Canale 5 is an Italian television station of Mediaset network, the media branch of Fininvest (controlled by Silvio Berlusconi). Canale 5 was the first private television network to be founded in Italy in 1978 as TeleMilano 58 (it changed its name in 1980).
Much of its early content came from American television shows dubbed in Italian, a common trait on Italian television today. These shows often sold the idea of the American Dream, but critics have said the programming also made Italians lose their closeness to family and instead turned them into vapid consumers. Mike Bongiorno, the host of Lascia o Raddoppia?, was also wooed away from RAI to host an early quiz shows on TeleMilano - an important step in building a following of Mediaset's newest channel.
Today Fininvest controls 35% of Mediaset. The logo of Canale 5 was originally formed by the number five beside a long biscione (a snake, the ancient symbol of Milan). In the eighties the reptile was replaced by a bigger number leaving only a stylized head on the top, and a flower was added (see picture). In 2000 Canale 5 launched Grande Fratello (Big Brother), the first reality show in Italy. This was the beginning of a new era of television marked by the medium of television referring to itself both as an important part of daily life and treated itself as a member of the family or a close friend, sometimes called as "autoreferencia." In 2005, RIS Delitti Imperfetti was launched, an Italian fiction inspired by CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. There are many Italian fictions (loved by the public) and the most famous are: Carabinieri, Distretto di Polizia, RIS Delitti Imperfetti and Elisa di Rivombrosa.
In 2005 due to the 2006 upcoming General Elections news editor Enrico Mentana was replaced by Carlo Rossella considered to be closer to Berlusconi's point of view. Rossella innovated a lot, transforming Canale 5's newscast in the fanciest newscast in Italy with lots of gossips, weather and food reports.
Mediaset exported its main network, Canale 5, to Spain, naming it Telecinco.
