It has always been considered the most left-leaning channel of Italian public television.

Rai 3 is a direct competitor to Mediaset's Rete 4.

In the Aosta Valley, Rai 3 broadcasts programmes in French as well as in Valdôtain dialect.

In the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, Rai 3 BIS (TDD Furlanija Julijska Krajina) is a separate channel which broadcasts daily from 18:40 with a half-hour daily newscast in Slovene, and other shows in Slovene.

[2][3] In accordance with a bilateral cooperation agreement between Italy and Slovenia, Slovene-language shows produced by Rai 3 Bis are also aired on the Slovenian regional television channel TV Koper-Capodistria and on State-owned TV Slovenija 2.