Format

With March coming to an end, it is time to review the TV shows that premiered and returned during this month. Among the large amount of TV programs aired in March on Italian TV channels, the majority of them are returning shows, while the debuts make up only a small part of the total.
Starting with what is new, on Friday, March 10th Rai 1 launched Benedetta Primavera (Blu Yazmine), a new variety show hosted by Loretta Goggi with the participation of comedy duo Luca and Paolo, its debut achieved 2.942mln viewers with a 18.6% audience share; after airing 4 episodes the variety closed with 2.668mln and a 16.98% average share. On Wednesday, March 15th Canale 5 broadcast La TV dei 100 e Uno (RTI), another variety show hosted by Piero Chiambretti that includes one hundred kids from 6 to 11 years old, talking about their interests and current issues. Its debuting episode achieved 2.2mln total viewers (peaking at 3mln viewers in the prime time slot) with a 16% share – it was also a success among the young audience, gaining a 20.93% share among 15-34 year-olds. Overall, Chiambretti’s 3-eps show reached 1.889mln viewers and a 14% average audience share. On the same day, TV8 aired 100% Italia Special (Banijay Italia), a new take on the original game show hosted by Nicola Savino in which every team is formed by three celebrities. This new edition recorded 320k viewers and a 1.9% share on the first episode. On Sunday, March 5th NOVE launched a new edition of the renowned factual TV show Cambio Moglie (Banijay Italia), the Italian adaptation of the popular Wife Swap, reaching 246k viewers and a 1.3% share. Lastly, on Saturday afternoon, March 11th Real Time broadcast the brand new make-up talent show Call of Beauty (Fremantle Italy), hosted by social influencer Giulia De Lellis and Manuele Mameli, achieving 93k viewers and a 0.9% on the daytime slot.
Moving on to returning TV shows, on Saturday, March 4th and 11th Rai 1 broadcast the first edition of The Voice Kids (Fremantle Italy), the 2-eps junior version of the popular talent show hosted by Antonella Clerici, which reached 3.549mln viewers and a 22.8% average share. The following week, on Saturday, March 18th Rai 1 aired the fourth edition of Il Cantante Mascherato (tr. The Masked Singer - produced by Endemol Shine Italy), talent show hosted by Milly Carlucci, which debuted with 2.281mln viewers and a 17.9% share. On the same night, on March 18th, Rai 1’s main competitor Canale 5 aired the 22nd edition of talent show Amici (Fascino PGT) hosted by Maria De Filippi. The first episode reached an audience of 4.007mln viewers, with a 27.9% share, winning the prime time slot of the night ratings-wise. On the following Friday, March 24th, then, Canale 5 launched the second edition of Felicissima Sera – All Inclusive (RTI). The variety show, created and hosted by comedy duo Pio and Amedeo, for Mediaset’s main channel, achieved 2.794mln viewers and a 19.5% of share.
During this month, other returning TV shows are: on Tuesday, March 28th Rai 2 presented the second season of entertainment show Dalla Strada al Palco (tr. From the street to the stage – produced by Stand By Me), hosted by Italian singer Nek with judges Andrea Delogu and Carlo Conti: its debut achieved 1.162mln viewers and a 7.2% share. On Sunday, March 12th Italia 1 presented the second installment of investigation program Le Iene’s spin-off, Le Iene presentano: Inside (RTI). The show reached 997k viewers and an audience share of 5.8% on its first episode. Starting on Monday, March 20th, TV8 launched in daytime the second edition of Alessandro Borghese - Celebrity Chef (Banijay Italia). The VIP cooking challenge introduced a new member in the jury, with three-star chef Riccardo Monco replacing four-star chef Enrico Bartolini and joining food editor Angela Frenda. Its debut achieved 464k viewers and a 2.24% share in its timeslot. On Thursday, March 23rd NOVE broadcast the second edition of Faking It – Bugie o Verità? (Stand By Me), the Italian adaptation of the British true crime talk show of the same name, which gained 353k viewers and a 1.8% of share; on Saturday, March 25th, then, NOVE launched a prime time special episode of Cash or Trash (Blu Yazmine), which usually airs in the access prime time slot. It reached 242k viewers and a 1.5% of share. On Wednesday, March 8th Real Time aired the tenth edition of social experiment Matrimonio a Prima Vista (tr. Married at First Sight - produced by Nonpanic). The TV show first aired last February on Discovery+, but the first free-to-air episode reached 341k viewers and a 1.9% share. On Thursday, March 9th Sky Uno broadcast its second edition of adventure reality show Pechino Express (Banijay Italia), hosted by Costantino Della Gherardesca and Enzo Miccio, and its premiere achieved 355k viewers and a 1.8% of share.