Sky Italia (News corp owned) just started 5 brand new HD channels for Olympics Game.
And so I cannot avoid going back to 1972 and the first "color tv" in Italy.
A story worth telling.
Color TV started in the US sometime in the '50s, and RAI (the still-alive "state-run" Tv) was an early adopter, with "test" broadcast from Monte Mario (just above Rome) in 1966.
From 1967 on, RAI used to broadcast a standard "prove tecniche di trasmissione" program every afternoon from 3 to 4 pm. It was a must-see, with still images of a girl playing tennis, a lady doing her makeup, as well as moving pictures of a japanese girl walking in Rome, and later visiting the Zoo (yes, the Zoo). All with classical music and a voice that repeted "prove tecniche di trasmissione" every 5 minutes or so.
At this point in time all the european nations started regular Color Tv programming, and in Milano it was easy (...for me at least) to pick-up color programs from Switzerland (on channel "H") . I knew they were in color by...moving the tuning a bit "too high" (such that the "color carrier" would be visible on a b/w set).
Anyway, Italy did NOT start color programs then. Why?
It was a typical mixture of italian catholic-anti-modern as well as polytical way to look at things.
That is, it was a linear combination of the following
A) Color TV is a waste of money, we have more important problems to attack
B) Color TV is sinful, like all the modern inventions
C) It is not the right moment, we are in a crisis (this one from "La Malfa").
But there's more
D) It is widely believed that FIAT did not want italian to use their money on TV sets, when they could have been spent on the "second family car".
and
E) Germans and French were willing to ...do something (let's say so) to help italy decide on their system
Yes---there were more than one "Color" tv systems.
USA had adopted NTSC, but everyone said (and still today they say) that their color kept changing, and if in a scene the skin color was right, in the very next it was probably horribly wrong.
I never, ever, ever noticed this to be true. Even many years ago, even on old sets.
Anyway, NTSC was not an option.
Then there was the German system, PAL. RAI's technicians opted for it.
Then there was the French system SECAM.
To help italy decision in favor of SECAM, Georges Pompidou promised to ease the export of italian agricoltural products to France (except fromage, if I recall well...)
To help italy not to select SECAM, the germans threaten not to give a 2 million $ loan - already promised - to Italy.
Yes---Italy was in such a bad shape to have to ask germans for money.
We tend to forget....and think we are in the midst of a terribile crisis. Well---what about those years with two digit inflation and the need to ask germans for money?
What was politicians the decision then ?
At first....to adopt them both!
And here the Olympics games come into our story. Monaco 1972. Rai "begins" Color TV programming, by broadcasting day one in PAL, day two in SECAM, day Three in PAL, day four in SECAM...and so on.
As TV sets were very analogue, and also very "tube based" (insomma, a valvole!) then, there were no "bi-standard" TV.
Which resulted in some people to see in color only on monday, wednesday, friday, and others on tuesday, thursday and saturday.
But something went wrong, the Germans did not appreciate at all this solution.
And so....back to Black and white!
Not even the "Prove Tecniche" were aired any more.
The pope was probably happy, La Malfa and other politicians could proudly announce that they saved italians from the risk of throwing away their own money, and big, famous, glorious italian Electronic companies went bankrupt.
Closed. Finished. Byebye.
Names such as "Radiomarelli"
Voxon
Brionwega
had to close down, as noone was buying new tv sets wating for color tv instead.
(so -- thanks to these "catto-comunists-with-a-republican").
RAI continued in black and white, and would still be so if come crazy guys did not create private
(...private! in 1975! more than a "peccato" (sin), it was a real threat to the society. But they did it anyway) ...private television.
Renzo Villa, with Telealtomilanese, and later Silvio Berlusconi, with "Telemilano Canale 58" did not care to stay B/W and begun broadcasting in Color.
State-owned (and "canone-eating") RAI had to ask...permission to air something in color. And for long years, 1976 to 1977, each and every program in color had to be announced by a lady (called "annunciatrice") with the words "RAI has been authorized to broadcast this in color".
I don't remember if the annunciatrice herself was in color or in b/w, but I think she was probably in B/W, or another annunciatrice, a meta-annunciatrice, should have appared before, announcing that the annunciatrice announcing the program would be in color herself...
It was 1976!
Telemilano was about to morph into Canale 5, Berlusconi would start "real" privat italian TV, destroying in the process the incredible SIPRA (RAI's advertising agency, that used its monopoly on TV spots to force private companies to buy spaces in useless newspaper owned by political parties, namely the DC one, the one of the Socialisti and the one of the Comunisti).
In 1977 Color TV came of age for RAI...and then...nothing happened since.
Or maybe I shall say that history repeats itself. Here we are, olympics 2010, a private network (Sky, owned by mr. Murdoch) is broadcasting some 15 channels in High Definition, and Rai...
you can guess....
Yes. The olympics will be aired in HD on the "Rai TEST HD channel" for two (2) hours a day.
Oh, btw, not in all of Italy: only in the "all digital" regions, Lazio Campania, Valle d'aosta and Sardegna (I exclude Trentino that is "all digital", but have no sign of the HD channel).
