The two leading pay-television broadcasters on ITaly's digital terrestrial platform are moving away from a reliance on football to other sports and entertainment in a bid to drive customer and revenue growth [...] Mediaset is reportedly planning to launch up to eight thematic pay channels to broaden its appeal and to compete with satellite-television broadcaster Sky Italia, which reported 4.17 m customers [...] From July, Cartapiù will offer educational programmes for children [...]
The digital terrestrial pay television market is worth around €45 million per year, with "between 80% and 90% derived from football", according to Augusto Preta, general manager of ITMedia Consulting. [...] Cartapiù launched a €19 per month subscription service in November 2006, providing full access to its service. [...] Mediaset is now considering the introduction of a similar subscription service.

New Media Markets, May 18 2007