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Date Published: 12/06/2023
Silvio Berlusconi dies at 86 years old, leaving behind a media legacy in Spain
The former Italian PM created a television empire in Spain with his company Mediaset España
Silvio Berlusconi, former Italian Prime Minister and media mogul, has died this Monday June 12 at the age of 86. His death not only marks the end of an era in Italian politics, but also in Spanish television.
He was suffering from leukaemia and had been in hospital on and off since April 5. Over the course of his career, the controversial politician and media tycoon had been embroiled in sexual scandals and accusations of corruption, but his party ‘Forza Italia’ is nonetheless currently a junior partner in Italy’s ruling coalition.
Berlusconi was Prime Minister of Italy on three separate occasions (1994-1995, 2001-2006 and 2008-2011), testament to his popularity among Italian people, but before that he was an entrepreneur and investor in media companies, mainly in Italy but also in Spain.
He began by founding the channels Telemilano (1974) and Canale 5 (1978) in his native country, before later acquiring Italia 1 and Rete. His first international breakthrough came in 1985 when he founded La Cinq, which was the first free-to-air private channel in France.
Not satisfied with this success, Silvio Berlusconi landed in Spain in March 1989 with Mediaset España, which has been one of the biggest and most important television media companies in Spain, earning an average over 450 million euros every year.
Mediaset started out small, at first only broadcasting in the afternoons and evenings. Eventually, though, the group and its programming grew to the point where Silvio Berlusconi was the owner of the most important empire in Spanish television.
The company now operates popular TV channels Telecinco, Cuatro, Factoría de Ficción, Boing, Divinity, Energy and Be Mad.
Just over a month ago, on Wednesday May 3, 2023, Mediaset España ceased to be listed on the four Spanish stock exchanges after it merged with the conglomerate MFE-Media For Europe, a move orchestrated by Berlusconi to create a pan-European media and entertainment group that would have “a leading position in its local markets, greater scale to compete and the potential to further expand its geographic footprint across Europe”.
The death of Berlusconi now raises questions over the future of his seat in the Italian senate, of course, as he was a sitting senator in the Italian parliament when he died, but also presents an uncertain future for his businesses, including the Spanish television empire he created.
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