ItsArt, flop of the Italian Netflix: losses for 7.5 million

This is what emerges from the 2021 financial statements that CorCom has been able to view. Revenues of 246 thousand euros against costs of 7.7 million. 141 thousand registered users. The League asks Minister Franceschini to clarify a Chamber 24 Jun 2022 F. Me

Loss-making balance for ItsArt. The Netflix of Italian culture – as Minister Dario Franceschini defined it at the time of its debut – closed 2021 with 7.5 million losses, as can be seen from the financial statements filed and that CorCom was able to view. In fact, the platform halved its liquidity since it started with a budget of 15 million. Revenues were also weak, amounting to 246 thousand euros (246,928 to be precise) against costs of 7.7 million: of these almost 900 thousand were sepsis for personnel, 5 million for services and 1 million for goods. As for the composition of revenues, 140 thousand are revenues direct to the consumer (B2C) "for the distribution of audiovisual content in streaming"; 105 thousand euros are "revenues from business counterparties in "barter transaction" mode or the result of a sale of vouchers in exchange for services, which determines income and expenses of the same amount. In the document filed it is specified that the registered users are about 141 thousand and that the titles divided into various categories in the "performing arts" are 1400. The League asks Minister Franceschini to clarify in the Chamber. "ItsArt is a bottomless pit, the whole project must absolutely be reviewed and for this reason we ask for an urgent hearing in the Culture Committee of the Chamber of Minister Dario Franceschini and CEO Andrea Castellari – says Daniele Belotti, leader of the League in the Culture Committee of the Chamber – The publication of the 2021 budget of the digital platform makes it known that, after only one year, recorded a loss of 7.5 million euros. Since its debut, the 'Netflix of Italian culture', as Franceschini had pompously renamed it, does not work and the League has been denouncing it for months, but now with the worrying figures put in black and white in the budget you can no longer waste time. To make the situation even more critical are the three CEOs who have succeeded each other in just one year, a sign that there is not much confidence in this expensive project. In this first year of its life we have presented more parliamentary questions, but now we need a direct confrontation as soon as possible, with Minister Franceschini and the top management of society. We cannot tolerate such waste with taxpayers' money." What is ItsArt ItsArt is owned by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, which holds 51%, and by Chili with 49%. Available since its launch in Italy and the United Kingdom and with an expansion program in Europe, the ItsArt platform is divided into three sections: Stage, Places and Stories, with content available in streaming on the itsart.tv website, from PCs, Mac Tablets and Android and iOS Smartphones, or on the main Smart TVs, by downloading the ItsArt application from your TV's App Store. Finally, you can access content using Chromecast from the Chrome browser on your PC, Mac, or Android mobile devices.