Rai to cut original productions by US$10m

Italian broadcaster Rai is set to reduce spending on original TV and film productions by US$10 million as part of overall cost saving plans.

The public broadcaster announced that it would cut production budgets by €7 million (US$10 million). The network estimated in January that its losses for the year would reach €155 million, but as a result of cost cutting and these moves to trim original production budgets is expected to reduce this to €118 million.

This is expected to impact on Rai series including Un Posto al Sole (A Place in the Sun), its long running soap that is produced with Rai in association with FremantleMedia-owned producer Grundy Italia and Ballando con le stelle, its local version of Dancing with the Stars.