RAI is 99% owned by the Italian Government Ministry of Economy and Finance and is the sole licencee (concessionaria in esclusiva) of the radio, television, and multimedia broadcasting public service.

For this reason, the agreement with the Government prescribes a series of rules and guarantees that RAI must follow to ensure fair public service to the citizens.

[9] Management and Board of Directors are elected by the ruling Parliament through the Parliamentary Commission for the General Direction and Supervision of Broadcasting Services (Commissione parlamentare per l'indirizzo generale e la vigilanza dei servizi radiotelevisivi), every three years, in agreement with almost all parliamentary exponents, usually following the political side of the majority and leaving some space for minor roles to minority parties exponents.

Unione Radiofonica Italiana (URI) was formed in 1924 with the backing of the Marconi Company following a model adopted in other European countries.

1067 of 8 February 1923, wireless broadcasting became a state monopoly under the control of the Ministry of Posts and Telegraphs; URI was commissioned to provide services for a minimum of six years pursuant to Royal Decree No.

In 1954, the state-owned holding company Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale (IRI) became the sole shareholder and URI—now renamed RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana to reflect its extended responsibilities—finally began a regular television service.

On 3 January at 11:00 CET, the first RAI television announcer presented the day's schedule, which was broadcast from the service's Milan headquarters and relay stations in Turin and Rome.

At 14:30, the first regular programme in Italian television history was broadcast: Arrivi e partenze, hosted by Armando Pizzo and Mike Bongiorno.

RAI is 99% owned by the Italian Government Ministry of Economy and Finance, so it is said that it broadcasts content that may politically influence people.

[20] However, many people underline that RAI needs to balance political equity and public services with the market rules and competitors.

RAI is frequently subjected to controversies and censorship accusations regarding political matters, especially civil rights and LGBT issues.

[26] In 2016, during the first clear broadcast of the show How to Get Away with Murder, on Rai 2, the gay kisses for one of the main characters (portrayed by Jack Falahee) were completely cut off.

[27] Criticism on the social media platforms was so strong that Falahee and showrunner Shonda Rhimes both tweeted against the network's "inexcusable" censorship.

During the 1 May Concertone, a traditional Italian TV broadcast concert in celebration of the International Workers' Day, the rapper was invited to perform and have a speech on the stage.

The rapper honoured the entertainment workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and spent half of his speech in support of legislation that would punish violence against women and LGBT people as hate crimes in Italy.

RAI immediately denied all accusations and Fedez leaked a recorded audio of the conversation between him and the executives, where managers and hosts (declaring their names and roles to him) tried to censor his speech, by "asking you to adapt to a system that you probably don't get".

[31][32][33] After the video was reposted by all national media and web news sites, RAI sued the rapper, while a parliamentary investigation was opened.

[34] Fedez's accusation was one of the biggest media scandals of RAI, as not only all political parties took sides in the cause (centre and left in favour of the rapper, including ex-prime ministers Giuseppe Conte and Enrico Letta, while right and far-right parties in favour of RAI, including Matteo Salvini and Giorgia Meloni's colleagues).

[36][37] After the CEO's declaration, no other details were said about any apology or agreement with Fedez: nonetheless, the rapper was invited by Fabio Fazio to the first episode of the new season of his late show.

[39] Shortly after the Meloni government took office in October 2022, influential managers were replaced, and well-known journalists and presenters such as Fabio Fazio, Bianca Berlinguer, and Lucia Annunziata left RAI.

[44] A passage from Scurati states, "As long as those who govern us do not utter the word anti-fascism, the specter of fascism will continue to haunt the house of Italian democracy."

"I criticized the fact that, during the 19 months of Meloni's government, the Prime Minister insisted on the reading of history that corresponds to her neo-fascist background, i.e. she shifted the blame for the slaughter and massacres onto the German Nazis, even though the fascists of Salò were accomplices and collaborators.

On FM, AM, Satellite, DAB/DAB+, DTT, Filodiffusion, Web: Regional stations: Only on Satellite, DAB/DAB+, DTT, Filodiffusion and Web: Strutture Rai [it] ('Rai Structures') is a news organisation internal to RAI, or rather an internal management and division, created in order to independently manage the programs broadcast on the generalist and, in particular, thematic networks.

RAI's history in print with the Unione Radiofonica Italiana (URI)'s weekly magazine Radio Orario which debuted in January 1925 and became Radiocorriere in 1930.

Edizioni Radio Italiana (ERI) was founded in 1949 in Turin, formed entirely from RAI capital to build on Radiocorriere's success.

These offices are in Brussels, Paris, Berlin, London, New York City, Beijing, Cairo, Jerusalem, Nairobi, Moscow, Rio de Janeiro, and Bangkok.