Mediaset overtakes Rai and for Channel 5 summer at the top

A chase that started long ago. But, in the end, summer 2025 marked the overtaking. The balance of the summer season sanctions a redrawing of the geography of Italian television. For now, the figure concerns the summer. It will be seen whether the shift will also last for the season that technically began yesterday. The fact is that in the 'off-season', which ended on Saturday, Mediaset took the sceptre of first publisher, ahead of Rai, both on the average day and (this is a novelty) in prime time. And Channel 5 also overtook Rai 1, in 24 hours and prime time.

The report by Studio Frasi, which processed Auditel data, on the 105 days between 1 June and 13 September examines a summer without sporting events such as the European Championships and the Olympics in 2024. And it was precisely the absence of those audience magnets that heavily affected Rai: -13% in average daytime ratings and -16.4% in prime time. Translated: 356,000 fewer viewers over the day and a million lost in prime time alone. A physiological drop, certainly, but one that has opened up an opportunity for Mediaset to overturn the balance of power.

The Biscione has bet on two trump cards: the World Club Championship, broadcast with Dazn, and the revival of a classic, "La Ruota della Fortuna". The new football competition brought Canale 5 over 4 million viewers on more than one occasion; Italia 1 debuted with Paris Saint-Germain followed by 1.7 million (10.4% share). But it was above all 'la Ruota' - back in mid-July with Gerry Scotti, with a move ahead of schedule - that turned the inertia of the pre-sessional: it even beat 'Affari tuoi' on its return in September, yielding only half a point share. And the Wheel is one of the fruits of the evolution desired by Pier Silvio Berlusconi.

Ultimately, however, what is the result of the summer? "The data - underlines Francesco Siliato, media analyst at Studio Frasi - sanctions a predominance of Mediaset that is not limited to the entire perimeter, but also concerns only the three generalist networks. Channel 5, Italia 1 and Rete 4 close the off-season with an overall share of 27.6% over the whole day and 29.4% in prime time with Rai 1, Rai 2 and Rai 3 at 26.9% in the 24-hour average and 28.4% in prime time". As for the individual networks, Canale 5 is the winning flagship: 17.7% share in the average day against Rai 1's 16.2%; in prime time 18.5% against 18.1%. In the average day, in addition to Canale 5 (+6.1%), Italia 1 (+3.8%) and Rete 4 (+15.5%), Sky's Tv8 (+3.6%) and Warner Bros Discovery's Nove (+7.4%) also rose. In prime time, there was also a surge for Canale 5 (+28.1%), Rete 4 (+8.4%), Nove (+5.2%) and Tv8 (+4%).