Mediaset moving to unify TV ops

Pace to head reorganized Mediatrade arm

By CECILIA ZECCHINELLI

MILAN -- Italy's leading commercial broadcaster Mediaset, controlled by Silvio Berlusconi's holding Fininvest, on Saturday will unveil a crucial reform of its internal organization that will unify all of its TV acquisitions, sales and production activities, sources close to the group told Daily Variety.

The new umbrella structure, expected to be called Mediatrade, will be presented Saturday in Cannes during Mediaset's annual convention. It will be headed by Roberto Pace, who was appointed Mediaset's acquisition topper in September, replacing Giovanni Stabilini, who left the Milan-based group in 1998.

Pace, a veteran of Italy's TV industry, previously was the head of Canale 5, Mediaset's flagship channel; before that, he worked for pubcaster RAI as head of its satellite cultural channel. Abroad, he worked for Channel 4 in the U.K. and the European Coproduction Assn. in Germany.

Following the creation of the new company and the expansion of Pace's responsibilities, Mediaset's head of TV drama production, Riccardo Tozzi, is planning to leave the company, several sources said. A highly respected veteran of Italy's TV industry, Tozzi has headed all of Mediaset's TV drama production activities for the last 11 years. No official announcement or comment was made, but Tozzi will not be in Cannes at the group convention.

Troubled by strategy

Tozzi's main reason for discontent seems to be the new strategy introduced by Maurizio Carlotti, Mediaset's CEO since July.

Carlotti gained a reputation as an aggressive and efficient manager in Spain, where he saved Mediaset's Spanish unit Telecinco from bankruptcy.

"Carlotti is trying to introduce in Italy the same strategy he used in Spain. He wants to unify all the TV activities within a single structure, which is surely positive for the group even if I am sorry for Tozzi," a Mediaset exec told Daily Variety.

"But he also wants to impose the reasons of a very commercial TV company over the group's drama production. Until last year, Carlo Bernasconi (current president of Fininvest's film unit Medusa) was the head of Tozzi and the production of TV drama had a different spirit. Since Bernasconi left Mediaset, the TV people started to decide everything about production," the source said.

In particular, Carlotti wants the group to produce low-budget drama serial products with realistic plots and famous TV actors, as Telecinco did successfully in Spain. According to a trade paper report, Carlotti is planning to produce eight TV series each year and is looking for acquiring, renting or even building large production facilities. He is discussing with Roman producer Sandro Parenzo about his Videa studios not far from Rome, the report said.