Ascolti televisivi dell’estate, Mediaset davanti alla Rai

Over the summer, between May 31st and August 25th, Mediaset outperformed the public broadcaster Rai in viewership. Auditel data, processed by the Studio Frasi, revealed that Mediaset's group gathered 2.8 million average daily viewers in the off-season compared to Rai's 2.5 million. Canale 5 surpassed Rai 1 in prime time (3.5 million viewers vs. 3.2 million) and the entire day (1.35 million vs. 1.28 million).

However, the strategy behind these numbers varied. While Mediaset kept popular shows like "La Ruota della fortuna" on Canale 5, "Temptation Island," and some TV series to capture attention, Rai focused on high-profile sports events and relegated many programs to off-hours. Despite this, Mediaset still gathered 120,000 viewers on demand during the summer, while Rai collected only 37,000.

Media analyst Francesco Siliato from the Studio Frasi noted that this shows the public broadcaster needs to rethink its approach to media company ownership and create programming that develops audiences beyond live viewing. The trend extends beyond the summer, as Mediaset produces 145,000 on-demand viewers daily, compared to Rai's 113,000.

On-demand viewing represents 4.7% of the group's audience, compared to 3.8% for the public broadcaster. Canale 5 collected 88,000 on-demand viewers, while Rai 1 had 52,000. However, Rai maintained the lead in the eight-month period with 1.534 million viewers per day, compared to Canale 5's 1.514 million. This advantage was partly due to the Festival di Sanremo, a significant event for Rai.

Although Canale 5 could potentially close 2026 ahead of Rai 1 in overall viewing, the trend suggests that Mediaset may claim more viewers in 2026.