RAI takes the gloves off

[Cantona]

Just been looking thru some Italian American newspapers and came from Olivers website.. it looks like people having been dropping RAI due to the football being available on GoLtv. They are directly targeting them in there adds. I hope we dont see them disappear altogether...


Cantona----

[SueB]

This is a confusing post - can you clarify for me? Is there an article? Link or just hardcopy? Your subject is "RAI takes the gloves off". What are they doing? Have they taken some legal action? Are you worried that GolTV might run RAI International out of business or vice versa?

Definitely, GolTV might take *some* business away from RAI but I doubt too much. It would really only be those fans of Serie A who up until now have been willing to spend $10/month JUST to see the games - but don't watch ANY other RAI programming. Diehard Serie A fans like myself and Italian ex-pats like my husband definitely enjoy the additional game coverage GolTV gives us, but we still watch RAI way more. GolTV does not have the extensive highlights and analysis shows, nor does it carry Italian national team games. And I know there are many more RAI subscribers - like my in-laws - who don't give a hoot about calcio. If anything, maybe it'll drive down the monthly fee for RAI. That would be nice as far as I'm concerned!

[da_cfo]

Reach Media decided to do an advertising campaign to get the word out regarding RAI Int'l, which still holds exclusive Italian-language US TV rights to Serie B, Coppa Italia, and Azzurri.

No doubt that Gol TV's Serie A package has taken some business from RAI Int'l, but that is to be expected. Note that Gol TV is getting carriage from Cablevision and Comcast so the competition is heating up.

As for soccerTV.com: it currently has both Gol TV and Reach Media as clients.

[SueB]

Thanks for the explanation, Oliver. BTW, I've yet to see any Coppa Italia games this year on RAI. Or UEFA Cup games for that matter. Are they just waiting until the later rounds and more attractive matchups?

[da_cfo]

Originally posted by SueB
Thanks for the explanation, Oliver. BTW, I've yet to see any Coppa Italia games this year on RAI. Or UEFA Cup games for that matter. Are they just waiting until the later rounds and more attractive matchups?

Don't know about UEFA Cup, but I suspect that SportFive may be involved. If so, those rights have already been sold by SportFive to Setanta Sport.

As for Coppa Italia: we'll have to wait for the big teams to enter the competition in the round of 32.

[SueB]

Thanks (though I think you mean the round of 16, which is when all the big teams join in). There's actually a hint of excitement in the Coppa Italia this season due to an early-season strike by many Serie B clubs which allowed a handful of Serie C clubs through to the knockout stages. It'd be nice to see a true minnow get a rare shot against Milan or Juventus.