Rai 4

In July 2008, Rai launched Rai 4, a semi general-interest channel dedicated to exploring new forms of film and television. The mix of genres on which the channel's offering is based sees a clear prevalence of TV series purchased by the company (60% in 2010), followed by films (31%). Specifically, day time programme focuses on serial products. The three main themes are teen, fantasy and crime, which in the afternoon and preevening slots are represented by those titles characterized by a higher level of contamination, well known to fans of the genre, insofar as they are veritable television cults. A perfect example is Streghe (which has run for 8 seasons), a hybrid of teen and family, gothic and comedy. The prime time slot alternates TV series with films. The first are responsible for making the channel popular among young people, science fiction fans, women with a passion for drama and a more general crime-loving audience and, last but by no means least, critics and the press, with products that have received numerous awards, such as Mad Men. Films destined to prime time on the other hand are selected on the basis of three criteria: universally known films, programmable according to the 'saga' logic; particularly recent titles with a spectacular feel, with famous casts, making them ideal for a general-interest audience, capable of developing a cinematographic fruition mechanism; action films, and consequently 'B-action', the cult films of the genre, and 'pop-action' or more recent international films, characterized by extensive use of digital technology and therefore particularly representative of the channel's multimedia and postmodern image. Lastly, the evening slot is the space dedicated to the search for new audiences. The programming of Japanese anime (cartoon) series for instance responds to this logic, as it deals with a new, contemporary product well known to web users and also publicized through the channel's blog.