Rai: 'Definite resources for the future' (and on licence fee and advertising he sides with Mediaset)

However, the top management of the public TV station is squaring off. On the resources - and therefore on the balance between licence fee and advertising, now called into question by the Lega Lega's bill - as on the company's overall image. Which CEO Sergio defines as 'healthy, active and ready for new market challenges'. So much so that 'we have realised the first sustainability plan for Rai; we issued a bond a few days ago and to finance 300 million there have been orders for 3.6 billion; furthermore, there have been 82 million less debts and a balanced budget, in addition to the investment of 16 million to secure the assets of the theatres'. Finally, Sergio pointed out that 'after 13 months, the 2023-26 contract renewal has been signed: I thank the trade unions that have always been committed to protecting the workers and safeguarding our company'.

It is here that the Rai top management points the finger at the narrative. Managing director Sergio speaks of 'a daily siege'. Managing director Rossi, for his part, speaks of 'artificial narration: that of a Rai that censors, an ideological Rai, a Rai detached from reality, and of objectively telling what can be seen today'. It is undeniable, however, that journalist and talent releases and cases such as Bortone and Scurati have caused much talk in recent months.

Equally undeniable is the tug-of-war over the board of directors, which is inevitably wearisome for the company but at the same time determined by RAI's two-way link to politics: four members of the board of directors are appointed by the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, the CEO is basically indicated by the Mef and the chairman needs a two-thirds vote of the Supervisory Commission, just to stay within the board appointment mechanism. 'We,' Sergio replies, 'have been able to make the appointments since 28 May. If this has not happened it is not by our will'.

Delays putting ad in pectore Rossi on the grill? 'I do not feel on the gridiron,' replies the CEO: 'I face the question with great serenity. With Roberto Sergio it was a very difficult challenge to secure the company before it started to creak'. And Sergio's future? 'I am a company man,' he replies, 'and a director and manager of RAI who will do what the company asks him to do. With serenity, tranquillity and transparency'. Jokingly, on the sidelines, he says offering him 'a seat on the sofa' was Fiorello. Who, however, said the ad, 'He is on the sofa, I hear him every day, he will not be on TV in 2024, I trust in 2025 if we manage to get him off this sofa, between TV on sports and TV series, we will begin to think about it'.

Rai in Naples appears, or at least wants to appear, in what it exhibits as its strength, which Sergio translates with impact into two numbers: 'We have more than 308 titles and 256 talents'. And here a joke is also triggered: 'Others have a quantity of talent that can at most fit in the space of the Rai logo'. No names, but the reference seems clear enough to Warner Bros. Discovery and its flagship channel, Nine. Which, he says, 'I don't see it as a competitor. There is talk of a potential extraordinary group competing with Rai and I see that it reaches a number of talents that starting from 0 becomes 3, 4 or 5, I honestly would not have a problem with this type of competition'.

On the industrial side next year, CEO Rossi clarified, the company will certainly have to verify the result of the organisation by genres, which has taken the place of the organisation by networks. "Try to bring Rai into line with the organisational models of the main European broadcasters. There are certainly correctives that can be inserted, we give ourselves a period of time, in my opinion about a year more, to try to understand whether the organisation by genres can work"

All this, however, in a company that 'is in line with forecasts, indeed thanks to Rai Pubblicità and the results we have a tendential that improves the performance forecast for 2024'. In this respect, Rai Pubblicità reported a first half year growth of 13% (a result for TV, but more or less also the group result would go in this direction), said Rai Pubblicità CEO Gian Paolo Tagliavia. The European Football Championships undoubtedly had an impact, as the year-on-year growth in June was over 69 per cent. 'We are looking forward to the summer with particular confidence,' he added, 'thanks to the Olympics: we will achieve double the turnover of Tokyo three years ago, the leverage is certainly the fact that the company has also had the strength to buy digital rights.