Breve historia de la televisión italiana destinada a inmigrantes: el caso de Babel TV

Abstract

In those countries where immigration has more ancient roots than in Italy, media run by foreigners are a consolidated reality. In this contribution, we will present the media framework that Italian broadcasting, from its origins to the present day, has specifically dedicated to immigrant audiences. In particular, we will analyse the case study of an Italian television service designed for immigrants: Babel TV (a Sky channel that run from 2010 to 2014). In the second part of the article, we will examine the television consumption of this channel by immigrants. The empirical research was carried out in the city of Messina by means of interviews with men and women belonging to the three most numerous foreign communities in the town: Sri Lankan, Filipino and Chinese (ANPAL, 2017). In our analysis we will try to understand the following aspects: the loyalty of customers to this television channel, their preferences among the various genres proposed by Babel TV, and the role that this television airtime has had in maintaining a relationship between their country of origin and the host country. It is concluded that the immigrants consume television on behalf of their needs and according to social, cultural and economic factors, which conform the individual and social identities.