Retemia (My Network) is an Italian commercial television network broadcasting from the Tuscan city of Lucca. Founded by notable businessman Giorgio Mendella in 1988, In its current incarnation, the channel is owned by Editrice 24, a company set up by local businessmen from the area.
History
The network was created in 1988 under the ownership of businessman Giorgio Mendella following the buying of the Elefante TV network from which the network took its place, it had a discrete coverage in the Italian peninsula thanks to around twenty affiliated stations. It broadcast from 3200 km2 studios in the city of Lucca.[1] The channel initially offered a generalist schedule with entertainment programs such as Il gioco di Retemia, A domanda risponde and La sfida, news and current affairs such as Sala stampa oltre la notizia and Wip - World Important Person, as well as the health program Ciak Medicina and sports segments such as Zona Cesarini. Some Latin American telenovelas were also broadcast.[2] Pornographic actress Moana Pozzi also had a program on the channel, Frutto proibito.[3] One of its peculiarities was a live hour-long home shopping program, Primomercato. Each week, Mendella offered in his daily program the chance to buy shares in his other assets, such as a hotel under construction, a computer factory, an insurance company or even a publishing company.[1]
In a rare coup, the network secured the exclusive rights to Inter Milan's matches in 1989, for the sum of 800 million liras, surpassing competitors RAI and Fininvest. Mendella was eyeing for the presidency of Torino and Fiorentina. The Gulf War prompted the network to extend its news operation with daily half-hour updates on the development of the war, being replaced after its conclusion with Primo Piano, a daily newscast.[2]
The downfall of the network came in 1992, with the failure of obtaining a national channel license under the aegis of the Mammì law passed that year. On the night of August 24, after Mendella fled abroad, the network was declared bankrupt, airing a half-hour video in loop about the network's history ending with a motivational message showing their intent to continue broadcasting ("Dreams can be interrupted for more or less time depending on the intensity of the storm that awoke you, but unlike reality, dreams will always return. We believe in that."), after which its signal was shut down on its 597 transmitters. Mendella was detained in January 1995 and moved to San Vittore.[2]
Broadcasts resumed in March 1993. The previous month, over 2000 shareholders convened at the Lucca Tribunal in order to recoup the network's 18 billion liras in investments, with the aim of regaining a national license, replacing either Telemontecarlo or Telepiù 3, the cultural subscription channel. The network now had a new format, airing primarily home shopping programming.[4][5]
On July 6, 1995, Retemia launched its teletext service, GT1 (Giornale Telematico 1), outsourced to Acomedia, of commercial vocation and in some aspects, interactive. The network had real time access to certain foreign teletext servies (among them CNN International), from Italian news wires (ANSA and Dire) as well as other services and games. GT1 operated mainly using subscriptions.[6] Its teletext, renamed MIAVIDEO in 1997, closed in 2000.
In 2000, the network was already operating in association Home Order Television, owned by Thomas Kirch (son of German media mogul Leo Kirch) and aimed to remove the Retemia brand, becoming HOT Italia, by the end of the year. At the same time, MTV Italia (which would later take over the TMC2 network) repeatedly applied for one of the eight national licenses without success. HOT was intended to do so.[7] Retemia's owner Profit Group wanted to enter the multichannel landscape, while Retemia's license was not renewed by orders of the Communications Minister of Italy. Profit offered 30 billion lire for the sale of the network to HOT.[8] The case was later taken to the courts.[9] On December 1, 2000, Retemia was replaced by HOT Italia.
Rumors emerged of the return of Retemia in July 2015, this time as a general interest station, like it was at the beginning of its operation, but there were still uncertainties regarding the situation.[10] There was a judicial dispute between Mendella and the new owners, which in December 2015, led to Mendella creating his own network, 6Mia TV.[11] The station closed in 2017 before being replaced by anew station, TV&TV, that existed between 2018 and 2020.
On February 29, 2020, Retemia resumed its own operations under the control of a Luccan company called Editrice 24. The new Rete Mia specializes primarily in old TV series and movies, which, in the words of the new owners, "run the risk of being lost forever". The new phase lacks infomercials, erotic programming and scandals, with the aim of recovering what Italian television lost over time. The channel airs news provided by the Dire agency and the Italian service of Euronews, as well as sports and lifestyle programming produced in Tuscany.[12] In November 2022, the network announced a new slot dedicated to old erotic movies, NottErotica, on Friday nights.[13]
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