ARE (Etruria)

Etrurian Radio Television Administration

Logo of ARE since 2019
Native name	Amministrazione Radiotelevisiva Etruriana (Vespasian)
Type	Public broadcaster
Industry	Broadcasting
Founded	1 October 1920 (1920-10-01)
Headquarters	Solaria , Etruria
Area served	Etruria (and other neighbouring countries via overspill)
Key people	Romolo Simone Minervini (director general) Viktor Urbančič (Chair of the Executive Board)
Products	television, radio, e-publishing, over-the-top media services, performing arts
Services	radio, television, online
Operating income	€1.101 billion (2021)
Owner	Government of Etruria
Number of employees	4,225 (2021)
Parent	Federal Ministry for Culture and National Identity
Subsidiaries	UniMondo
Website	hno.he

ARE - Amministrazione Radiotelevisiva Etruriana (Etrurian Radio Television Administration) is the national public broadcasting company of Etruria and is headquartered in Solaria. Established in 1920 as the Servizio Informazioni Etruriano (Etrurian Information Service), it is one of the oldest broadcasters in the world. It is owned by the Government of Etruria and is managed by the Federal Ministry for Culture and National Identity.

From its foundation until 1938 when television was introduced, ARE (formerly SIE) providing broadcasts of news, public information as well as music and theatrical productions over radio. From 1938 onward, it became the sole provider of televised productions until 1953 when ReppublicaTV (then known as Radioteleivisione Reppublica; RAR) was founded, this was followed by UNIcanale in 1958. During the Etrurian military junta (1960-1984), only ARE was permitted to broadcast information and news, with RAR and UNIcanale's news services shut down. Following the restoration of democracy, ARE's competitors were permitted to resume broadcasting news services. Under the military regime, ARE also became the pre-eminent producer of entertainment shows, sports news and events as well as documentaries and since has remained the most watched broadcaster in Etruria. In 1991, Orrizonte24 was launched, introducing a third privately owned competitor.

Today, ARE provides television, radio, online and printed services and productions for both domestic and international audiences. In 2017, ARE launched a subsidiary Unimondo for the Etrurian diaspora and Vespasian speaking countries in Asteria Inferior, Asteria Superior and the Arucian Sea. It is funded via a hybrid system of government funds, advertising, sponsorship and federal taxation (Tassa sui Servizi Pubblici; Public Services Tax). In 2021, it operated a budget of €1.101 billion and employed over 4,000 people. It's primary rival for market share is ReppublicaTV, yet remains the most watched broadcaster with an estimated 53% audience share weekly. ARE was one of the founding members of the Euclean Broadcasters Group in 1951.

History

Founding as SIE (1920-1938)

Servizio Informazioni Etruriano (SIE) was founded in 1920 with the technical backing of the Albanese Company in a structure and format adopted by other countries in Euclea. SIE made its inaugural broadcast with a speech made by President Alessandro Luzzani from the ballroom of the Cittadella dell'Arcangelo in Solaria on 1 October, where he praised the broadcast as the "hymnal of modernity." The following evening regular programming commenced, with SIE's president, Augustino Giacomo Purelli announcing, "Servizio Informazioni Etruriano bids to all those listening our greetings, good evening and God bless you all." This was followed by a quartet performing the Etrurian national anthem I figli di Romolo. The Società Radiofonica Albanese SpA owned 45% of SIE's shares, the Etrurian government 15% and a consortium of banks the remainder.

SIE's primary focus was on the broadcasting of music usually played in auditoriums and music halls across the country, together with governmental announcements and news. Following Etruria's entry into the Great War (1928-1936), SIE was nationalised by an emergency senate decree in August 1928 and the entire wireless broadcasting industry in Etruria was monopolised. SIE would serve as the principal wartime radio station and proved adept at propagandistic broadcasting, informing listeners of events on the front and providing patriotic musical and comedic events for morale on the home front. Following the war's end in 1936, SIE remained under state control but the wartime monopoly law was repealed, enabling the return of competitor wireless broadcasters.

In 1938, the Legionary Reaction overthrew the Etrurian Second Republic and replaced it with the totalitarian Greater Solarian Republic, with it came the return of government monopoly on wireless broadcasting.

Transition to ARE and Greater Solarian Regime (1938-1946)

Co-Leader of the Greater Solarian Republic Ettore Caviglia would make extensive use of radio in communicating with the country's citizens throughout the GSR regime.

With the establishment of the GSR in 1938, SIE was reorganised and rebranded into ARE - Amministrazione Radiotelevisiva Etruriana in part due to the adoption of nascent television the same year. With this reorganisation, ARE was placed under the direction and management of the Ministry of Popular Information - the "propaganda ministry." While efforts by the GSR regime were made to widen radio ownership through the subsidising of wireless sets across Etruria, television would remain limited to government institutions and regime elites.

Under the MPI, ARE became the principal organ of state propaganda, disseminating the Grande Tradimento (Great Betrayal) theory, imperialism, militarism and ultranationalism. Notably however, in 1941, ARE became host to the first Catholic programming outside Tiberunium's Radio Ecumene. During the Solarian War, much like during the Great War, served as the primary source for information on the war effort and events on the frontlines, however, it focused on distorting reality and denying defeats as the war turned in 1943.

Following the collapse and defeat of the GSR in 1946, and the establishment of the Community of Nations Mandate for Etruria, ARE was reformed along lines similar to the Estmerish Broadcasting Service and Hennish National Broadcasting in providing mostly educational programming. Due to the impoverishment found in post-war Etruria, ARE remained a principally radio-based broadcaster.

Third Republic era (1946-1960)

The 1948 reorganisation of ARE was followed by a restructuring of the broadcasters radio stations into two distinct networks, Prima Rete (First Network) and Seconda Rete (Second Network). In 1952, ARE introduced Terza Rete (Third Network), with Prima being focused on informational content such as news, Seconda on cultural programming and Terza focusing on entertainment, this structure would later constitute the emergence of the televised ARE Uno, ARE Due and ARE Tre and the individual radio channels providing similar programming today.

During the mid to late 1950s, the economic situation in Etruria had stabilised to a sufficient degree to foster growing ownership of television sets by the middle classes. This marked the beginning of ARE's extended responsibilities confirmed by the introduction of a regular television service in February 1956. On 6 February at 11.30 am, the first ARE television announcer presented the day's schedule broadcasted from the Solaria headquarters and via the Povelia and San Alessandro relay stations. At 13.30 pm, the first ever regular programme in Etrurian television history was broadcast - "Un Viaggio" a travel programme hosted by Baldassare Cesare Alessandri, in which he broadcast and explained the goings-on from various parts of Etruria to the audience, out of reflection of the lack of money for families to travel. The evening programming was focused on short threatre productions and a live broadcast of the opera "L'Eremita del Fiume", performed at the Scorzi Opera House in Solaria. At 22.30 pm, the broadcast saw the day's concluding programme, "Bounasera Etruria", the predecessor to today's 10pm news segment of the same name.

Organisation

ARE is a Statutory corporation, though subject to the purview of the Federal Ministry for Culture and National Identity and the Parliamentary Committee for Mass Media and Digital Affairs, its activities are overseen by the Board of Governance and regulated by Uficime (Federal Supervisory Office for Technology, Communications and Media). Both the Director-General and the Chair of the Governance Board are appointed by the FMCNI, though are confirmed by the Parliamentary Committee. The broadcaster's activities and standards are defined by the Constitution of Broadcasting which was produced when it was formed in 1920 and is reviewed bi-annually.

Governance

The Board of Governance was formed in November 1938 as part of ARE's inclusion of nascent television. The task of the Board of Governance is to set strategy for the company, assess the performance of the General Executive Committee in the delivery of services to consumers and guarantee the corporation's adherence to the "Founding Constitution." From 1938 to 2019, the Board of Governance appointed the Director-General, until this was handed to the government. The Board of Governance also manages ARE's relationship with Uficime, the national regulator.

The Board of Governance is comprised of the following members:

Name	Position	Term of office
Viktor Urbančič	Chairman	2019-2025
Romolo Simone Minervini	Director-General	2019-2025
Sofia Maria Scorzi	Senior Director	2019-2025
Girolamo Urbano	Non-Executive Director	2019-2025
Aldo Mauro Abate	Non-Executive Director	2019-2025
Giuseppe Marco Ochetti	Non-Executive Director	2019-2025
Petar Bučar	Non-Executive Director	2020-2026
Alessandro Giovanni Maiolo	Member for Vespasian Region	2019-2025
Florjan Lipuš	Member for Carinthian Region	2019-2025
Fabijan Medvešek	Member for Novalian Region	2019-2025
Bojan Janjić	Chief Content Officer	2019-2025
Cesare Aurelio Panzarella	Chief Operating Officer	2019-2025

The General Executive Committee is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the corporation. Consisting of senior managers of ARE's divisions, the committee meets twice a month and is charged with implementing the strategy devised by the Board of Governance, it is headed by the Director-General, who is Romolo Simone Minervini.

Name	Position	Term of office
Romolo Simone Minervini	Director-General	2019-2025
Bojan Janjić	Chief Content Officer	2019-2025
Cesare Aurelio Panzarella	Chief Operating Officer	2019-2025
Antonio Buontalenti	Director for State Operations	2019-2025
Petra Cicvarić	Director for Creativity - Television	2019-2025
Lordan Zafranović	Director for Creativity - Radio	2019-2025
Andrea Baldassare Laurana	Director for News and Current Affairs	2019-2025
Giovanni Michelucci	Director for Employee Affairs	2019-2025

Television

ARE currently operates eight national television channels as well as one subsidiary international network, all in high definition (HD). All eight channels are free-to-air via all television providers, including the DVB-T national terrestrial networks; by 2022 the transition to DVB-T2 will be completed, all channels are also available online. ARE Notizie and ARE Uno are available internationally, while Unimondo, the international network is only accessible through cable and satellite providers, but can be accessed online domestically.

All seven channels operate exclusive language variants for the Novalian and Carinthian audiences.

ARE Uno (ARE One)

• ARE's premier channel, which broadcasts a number of programmes including news, soap operas, comedy, light entertainment and films, as well as the Euclovision Song Contest. ARE Uno is also the primary channel for the broadcasting of national events such as the Vittoria Rivodutri, Festa della Liberazione e Unificazione and Festa della Figli di Romolo. All of the channels content is produced domestically, with the notable exceptions being foreign blockbuster films or dramas which are usually first-run imports and broadcast on an ad-hoc basis. ARE Uno broadcasts the fixed morning, midday and evening news content; Nuovo Giornali (7.30am), Aggiornamento di Mezzogiorno (12.00pm) and Bounasera Etruria (8.00pm) respectively. Notably, since 2019, ARE Uno has also carried the controversial "Un'ora con il Presidente" (An Hour with the President), usually broadcast after the evening news programme.

ARE Due (ARE Two)

• ARE Due is dedicated to broadcasting more "high-brow" productions including dramas, television films, televised theatre and operatic productions and cultural showcases. ARE Due has since 1960 produced "Perso da Tempo" (Long Lost) in which celebrity guest stars bring on family heirlooms or artefacts, where they are studied by experts and occasionally sold at auction for charity. Since the early 2000s, ARE Due has moved into niche programming, including arthouse, cultural discussions panel shows and talk shows.

ARE Tre (ARE Three)

• ARE Tre was introduced in 2003 and is dedicated to light entertainment, comedies, archived shows, reality television and youth programming. ARE Tre carries the popular "La Voce Stellare" (The Star Voice), a singing contest and "Solo nel Bosco" (Alone in the Woods) a survivalist celebrity reality show. ARE Three is generally considered to be focused on younger audiences.

ARE Tempo (ARE Time)

• ARE Tempo is dedicated to carrying documentaries, informational, political debate panel shows, educational and select dramas, predominately period or thriller. ARE Tempo has carried "Veritas" (Truth), an investigative news programme since 1988 and has become nationally renowned for historical exposés including 1992 San Marino sex scandal, 1999 Parliamentary pensions scandal and the 2011 Urbano Onoforio sex scandal, which resulted in the resignation of the president. Since 2019, ARE Tempo and Veritas has come under considering criticism and controversy (see below) over its hyper-partisan approach and revisionist documentaries.

ARE Sportivo (ARE Sports)

• ARE Sportivo is premier broadcaster for national sporting events across Etruria. It holds the broadcasting license for Lega I and Lega II, the top two championship leagues in domestic Etrurian football. It is also the broadcaster for the Solarian Open, the Ogled Koroške cycling event, the IFF Coupe du monde and Invictus Games. In 2013, it lost the broadcasting rights to the Accadia Grand Prix and Rugby world cup to Orrizonte24.

ARE Notizie (ARE News)

• ARE Notizie is the channel dedicated to 24 hour news coverage and includes rebroadcasts of the morning, midday and evening news segments from ARE Uno. Since 2019, ARE Notizie has introduced hourly talking shows, including "La Parola" (The Word) and "Fredda Verità" (Cold Truth). These shows take the format of two co-hosts, engaging in hyper-political dialogues and hosting debates with politicians and journalists. These shows and ARE Notizie have been since 2019, consistently accused of misinformation and spreading conspiracy theories. Both La Parola and Fredda Verità have been criticised for only engaging in debates or discussions with supporters or members of the governing Tribune Movement and for being mouthpieces of the government.

ARE Senato (ARE Senate)

• ARE Senato provides broadcasting for the televised events of the Senate of the Federation, including general sessions of the lower and upper chambers, committee hearings and results of votes.

ARE Giovane (ARE Junior)

• ARE Giovane is the channel dedicated to children's programming, including animated and educational shows. During testing seasons, ARE Giovane broadcasts educational and revision shows dedicated to assisting children in their examinations.

Radio

The following radio stations are broadcast on FM in addition to DAB, television and online.

National

Radio Solaria

• Generalist station featuring news and music

ARE Forum

• A talk-show format station dedicated to debate, news and politics

Sport dell'Etere (Aether Sports)

• Dedicated to sports and live commentary of primarily football

ARE Generazione (ARE Generation)

• A music station dedicated to older audiences

Il Sotterraneo (The Underground)

• Dedicated to music, primarily pop, Etrurodance, Euclodance and younger audiences (16-30 year olds)

ARE Ecumene (ARE Ecumene)

• A Catholic station dedicated to news, debate, call-in discussions and Sotirian music

Digital

VoceUno (Voice One)

• A generalist station featuring news, music and politics

OndaSonora (Soundwave)

• A music station dedicated to the latest hits from Etruria and Euclea

Suono d'Etruria (Sound of Etruria)

• A music station dedicated to classical, opera, folk and traditional music produced in Etruria.

Il Pavimento (The Floor)

• A music station dedicated solely to electronic dance music

ARE Notizie (ARE News)

• The 24 hour news service, broadcasts the same programming as its televised counterpart

Convergenza (Convergence)

• A station that operates a series of talk-shows and debates

Programming

News

ARE News is the most viewed news provider in Etruria.

ARE Notizie is the largest broadcast news gathering operation in Etruria, and one of the largest in the world. It provides services to domestic television networks via ARE Notizie, ARE Senato and AREmondo (the world news service), as well as domestic radio. ARE Notizie also provides news stories via its website and eARE, its smartphone app, accessible to mobile phones and PDAs, the online service also provides alerts by email, text message and desktop notifications.

According to annual ratings figures, ARE Notizie remains the most viewed news provider in Etruria, securing 54% of national audiences, it's primary audience remains those aged 40-50, 60-70 and above, it rates the lowest among young viewers and those aged 18-30. However, during times of national importance, such as federal or state elections, natural disasters or global events, ARE's viewership increases markedly as it draws in younger viewers from its privately owned competitors.

ARE Notizie itself offers 24 hour broadcasting, with three hour-long programmes dedicated to the morning, midday and evening news, which are also broadcast on ARE Uno, Buongiorno (7.30am), Aggiornamento di Mezzogiorno (12.00pm) and Bounasera Etruria (8.00pm). These programmes cover the days news headlines, while the evening show, Bounasera Etruria includes a 15-minute segment on the next day's newspaper headlines and analysis. Since 2019 however, ARE Notizie has also launched two new shows La Parola" (The Word) and "Fredda Verità" (Cold Truth). La Parola is broadcast at 9.00am and runs for an hour and takes the form of a panel discussion show about ongoing political stories and topics. Fredda Verità runs at 9.00pm and is hosted by Marta Giambattista and Rafaella Schiano who engage in dialogues and interview politicians and commentators about varying issues. Both shows, but Fredda Verità more specifically are deeply personalised and loose in format. Both shows were introduced after the 2019 ARE sacking affair, in which the governing far-right Tribune Movement government sacked the executive board of ARE and replaced them with politically motivated figures, as such, both shows are widely accused of bias toward the Tribune Movement and have been described as the "physical manifestation of ARE's corruption under the Tribunes."

General entertainment

General entertainment on ARE is primarily provided by ARE Uno ARE Due and ARE Tre though differing in style, genre and format. ARE Uno broadcasts the country's most popular soap operas, including "La Piazza" (The Square, launched in 1990) and "Su per la Montagna" (Up the Mountain, launched in 1991). ARE Uno is also the broadcaster for Euclovision, the annual continental singing competition. ARE Due, being the primary broadcaster of dramas provides shows such as "La stanza" (The Room, launched in 2003), a police procedural drama and "Santa Maria" (Saint Mary, launched in 1989), a medical procedural drama.

La Voce Stellare is a long-running singing contest broadcast on ARE Tre.

ARE Tre was launched in 2003 to provide light entertainment as well as target younger audiences. It is the primary carrier for reality television, sit-coms and televised comedy shows. Its headline shows include "La Voce Stellare" (The Star Voice, launched in 2006), a singing competition and "Solo nel Bosco" (Alone in the Woods), a reality television show dedicated to celebrities being dropped into the Santa Caterina National Forest and forced into survivalist situations. In 2010, ARE Tre launched "Una Serata in Anfiteatro" (An Evening in the Amphitheatre), a televised comedy show hosted at the Solarian-built Schiuntrave amphitheatre.

Documentaries

ARE has a long legacy of producing award-winning documentaries, several of which have served as exposes of scandals and political events. ARE Tempo (ARE Time) is dedicated to airing documentaries, informational, political debate panel shows, educational and select dramas, predominately period or thrillers. "Veritas" (Truth, launched in 1988) is an award winning investigative news program since 1988 and has become nationally renowned for historical exposés including 1992 San Marino sex scandal, 1999 Parliamentary pensions scandal and the 2011 Urbano Onoforio sex scandal, which resulted in the resignation of the president.

Other programs include documentaries on Ancient Solaria, the middle ages, renaissance, Etrurian First Republic, Great War, Solarian War, nature documentaries and documentaries on key political events in Etrurian and Euclean history. Several of ARE's historical documentaries are re-recorded with subtitles or voice overs in foreign languages for export to foreign broadcasters.

Sport

ARE Sportivo is premier broadcaster for national sporting events across Etruria. It holds the broadcasting license for Lega I and Lega II, the top two championship leagues in domestic Etrurian football. It is also the broadcaster for the Solarian Open, the Ogled Koroške cycling event, the IFF Coupe du monde and Invictus Games. In 2013, it lost the broadcasting rights to the Accadia Grand Prix and Rugby World Cup to Orrizonte24.