Rai Storia

Rai Storia is an Italian television channel devoted primarily to history, historical interpretation, documentary programming, and related cultural subjects. It is part of RAI, Italy's public broadcasting organization, through Rai Cultura, the group responsible for a number of educational and cultural services. The channel is distributed principally in Italy through digital terrestrial television and is also available online through RaiPlay's live-streaming service. The service began broadcasting on 17 June 2002 under the name Rai Edu 2. Its original identity placed it within RAI's educational television offering. On 2 February 2009, the channel adopted the Rai Storia name, aligning its public identity more directly with its historical subject matter. The rebrand established the channel as a dedicated destination for historical programming rather than a general educational outlet. Rai Storia's schedule draws on productions and archives associated with Rai Educational and Rai Teche, RAI's historical and archival resources. Its output includes documentaries, historical series, archive-based programmes, interviews, explanatory formats, and cultural programming. One of the channel's best-known programmes is La storia siamo noi, a historical documentary and current-history format that has also been associated with RAI's broader documentary production. The channel's programming approach combines original or commissioned material with the reuse and contextualization of public-service archive content. The channel occupies a specialist position within the RAI portfolio. Rai 1, Rai 2, and Rai 3 serve broad general audiences, while services such as Rai Scuola and Rai 5 have more specific educational or cultural orientations. Rai Storia's distinctive proposition is its sustained focus on Italy's past, world history, political and social developments, biographies, heritage, and the interpretation of archival evidence. Its public-service role is therefore educational as well as entertainment-oriented. In May 2016, Rai Storia stopped carrying advertising. Following that change, the channel was reported as being funded solely through Italy's public broadcasting licence-fee system rather than commercial advertising. The decision reinforced its public-service and cultural positioning, although it also distinguished the channel financially from advertising-supported commercial television. Rai Storia remains an active RAI channel. Its terrestrial distribution has included digital terrestrial channel 554 on the Rai 4 multiplex, while RaiPlay provides an online route to its live programming. Availability, numbering, and digital distribution arrangements can change as Italian broadcasting infrastructure and RAI services evolve. The channel's core identity, however, remains that of a public Italian television service dedicated to making historical knowledge accessible through documentaries, archive material, and explanatory programming.

Rai Storia originated within RAI's educational television activities. It launched on 17 June 2002 as Rai Edu 2, an Italian digital television service intended to provide educational content. The initial name connected the channel with Rai Educational and with the wider public broadcaster's effort to distribute specialized learning and cultural programming alongside its general-interest networks. On 2 February 2009, the service was renamed Rai Storia. The new name, meaning approximately “Rai History,” gave the channel a more direct and recognizable editorial identity. Rather than presenting itself simply as a second educational outlet, it became a dedicated destination for historical television. The rebranding placed history at the center of the channel's schedule while retaining its relationship with RAI's educational and cultural production structures. Rai Storia's programming has been built around documentaries, historical series, interviews, archive footage, and explanatory programmes concerning Italian and international history. It has drawn material and productions from Rai Educational and Rai Teche, the RAI organization associated with the preservation and use of the broadcaster's audiovisual archives. This archive-oriented model allows the service to connect contemporary presentation with historical recordings, news material, testimony, and earlier television production. La storia siamo noi is among the programmes associated with the channel's historical documentary profile. The channel operates within the broader Rai Cultura portfolio. In that context, it complements rather than duplicates RAI's general entertainment and news services. Its editorial role is to make historical knowledge available to a broad television audience, using accessible documentary formats and public-service explanations. Topics can include political and social history, major events, biographies, cultural heritage, and the interpretation of Italy's place in European and world history. Rai Storia is distributed through Italy's digital terrestrial television system. The service has been identified with channel 554 on the Rai 4 multiplex, while RaiPlay provides an online live-streaming route. These distribution channels extend the service beyond a conventional linear television schedule and give viewers an additional way to access RAI's specialized programming. A significant operational change occurred in May 2016, when Rai Storia stopped carrying advertisements. The channel was subsequently described as relying solely on the Italian public broadcasting licence fee for funding. This removed commercial advertising from the service and strengthened its identity as a publicly financed cultural and educational channel. It also made Rai Storia distinct from television services whose schedules and revenue models depend substantially on advertising. Rai Storia remains an active Italian public television brand. Its central proposition has stayed consistent since the 2009 renaming: history presented through documentaries, cultural programming, and the resources of the RAI archive. The channel's continuing presence on terrestrial television and RaiPlay reflects RAI's approach of combining established broadcast distribution with digital access.

• 2016

  Advertising discontinued

  [1]Rai Storiaen.wikipedia.org

  In May 2016, the channel stopped broadcasting advertisements and moved to a licence-fee-only funding model.

• 2009

  Adoption of the Rai Storia name

  [1]Rai Storiaen.wikipedia.org

  On 2 February 2009, Rai Edu 2 was renamed Rai Storia, establishing a clearer historical and cultural specialization.

• 2002

  Launch as Rai Edu 2

  [1]Rai Storiaen.wikipedia.org

  The channel began broadcasting on 17 June 2002 as Rai Edu 2, an educational television service within the RAI portfolio.

A public-service specialist channel that presents Italian and international history through documentaries, archive material, educational formats, and cultural programming.

• Specialty television channel · 2002

  Rai Storia television channel

  The core Rai Storia service is an Italian public television channel dedicated to history and historical culture. Its schedule includes documentaries, archive-based productions, interviews, explanatory programmes, and material associated with Rai Educational and Rai Teche. The channel serves viewers seeking sustained historical coverage rather than the general-interest programming offered by RAI's principal networks.

• Digital live television service

  Rai Storia on RaiPlay

  RaiPlay provides an online live-streaming access point for Rai Storia. It extends the channel's reach beyond digital terrestrial television and places its historical and cultural schedule within RAI's wider digital platform.

• 2016

  End of advertisingStrategy

  Background

  Rai Storia operated as a specialized public-service channel within RAI's cultural portfolio.

  Action taken

  In May 2016, the channel discontinued advertising broadcasts.

  Aftermath

  The channel was subsequently funded solely by the public broadcasting licence fee, reinforcing its non-commercial public-service positioning.

  Source

• 2009

  Rebrand from Rai Edu 2 to Rai StoriaStrategy

  Background

  The channel had operated since 2002 as Rai Edu 2 within RAI's educational television structure.

  Action taken

  RAI changed the channel's name to Rai Storia on 2 February 2009, giving it a more explicit historical identity.

  Aftermath

  The service became more clearly positioned as RAI's dedicated history channel while continuing to carry educational and cultural programming.

  Source

1. 1Rai Storiaen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Rai Storia live stream on RaiPlayraiplay.it