Sky Italia is now officially Italy’s richest commercial broadcaster, with the News Corp unit overtaking Silvio Berlusconi’s Mediaset in revenue terms for the first time in 2008.


Hit by the global financial slump and the accompanying fall in advertising take, Mediaset could only manage third place, with both behind public broadcaster RAI.

Agcom, Italy’s communications regulator, released figures showing Sky Italia had revenues of €2.64 billion in 2008, RAI €2.72 billion and Mediaset €2.53 billion.