Rai Uno is the primary television station of RAI, the national public service broadcaster, and the most watched television channel in Italy. It was born as Programma Nazionale and then called Rete 1 until 1982. It is a generalist channel, and its direct competitor is Mediaset's Canale 5.
The first set of programming for Rai Uno was completely educational with no advertising, except for the popular Carosello. Early shows were meant to teach a common language to a country torn apart by World War II. Shows like Non è mai troppo tardi... were simply shot in a classroom set and meant to help with Reconstruction. While televisions were not widely available nor affordable, those who could spend the money on them became community leaders and often invited the neighborhood to visit. Bars and cafés turned from places where men would meet to argue or play cards into miniature cinemas where arguments over what show to watch would break out. Women and children were also more accepted inside the bars, as a result of the lack of men post-war and their need to enter working society. Churches also bought televisions are a means of drawing people to spend time as part of those communities.
Traditionally, Rai Uno broadcasts only two sports, but they are the first and second most followed sports in Italy: football and Formula 1. Rai Uno usually broadcasts all the Italian national football team's matches, as well as the matches from important football competitions such as the World Cup and the European Championship. Starting from 2006, it has bought the rights to UEFA Champions League. Rai Uno has always broadcasted Formula 1 races (excluding the first half of the 90s, when the right were bought by Mediaset group) with high shares. Its current rights will expire in 2012.
Italy
