ITsART: the streaming platform of culture

During this period of pandemic, many industries suffered, especially those who involve contact with the public, such as the entertainment world. Concert halls, theatres, cinemas had to stay in a limbo for a long time, with limited opening periods. In order to support the industry in this moment of uncertainty, last January the Minister of Culture Dario Franceschini announced the project for a streaming platform dedicated to the national cultural content, ITsART. The platform is run by the namesake company, shared at 51% by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and at 49% by the streaming service Chili. At first the functioning platform’s debut was set for March, but some technical difficulties delayed the release until May 31st.

The platform is currently accessible from Italy and England, and the project’s page is available in Italian and English. This is because they hope to present the content to a foreign audience as well. Up to date, the platform presents three sections: Palco (Stage), Luoghi (Places), and Storie (Stories). In Palco are the shows that can be seen on a stage such as concerts and plays; Luoghi presents Italian museums and archaeological sites through music videos; Stories features Italian films and documentaries of different time periods.

Following the model of the platform Chili, ITsART doesn’t require a subscription, instead each event can be watched by buying a digital “ticket”. Part of the content has to be paid, while the rest is available for free, occasionally with ads while watching. 

Now it’s too early to assess if the platform is a success, but it’s surely a good resource in addition to the already important content library that is RaiPlay.

RaiPlay is the free streaming platform that features a vast amount of content including documentaries, tv series, game shows, films, cartoons and shows with different themes. RaiPlay is currently available as a website and app for Android and iOS. You can access the platform from any country of the world but some content is limited due to the shows’ broadcasting rights abroad. The online live broadcast of the Rai television channel is entirely available in Italy, while abroad it’s limited to the new channel RaiNews24.

Music and theatre
section from RaiPlay

Palco section
from ITsART

It’s important to consider that ITsART is a relatively small platform, it debuted a month ago and it’s already expanding its library. It has a lot of room for growth during the following months, I am quite optimistic about it!