcasters associated with the circuit.

On 11 November 1980, the Canale 5 logo definitively replaced that of Canale 10 also in the center-south; is the official start date of transmissions of the national network of Canale 5. The opening and closing theme of the programmes began with the song Rondò veneziano by Gian Piero Reverberi chosen by Berlusconi under the advice of Freddy Naggiar of Baby Records.

The first sporting event of great interest broadcast was the Mundialito (from 30 December 1980 to 10 January 1981), a football tournament held in Uruguay to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first edition of the World Cup. Reteitalia secured the European television rights but then sold them to Rai and in exchange was able to broadcast the matches of the tournament, except those of the national team and the final, live in Lombardy and delayed in the other Italian regions. The matches reached an audience of eight million viewers.

In 1981 Canale 5 obtained legal recognition as a unitary circuit that broadcast over the following stations:
 * 1) Telemilano 58 (Lombardia);
 * 2) Tele Emilia-Romagna (Emilia-Romagna);
 * 3) Tele Torino International (Piemonte);
 * 4) Video Adige (Trentino-Alto Adige);
 * 5) Video Veneto (Veneto);
 * 6) A&G Television (Liguria);
 * 7) Tele Toscana 1 and Teleamiata (Toscana);
 * 8) Videoumbria (Umbria);
 * 9) Roma TV (Lazio);
 * 10) Sole TV (Abruzzo);
 * 11) Ischia TV (Campania);
 * 12) Puglia TV (Puglia);
 * 13) Tele Calabria 1 (Calabria);
 * 14) TVR and Tele Monte Lauro (Sicilia);
 * 15) Sardegna TV (Sardegna).

The companies related to these stations were then absorbed by the Canale 5 SpA company in 1990.

In 1981, the first variety show produced on its own by Fininvest was created, the show Hello Goggi hosted by Loretta Goggi. Although Mike Bongiorno had already hosted some successful programmes on Canale 5, Loretta Goggi is the first Rai personality to leave public TV to work on Canale 5, as well as the first woman. However, the programme did not get the ratings it expected, due to the network's inexperience in the production and creation of variety shows and the lack of live coverage, then reserved for Rai and local broadcasters.

With Buongiorno Italia presented by Marco Columbro and Antonella Vianini, the broadcasts were also extended to the morning and around 8 pm, even if Canale 5 did not have a newscast due to the lack of live coverage, an information programme called Canale 5 News - Speciale was broadcast.

Furthermore, in 1981 Canale 5 bought the rights to broadcast the American soap opera Dallas, which in the following years was the protagonist of a true "audience war" against Dynasty of Mondadori's competitor Rete 4.

In the early 1980s Canale 5 also broadcast container programmes such as Pomeriggio con Five and Okay, dedicated to American and European cartoons and Japanese anime.

Between 1980 and 1981, however, advertising revenues went from 13 to 75 billion lire. There were 6,000 hours of cinema in the network's film warehouse.

Between September and December 1981, the average daily audience was 1,400,000, equal to 10% of the total, while in 1983 the percentage rose to 13%. The advertising turnover was 110 billion, equal to 20% of the total. From 1982, after Loretta Goggi and Mike Bongiorno, many other Italian television personalities from Rai signed a contract with Fininvest such as Corrado, who led to the debut of the morning quiz Il pranzo è servito, which inaugurated the noon time slot, and the Sandra Mondaini and Raimondo Vianello couple, who presented the variety show Attenti a noi due. In 1982 the Speciale Canale 5 - News segment changed its name to Canale 5 News and began to be broadcast in the late evening slot. In 1983, the evening television audience amounted to over 8 million, equal to almost 30% of the total; in 1984, according to the ISTEL survey, they exceeded 9 million, equal to 33%.

Among the successes of the period are the television series Dallas and The Thorn Birds, both with 15 million viewers, and the afternoon schedule was filled with American series and soap operas while the morning schedule with quizzes and game shows such as Encore, hosted by Mike Bongiorno.

In 1982 Fininvest bought Italia 1 from Edilio Rusconi and made it its second network. Later, in 1984, it also took over Rete 4 from Mondadori; following this, some programmes first seen on Rete 4 moved to Canale 5, such as the Maurizio Costanzo Show, which would be broadcast for over twenty years, and also Nonsolomoda.

In October 1984, the National Independent Radio Association filed a complaint against Fininvest which in fact violated the law on the radio and television monopoly; subsequently, the group's three networks were shut down in the Lazio, Abruzzo and Piedmont regions, but the Craxi I Government intervened, issuing a decree-law later known as the Berlusconi Decree (which legalized national broadcasting over the air, including by private radio and television broadcasters), repealed the Rai monopoly law. A few days before the blackout, Canale 5 began to offer a schedule based on information, with new programmes conducted by Arrigo Levi, Guglielmo Zucconi, Giorgio Bocca and Peter Nichols: due to the blackout, the debut of all these broadcasts took place in December.

In 1985 programmes such as Buona Domenica and Forum made their debut, which would become the longest-running programme on the Mediaset networks.

In 1987, Canale 5 achieved a historic record: the prime-time premiere of the film The Woman in Red on 14 January, was followed by almost 13 million viewers, reaching over 48% share. Also in 1987, Caffelatte was founded, a container of cartoons, which would then move to Italia 1 the following year.

1990s
Following the Mammì law of 1990, Canale 5 (together with Italia 1 and Rete 4) obtained the authorization to broadcast live nationally; the direction was assigned in 1991 to Giorgio Gori. The first live broadcasts on the network are Cos'è cos'è, conducted by Jocelyn Hattab, Non è la Rai, directed by Gianni Boncompagni and Buona Domenica which in this period finally managed to beat Domenica in, broadcast on Rai 1 in the same slot. However, the programming is similar to the previous decade, with morning and early evening quizzes such as Tutti x uno and La Ruota della Fortuna, which became the most watched programme in that time slot for the entire first half of the nineties. Furthermore, Striscia la Notizia came from Italia 1, which enjoyed enormous success and is still broadcast in the prime access slot of the network. The program will then act as a "driving force" for TG5, which had its first edition on January 13, 1992, under the direction of Enrico Mentana.

Some programmes launched on Italia 1 are promoted on Canale 5, such as Paperissima - Errori in TV and Scherzi a parte.

There was no shortage of programmes for children and teenagers, such as Bim Bum Bam, broadcast from 1991 to 1997 (previously on air and then returned to Italia 1), every afternoon, within which American cartoons, Japanese anime and live-action TV series were broadcast for children; in the 1993/94 season A tutto Disney was also aired, replacing Bim Bum Bam (for this season airing only from Monday to Friday) on Saturday afternoons and offering classic Disney cartoons interspersed with segments and games with Irene Ferri and Riccardo Rossi. However, the programme is little appreciated and was cancelled and replaced by the fortunate Bim Bum Bam which will also return to air on Saturdays.

In April 1996, Fininvest 's television activities were brought together under the Mediaset brand.

During this period the Canale 5 schedule was based on self-produced TV series and programmes such as Ore 12, Stranamore, Beato tra le donne and Tira & Molla.

2000s
In 2000 reality shows arrived in Italy with Grande Fratello which obtained excellent results reaching 16 million viewers for the final of the program, and which during the season saw numerous controversies. Other programmes destined for a long life also make their debut, C'è posta per te with Maria De Filippi and Chi vuol essere millionario?, with Gerry Scotti. Striscia la Notizia, thanks to its success and the consequent greater demand for advertisements, extends its duration. Other hits of the period are Stranamore and La Corrida.

Otherwise, the programming is still similar to the previous decade, containing self-produced TV series such as Carabinieri and District of Police as well as programmes such as Ciao Darwin and Zelig.

On 22 May 2001, in conjunction with the Notte dei Telegatti, Canale 5 renewed its graphic layout, presenting a stylized version of the logo. This new logo appears for the first time after the end of the episode of Striscia la Notizia and at the same time as the usual announcement of Fiorella Pierobon's prime time. On the same day, The Sopranos premiered.

In November 2004 Enrico Mentana left the direction of TG5 to Carlo Rossella and then to Clemente Mimun on 3 July 2007.

2010s
During this period, all the network's programmes are reconfirmed, both on weekdays and on holidays, with no change in hosting. The only significant change is the move from Italia 1 of the late evening broadcast Chiambretti Night, hosted by Piero Chiambretti and promoted to the flagship network Mediaset due to the satisfactory ratings data, which flanks Matrix and, during the broadcasting period of the reality show, Mai dire Big Brother.

On 19 September 2012, Canale 5 proposed the first Champions League match in HD on 506 of terrestrial television channel on Mediaset HD, which temporarily replaced the high definition version of Italia 1.

On 5 December 2012, Canale 5 HD was activated on mux La3 visible throughout Italy with the exception of northwestern Tuscany, where the Monte Serra transmitting centre has switched off the multiplex for interference.

On 16 April 2018, the logo and graphic design were renewed ahead of the 2018 World Cup broadcast on the Mediaset networks. The same rebrand also applies to TG5.

2020s
The channel secured the 2021-2024 rights cycle for the Coppa Italia, starting from the round of 16.

Carriage
Since 2003, the channel is also free of charge in digital terrestrial areas in areas covered by Mediaset 2 and Mediaset 4 mux, and from 26 November 2010 also in the areas covered by the Mediaset 6 mux through the deferred version of one hour Canale 5 +1, Transferred from 11 July 2011 on mux Mediaset 5.

It was also available until 11 July 2011, in high definition (though forced) Canale 5 HD in regions where transition to digital terrestrial switch-off occurred and reached by mux Mediaset 6. From the end of July, the high-definition channel has been re-activated on mux Mediaset 6 and is only visible in Sardinia.

Anyone who has a set top box or MHP (Multimedia Home Platform) television can enjoy the interactive features included in the broadcaster's signal (interactive TV), called Canale 5 Plus.

On 12 May 2009, with the movie Remembered for Me, for the first time, Canale 5 broadcast at 16:9; Transmissions and new format are made exclusively via the digital terrestrial signal. From 1 November of the same year, the advertising space, promo and bumper of the Mediaset networks are also broadcast.

On analogue television (with a definitive broadcast date on 4 July 2012) and on satellite signal (until 18 July 2012), the events were transmitted in 4: 3 format with letterbox format. Furthermore, the original language of the digital terrestrial audio track was not and still is not possible.

Since 1 October 2009, in the satellite broadcast, Canale 5's entire programming has been coded in Mediaguard 2 (a system used previously for service by Mediaset networks to encrypt foreign broadcasts) and Nagravision: Full use of the issuer is only possible using a Tivùsat smart card.

Mediaset always has Hotbird 13 ° E of service frequencies to power terrestrial DTT / DVB-H repeaters (transmitted in a professional mode with dedicated equipment, so it can not be tuned by the end-user) only sporadically in case of testing you can receive from the standard DVB-S2 decoders. In these frequencies there are all Mediaset channels present on digital terrestrial but still encrypted on satellite.

To continue providing service to non-card users, a second satellite frequency has been activated from the same date (the channel identifier is capitalized) on which you can continue to receive the signal clear: Which do not hold foreigners' rights, however, are obscured by an information notice where users are invited to have a Tivùsat decoder.

Programming
Canale 5 has always been the flagship channel of Mediaset, in correspondence with Rai 1: for this reason the programming varies from major events (Film Festival, New Year's Eve, Christmas concert) to information, insight and entertainment. Youth programmes Live-action Animated series The channel airs movies and soap operas, including Acacias 38 and The Baker and the Beauty.
 * TG5, newscast.
 * Amici di Maria De Filippi, talent show with Maria de Filippi.
 * Avanti un altro!, game show with Paolo Bonolis.
 * Caduta libera (Italian version of La'uf al HaMillion, game show) with Gerry Scotti.
 * C'è posta per Te, people show with Maria de Filippi.
 * Forum, judicial show with Barbara Palombelli.
 * Mattino Cinque, news show with Federica Panicucci and Francesco Vecchi.
 * Pomeriggio Cinque, news show with Barbara D'Urso
 * Tu si que vales, talent show.
 * Uomini e donne, reality show and talk show with Maria de Filippi
 * Striscia la notizia
 * New Amsterdam
 * Bim Bum Bam
 * Laverne & Shirley
 * Married... with Children
 * Roseanne
 * Miracle Girls
 * Sailor Moon

Like Rai 1, the Holy Mass is transmitted on Sundays at 10.00 AM.

Canale 5 Plus
It is the channel's interactive television service on DTT. It provides access to current news, weather forecasts, programming guides and games coded in Mhp.

In 2006, during the summer an app was launched that the users to watch Mediaset's archive television series such as Odiens, La sai l'ultima? and Il pranzo è servito.

Logo history
The current logo of the network is a 5 overlapped by the stylized head of Biscione (a reference to the Visconti family and the city of Milan), from whose mouth, unlike the original, comes out a flower. There is also a second interpretation, according to which the queue of the Biscione is placed at five (even if the 5 is written with a typographical font).

Announcers
In the past, Canale 5 had a mistress good evening.

The first announcer of the network was Eleonora Brigliadori, who was active from September 1980 to May 1984.

After that, Fiorella Pierobon, who was the longest advertiser of the network, was active for 19 years, from May 1984 to June 2003 (previously Pierobon was Italia 1's announcer).

In June 2003, Pierobon, reporting directly to Striscia la notizia, announced that he would leave the role as Miss Goodnight to engage in other projects. Pierobon was replaced (after a long selection in the 2003 Velone Summer Program) by Lisa Gritti, who was active for a little more than a year, from September 2003 to December 2005, before the position was abandoned following a scandal, which stripped the Striscia la notizia, where the announcer was also involved.

After the resignation of the Gritti, the network decided to forgo this figure (as was the case with Italia 1 in 2002, after the abandonment of Gabriella Golia).

Other announcers of Canale 5 (for short periods) have been: Fabrizia Carminati, Alba Parietti, Paola Perego, Susanna Messaggio, Michela Rocco of Torrepadula, and Daniela Castelli. Among the announcers of Canale 5 were also Barbara D'Urso, who at the end of the seventies was Miss Telemilano 58, tonight; the local television broadcaster later transformed into Canale 5.

The background music of the advertisements used from 1980 to 1993 was composed by Augusto Martelli, whereas the accompanying advertisement music used from 1993 to 2005 was composed by Alessandro Radici. The first background music jingle was never officially released by RTI, whereas the second jingle (the full version being 1 minute and 33 seconds long), was released for digital download from Mediaset, MusicShop.

Audience share

 * Average Monthly Day on Target Individuals 4+