1994 in Italian television

This is a list of events relating to Italian television in 1994.

Events

RAI

After the victory of the center-right at the center-right coalition at the general elections, the experiment of a RAI free from politics ends, and a new form of spoils system is born (still in force): pro-government RAI 1, right-wing RAI 2, left-wing RAI.

  • 20 March: the TG3 reporter Ilaria Alpi and the cameramen Miran Hrovatin were killed in an ambush in Mogadiscio, while they were covering the operation Restore Hope. Those responsible for the killing have yet to be identified. The killing is widely believed to have been due to Alpi's enquiries about the arms trade and toxic waste traffic.[1]
  • 21 March: the first edition of TG3 Mattino, the RAI morning news program, is aired; it lasts from 6 to 8 AM, in competition with TG5 Prima Pagina, by Fininvest
  • 30 June: the RAI board of directors (the so-called “professors”), accused by Minister Giuliano Ferrara of mismanagement and partiality towards the left, resigns.
  • 12 July: the new board of directors (near to the center-right coalition) elects Letizia Moratti RAI president; 2 August Gianni Billa is nominated general director. In the following months, the directors of the three RAI networks and news programs were also replaced with men closer to the new government.[2]
  • 13 July: the match Bulgaria vs Italy, semifinal of the 1994 FIFA world cup, is the most seen program of the year, with 25,8 million viewiers. [3]
  • 6 August: on RAI, a commercial of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers is aired; it exalts the work of the Berlusconi cabinet with the slogan "Fatto!" (We have done it) The campaign is suspended due to the intervention of AGCOM.
  • 20 September: strike of the RAI journalists against the new board of directors. The reorganization of RAI arouses, beside the harsh protests of the left opposition, the discontent of Lega Nord, member of the government coalition, which felt penalized.
  • 15 December : Chamber of Deputies, establishes, with the votes of Lega Nord and of the left opposition, a special commission, which takes away the competences in the field of TV from the Culture Commission, chaired by Vittorio Sgarbi. The debate is very heated, and Sgarbi insults heavily the Chamber president Irene Pivetti.[2]

Fininvest

When Silvio Berlusconi entries into politics, Fininvest becomes a formidable propaganda machine for its editor. He enjoys the acritical support by Emilio Fede's TG4 (soon proverbial for its partiality) and Paolo Liguori's Studio aperto, by columnists as Vittorio Sgarbi and too by entertainment stars as Ambra Angiolini, who declares live: “Devil votes for Occhetto, but the Almighty votes for Berlusconi.” Only Enrico Mentana's TG5 and Maurizio Costanzo serve a formally neutral attitude.[4]

  • 6 January: Emilio Fede asks live for the resignation of Indro Montanelli from the direction of Il Giornale, reproaching him for not supporting the political projects of his publisher Silvio Berlusconi; similar and more violent attacks had been made previously by Sgarbi. Montanelli responded contemptuously, but on 11 January he's forced to resign.[4]
  • 26 January: Silvio Berlusconi announced through a pre-recorded television message, lasting nine minutes and sent to all the news programs of the national television networks, his entry into politics by leading the newly nascent Forza Italia, with which he ran for office in the elections policies of that same year.
  • 23 March: Canale 5 broadcasts, in the program Braccio di ferro, a pre-election debate between Silvio Berlusconi (leader of Forza Italia and candidate premier of the center-right coalition) and Achille Occhetto (secretary of PDS); Berlusconi clearly outclasses his opponent. The debate gets nine and a half million viewers, a record for a political program in Italy. Five day later, Berlusconi triumphs at the general election.[5]
  • April: Berlusconi, now Prime Minister, leaves the chair of Fininvest President to Fedele Confalonieri .[2]
  • 7 December: the Constitutional Court repeals the article of the Mammì law that allow the possession of three television channels by a single private owner.[2]
  • 15 December: while the Berlusconi cabinetis is in crisis, TG5 broadcasts an opinion poll, carried out with the Televoting technique, according to which 71% of Italians would like a new government with the same prime minister. The news program and its director, Enrico Mentana, are accused of partisanship.[6]

Other channels

  • March : the ADES group, owned, by Giampiero Ades, buys from Fininvest the syndication Italia 7.

Awards

11. Telegatto award, for the season 1993-1994.

Debuts

RAI

Variety

  • Beato tra le donne – Italian version of Man o Man, hosted by Paolo Bonolis and others; 7 seasons (3 on RAI, 4 on Mediaset).
  • Numero uno – game show, hosted by Pippo Baudo; 3 seasons.
  • Luna park - daily game show aired in the access prime time, ideated by Pippo Baudo and with various hosts (Baudo himself, Fabrizio Frizzi, Milly Carlucci and others) ; 3 seasons.
  • Sanremo Top – musical show, comparing the results of Sanremo festival with the ones of Italian hit-parade a month later; again on air.[7]
  • Se io fossi... Sherlock Holmes – game show with Jocelyn Hattab; the contenders must discover the owner of a lost object, 2 seasons (one on TMC).

News and educational

  • Report – enquiry magazine with Milena Gabanelli, then with Sigfrido Ranucci; again on air.[8]
  • Tempo reale – political talk show, with Michele Santoro; 2 seasons.
  • Dove sono i Pirenei ? (Where the Pyrenees are?) – talk show, with Rosanna Cancellieri and Francesco Bortolini; 2 seasons.
  • TG2 Salute – medicine magazine, by Luciano Onder; 14 seasons.
  • MediaMente – magazine about Internet, with Carlo Massarini, lasted till 2002.
  • Misteri (Mysteries) – program about paranormal events and pseudoscience, hosted by Lorenza Foschini; 5 seasons.[9]
  • Storie maledette (Cursed stories) – true crime program, ideated and hosted by Franca Leosini; 17 seasons.[10]
  • Lina blu – travel program about the Italian seas, hosted by Puccio Corona and Donatella Bianchi; again on air.[11]
  • Verde mattina – magazine about green world, with Luca Sardella and Jamira Majello; 5 seasons.

For children

  • Solletico with Mauro Serio and Elisabetta Ferracini, lasted till 2000.[12]

Finivenst

Variety

  • Trenta ore per la vita (Thirty hours for life) – yearly fundraising event, hosted by Lorella Cuccarini and Marco Columbro; lasted till 2024.[13]
  • Stranamore (Strangelove) – reality show, hosted by Alberto Castagna and Emanuela Foliero, Italian version of the Dutch All you need is love; 14 seasons. Castagna tours Italy in a camper, carrying love video-messages and trying to reconcile couples in crisis; the show, ravaged by critics for its blatant sentimentality, gets the same an extraordinary public success.[14]
  • Stelle a quattro zampe (Four pawned stars) – contest of dogs, with various host; 12 editions.
  • Grandi magazzini – tele-marketing program, hosted by Mike Bongiorno; 2 seasons.
  • Il quizzone – Italian version of the Japanese Show by Shobai, with Gerry Scotti and Amadeus; 2 seasons.
  • Jammin – music show, hosted by Federica Panicucci and other female hosts; 7 seasons.
  • Viva Napoli – music show hosted by Mike Bongiorno; 9 seasons.
Talent show
  • 14 December - Re per una notte, a series hosted by Gigi Sabani in which members of the public impersonated their favourite singers.
  • I cervelloni (The eggheads) – competition of amateur inventors, hosted by Paolo Bonolis, then by Giancarlo Magalli; 5 seasons.
  • Bravissima – talent show with female contenders, hosted by Marco Balestri, then by Gigi Sabani; 2 seasons.

International

Other channels

  • The Lion trophy show – interactive game show; 7 seasons (La 7).
  • TG Rosa – parodic news program, with various host, lasted till 2001 (Odeon TV).
  • Insieme – talk-show with Salvo La Rosa and others (Teleenna, then Antenna Sicilia); again on air. It's the most long-lasting Italian talk show, after Maurzio Costanzo show, and has revealed the comic duo Ficarra e Picone.[15]

Television shows

RAI

Drama

Three chapters of the Lux Vide's Bible project were aired, all with music by Ennio Morricone:

Mystery

Miniseries

Variety

News and educational

  • La lunga marcia (The long march) and Processo al processo (Trial to the trial) by Enzo Biagi, in 6 episodes; reportages respectively about China[25] and Tangentopoli.
  • Nostra padrona televisione (Our master the television) – enquiry by Sergio Zavoli ; 5 episodes.
  • Combat film – anthology of unpublished films realized by the cameramen of the Fifth Army in the Italian campaign, hosted by Guglielmo Zucconi; 2 seasons. The program is accused of excessive indulgence towards fascism.[26]
  • Eppur si muove (And yet it moves) – talk show about the Italian custom, ideated and hosted by Indro Montanelli and Beniamino Placido.[27]
  • Pickwick, del leggere e dello scrivere (PIckwick, about reading and writing) – magazine about books and literature, hosted by Alessandro Baricco and Giovanna Zucconi.[28]
  • L’arte di non leggere (The not-reading art) – literary magazine, with Fruttero & Lucentini.
  • Serata Quark- popular science program with Piero Angela.

For children

  • Le storie di Farland – by Giuliana Gamba; fantasy series with Rodolfo Baldini and a cast of puppets.
  • Soccer fever – by Marco Pagot and Hitoshi Oda, Italian-Japanese cartoon about the history of the FIFA world cup, released in honour of the 1994 edition.[29]

Mediaset

Drama

Miniseries

Variety

  • Avanti un altro – contest among comic actors, hosted by Pippo Franco; suspended for low ratings.
  • Complotto di famiglia (Family plot) – candid-camera, with Alberto Castagna.
  • Talk Radio with Diggi DJ (Antonio Conticello); attempt to adapt the formula of radio dedications to television.
  • Yogurt, fermenti attivi (Active ferments) – satirical show hosted by Sonia Grey; debut of Fichi d’India.

Other channels

Ending this year

  • Almanacco del giorno dopo
  • Amici mostri
  • Appunti disordinati di viaggio
  • Baby show
  • Casa dolce casa
  • C’eravamo tanto amati
  • Canzoni spericolate
  • Cartolina
  • Eurogol
  • Festival italianio
  • Il gioco delle coppie
  • Il grande gioco dell’oca
  • La grande sfida
  • L’ispettore Sarti
  • Lui, lei, l’altro
  • M’ama non m’ama
  • Milano Italia
  • Notte rock
  • Occhio allo specchio
  • Radio Londra
  • Il rosso e il nero
  • Sottotraccia
  • Unomania

Deaths

DateNameAgeCinematic Credibility
7 January Vittorio Mezzogiorno 52 Actor
28 February Enrico Maria Salerno 67 Italian theatre & film actor
4 March Gianni Agus 76 Italian actor
23 March Giulietta Masina 73 Actress
18 April Ruggero Orlando 86 Italian journalist[31]
4 June Massimo Troisi 41 Comic actor[32]
28 June Giancarlo Sbragia 68 Actor[33]
12 July Alberto Lionello 64 Actor and presenter
6 August Domenico Modugno 66 Singer and actor
15 September Moana Pozzi 33 Porn-star, then TV soubrette.
18 September Rossano Brazzi 78 Actor
6 December Gian Maria Volontè 61 Actor
26 December Sylva Koscina 61 Italian actress

See also

References

  1. ↑ "La Somalia di Ilaria". RaiPlay (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Bruno, Somalvico (26 November 2014). "cronologia radiotelevisiva IV: 1993-2008: 1993-1996". cronologia radiotelevisiva IV. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  3. ↑ Hit (2010-09-04). "Auditel Rewind - 1994". TvBlog (in Italian). Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  4. 1 2 Stille, Alexander (2006). Citizen Berlusconi : Vita e imprese. Milan: Garzanti. ISBN 881174041X.
  5. ↑ Raimo, Christian (2014-03-23). "Avere vent'anni. Berlusconi contro Occhetto". Minima et Moralia (in Italian). Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  6. ↑ Mentana, Enrico (15 December 1994). "Un gioco, non un vero sondaggio". La Stampa.
  7. ↑ "Sanremo Top". RaiPlay (in Italian). Retrieved 2026-07-20.
  8. ↑ "Report". RaiPlay (in Italian). Retrieved 2026-07-20.
  9. ↑ "Misteri". RaiPlay (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  10. ↑ "Storie maledette". RaiPlay (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-07-19.
  11. ↑ "Linea Blu". RaiPlay (in Italian). Retrieved 2026-07-20.
  12. ↑ Salaris, Marco (2021-10-19). "La TV dei ragazzi sull'onda del successo con Solletico". TvBlog (in Italian). Retrieved 2026-07-23.
  13. ↑ "Trenta Ore per la Vita: dal 1994 al fianco di chi ha più bisogno". www.trentaore.org (in Italian). 2022-11-09. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  14. ↑ "Stranamore". Mediaset Play. Archived from the original on 2020-09-02. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  15. ↑ "Insieme: lo show di Antenna Sicilia in diretta streaming". TVdream (in Italian). Retrieved 2026-07-20.
  16. ↑ "Genesi, Creazione e Diluvio". RaiPlay (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-02-17.
  17. ↑ "Giacobbe". RaiPlay (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-02-17.
  18. ↑ "Giuseppe". RaiPlay (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-02-17.
  19. ↑ "A che punto è la notte". RaiPlay (in Italian). Retrieved 2020-07-02.
  20. ↑ "Il giovane Mussolini". RaiPlay (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  21. ↑ "Carlo Magno". Luxvide (in Italian). Retrieved 2026-07-06.
  22. ↑ "Italian Restaurant". RaiPlay (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  23. ↑ "L'approfondimento in Casa Gnocchi". RaiPlay (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-02-02.
  24. ↑ "Papaveri e papere". RaiPlay (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-02-16.
  25. ↑ "Enzo Biagi - La lunga marcia". RaiPlay (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  26. ↑ "Combat Film (1943-1945)". Archivio Storico Istituto Luce (in Italian). Retrieved 2026-07-06.
  27. ↑ "Eppur si muove". RaiPlay (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  28. ↑ "Pickwick - Del leggere e dello scrivere". RaiPlay (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-02-16.
  29. ↑ "I ragazzi del mundial". RaiPlay (in Italian). Retrieved 2026-07-02.
  30. ↑ Bava, Lamberto, Fantaghirò 4: Fantaghirò 4 Video, retrieved 2021-02-17
  31. ↑ "Vi parla Ruggero Orlando". RaiPlay (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-07-19.
  32. ↑ "Massimo Troisi". RaiPlay (in Italian). Retrieved 2026-07-08.
  33. ↑ "Giancarlo Sbragia: una vita in scena". RaiPlay (in Italian). Retrieved 2026-07-08.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.