Mediaset is an Italian television broadcaster and production company based in Milan. They are also known as Reti Televisive Italiane (Reteitalia, RTI), Fininvest and formerly Silvio Berlusconi Productions despite technically being different companies.
The company was founded in 1987 (as Futura Finanziaria S.r.l.) by Silvio Berlusconi with his aim being a direct nationwide commercial competitor to the government run Rai. Before he set up Mediaset, he had already set up the TV channel Telemilano that became Canale 5 then bought Italia 1 and Rete 4 to the network. This became RTI. When EuroTV the channel that aired Lupin the 3rd Part 2 was closed down in 1987, Berlusconi took over some of the broadcasting stations to form Italia 7 that then closed down. It was officially set up in 1993 in Milan and put on the stock exchange in 1996. His son, Pier Silvio Berlusconi is the vice president of Mediaset and related companies.
Since 1987, they have the rights to the Lupin the Third series in Italy and like NTV in Japan, they get first run. This does not extend to home releases where they are handled by Yamato Video and TMS directly or the manga as it is handled by Panini Comics. A few home releases in the past have credited Mediaset and VHS releases were handled by Medusa Film, owned by Mediaset. Merchandise in Italy also credit them as RTI can be seen next to Monkey Punch and TMS.
Unlike the airings in Japan and the US outside of Lupin the Third Part IV, the opening and the closing theme songs are replaced by original songs by Giorgio Vanni and Vincenzo "Enzo" Draghi. This originally did not apply to Lupin the Third Parts 1 and 2 since they were grandfathered from EuroTV however from 2004, the original songs of Planet O and Lupin were replaced by Hallo Lupin outside of the credits if aired. Some TV specials also replace Theme from Lupin III with their songs.
In the past, this was originally run on Canale 5 then moved to Italia 7, Italia 1 and Mediaset Extra. Now most Lupin content airs on Italia 2 ranging from TV series to TV Specials with the rare film. Italia 1 still premiers new content however it is reserved for new series.
Outside of Italy, in Spain they also have Telecinco that Silvio Berlusconi had shares in is now owned by Mediaset España. The Telecinco dub of Lupin the 3rd Part 1 was directly based off the 1987 Italian redub. The song Lupin, l'incorreggibile Lupin was also exported to France and Spain as their themes of Captain Tsubasa.
List of Content that aired on Mediaset channels[]
- The Castle of Cagliostro (second dub before they had rights to the series)
- Lupin the 3rd Part 1 (as Le Avventure di Lupin III, both dubs)
- Lupin the 3rd Part 2 (as Le Avventure di Lupin III)
- Lupin the 3rd Part III (as Lupin, l'incorreggibile Lupin)
- The Mystery of Mamo (second dub and English Geneon based fourth dub)
- The Legend of the Gold of Babylon
- Bye-Bye Liberty - Close Call!
- Mystery of the Hemingway Papers
- Steal Napoleon's Dictionary!
- Orders to Assassinate Lupin
- Burn, Zantetsuken!
- Farewell to Nostradamus
- The Pursuit of Harimao's Treasure
- Lupin III: Dead or Alive
- The Secret of Twilight Gemini
- In Memory of the Walther P38
- Tokyo Crisis
- Da Capo of Love: Fujiko's Unlucky Days
- $1 Money Wars
- Alcatraz Connection
- Return of the Magician
- Episode 0: First Contact
- Operation: Return the Treasure
- Stolen Lupin - The Copy Cat is a Midsummer's Butterfly
- Angel's Tactics
- Seven Days Rhapsody
- Elusiveness of the Fog
- Sweet Lost Night
- Green vs. Red
- Lupin III vs. Detective Conan
- The Last Job
- Blood Seal - Eternal Mermaid
- Record of Observations of the East - Another Page
- Princess of the Breeze
- Lupin III vs. Detective Conan: The Movie
- The Woman Called Fujiko Mine
- Lupin the 3rd Part 4 (world premiere)
- Lupin the 3rd Part 5
- Is Lupin Still Burning?
- Daisuke Jigen's Gravestone
The only Lupin film not aired on Mediaset channels is Lupin the 3rd (2014 film) where instead it was aired on Rai. The Blood Spray of Goemon Ishikawa and Fujiko Mine's Lie also premiered on Amazon Prime and have yet to air on Mediaset channels.
Censorship[]
In 1987 when they bought the rights to the series, they commissioned dubs of Part 1 and Part III. While Part 1 was not as censored but more compared to previous airings on other channels, Part III was heavily censored with some episodes close to 15 minutes in content and losing important plotlines. Part 2 was also censored with either parts cut out or content replaced by freeze frames despite most episodes were uncut when they were aired on EuroTV. The episode Part 2 Episode 60 in Part 2 was often skipped for transmission despite having minor censorship. This does not just apply to Lupin but Lady Oscar and various other anime that aired on the network.
From around 2004 onwards, the censorship started to relax with some content getting restored in Part 2 and Part 2 Episode 60 reaired in regular transmission. Now Mediaset airs the original dub of Part 1. There is still censorship of the series however it is due to TV regulation such as nudity and for Part III the missing airable parts were not dubbed (or the dubbed parts were lost before air). The Woman Called Fujiko Mine was censored however it was aired unlike the US where it could not meet broadcasting standards. In 2021 due to a change in policy, when the remastered episodes originally created for the Blu-ray releases of Part 1 and 2 were aired, the series became uncut.
Lupin the Third Part 5 was partly rewritten in Italian due to the darker themes however visually, it is mostly uncut.
Notes[]
- Due to Italian law, the TV airings of the series do not have commercial breaks. In some occasions regarding Part 2, the next episode follows from the previous episode without a break. They do however have them in the films and TV Specials.