Byoblu

ByoBlu
Country Italy
Broadcast areaItaly (via digital terrestrial television)
Worldwide (via internet)
HeadquartersVia Castellammare 14, 20157 Milan (Italy)
Programming
Language(s)Italian
Picture format16:9 SDTV
History
Launched2021, April 25
FounderClaudio Messora
Links
Websitewww.byoblu.com
Availability
Terrestrial
DigitalLCN 262
Tivùsat462
Sky816
Streaming media
LIVE Streamhttps://www.byoblu.com/diretta-tv/

Byoblu is an Italian television station in Milan, which is broadcast on digital terrestrial channel 262 as well as live-streamed on their official website.[1]

Initially born as a blog on the Internet, known for hosting and spreading alternative hypotheses and various conspiracy theories in the past,[2][3] it is a free and national channel, and is exclusively financially supported by donations from private citizens and some TV advertising, made by private subjects that are selected by Byoblu for their ethical policies.[4][5]

History and diffusion

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Founded in 2007 as a website and YouTube channel by Claudio Messora, former musician and communication consultant of the Movimento 5 Stelle,[6][7][8] dedicated to so-called alternative information issues,[9] Byoblu was transformed into a company in 2019, and into a regional newspaper and broadcaster in 2020, which went national in April 2021.[6]

This latter decision was taken following a sudden closure and deletion of videos and content from their YouTube platform, due to accusations of scientific misinformation on the topic of COVID-19.[10][11] The channel had approximately half a million registered users,[12] from whom its founder then asked donations to be able to raise a sufficient amount of money to purchase a digital terrestrial channel, visible throughout the Italian territory.[4][10]

Since then, Byoblu continues to be supported by the offers of voluntary contributors,[13] stating that independence from financial giants can guarantee autonomy and freedom of information.[14]

Byoblu is also a publishing house, which has published successful essays, including Heresia by Massimo Citro Della Riva,[15][16][17] and in 2022 it also became a radio broadcaster.[6] They have published some documentaries such as Io no, Capitano.[18][19][20]

In the last five months leading up to the 2019 European elections, the blog byoblu.com, in collaboration with the Five Star Movement (M5S), disseminated misleading information on Twitter, contributing to the spread of disinformation during the European elections.[21]

Byoblu has an online store with logistics and external warehouses that combine user purchases into a single shipping cost. The companies that offer their products in the online shop are the same ones that finance the short advertising breaks, which are broadcast by the television channel.[22]

Since July 14, 2024, Byoblu started a collaboration with Ars Europa, an Italian association that promotes the diffusion of art and classic culture through videos and modern 3D animation.[23]

Guests and schedule

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The televiewers themselves are invited to participate in the creation of the Byoblu broadcast programming, which includes newscasts and information programs on current affairs, culture, economics, history, science, and spirituality, through proposals and suggestions,[24] such as in the program "È l'Ora della Verità".[25]

Various in-depth topics are focused in particular on medicine and politics, with the aim of giving voice to people, events and news deemed underrepresented by the official or mainstream media,[26] also giving space to theses classified in general as anti-establishment.[17]

Among the various journalists, intellectuals, and experts who collaborate with the broadcaster, notable ones include Francesco Borgonovo, host of the talk show "1984: Escape Plan", Fulvio Grimaldi, Mario Adinolfi, Diego Fusaro, Alessandro Meluzzi, Ermanno Bencivenga; other guests include Massimo Mazzucco, Ugo Mattei, Robert W. Malone, the silent Master Mason Mauro Biglino[27] and others.[28][29]

Web content is released under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND license.

Byoblu declares to act with media and religious pluralism.[30]

The station intends to set up an association, which will have its own personal group of self-managed regional television networks, where members will be able to create the schedule and have a showcase for free and participatory discussion. Furthermore, the association will enter the so-called governance of the national television, with an annual general meeting in which the editorial line, the schedule and investment orientation will be discussed.[31]

Developments

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It's revenue increased from 422K euros in 2020 to 3.5 million in 2022. However, to address severe cash-flow issues and significant personal debt, Claudio Messora has been advised to list the blog and TV channel Byoblu on the stock market. This move aims to raise funds from small investors and shift the debt burden to the market. In fact, in December 2023 Messora planned to transform Byoblu into a joint-stock company.[32][33]

References

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  1. ^ "Diretta TV - ByoBlu".
  2. ^ Juanne Pili (21 September 2022). "Le teorie del complotto sull'alluvione delle Marche, tra scie chimiche e il volo Nato". Open (in Italian).
  3. ^ "Google ha tolto la pubblicità al blog Byoblu". il Post (in Italian). 28 January 2017.
  4. ^ a b Fabio Dragoni (1 April 2021). "Youtube epura Byoblu di Messora. E gli utenti gli comprano un canale tv". La Verità (in Italian).
  5. ^ "VIAGGIO DENTRO BYOBLU: LA CASA EDITRICE". Informazione - Notizie a Confronto (in Italian). 2023-11-29. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  6. ^ a b c "Claudio Messora" (PDF). Ministry of the Interior.
  7. ^ Barba, Mario (2020-07-15). "Chi è Claudio Messora: biografia e curiosità del responsabile di byoblu". NonSolo.TV (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  8. ^ "ByoBlu - Senigallia Notizie - 05/01/2024 - 60019.it: quotidiano on-line per vivere Senigallia e il territorio". Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  9. ^ Matteo Pucciarelli (3 June 2020). "Complotti, trame, sospetti. Messora e il sogno di Byoblu come tv antisistema". La Repubblica (in Italian).
  10. ^ a b Matteo Pucciarelli (31 March 2021). "Youtube chiude Byoblu. Il fondatore Messora lancia il crowdfunding: "Compriamo un canale sul digitale"". La Repubblica (in Italian).
  11. ^ Eleonora Bianchini (1 April 2021). "Byoblu, canale chiuso da YouTube". Il Fatto Quotidiano (in Italian).
  12. ^ F.Q. (30 March 2021). "ByoBlu, YouTube chiude l'account di Claudio Messora. "Ora compriamo un canale sul digitale terrestre"". Il Fatto Quotidiano (in Italian).
  13. ^ Claudio Messora (31 May 2022). "La verità su chi c'è dietro a Byoblu". Byoblu.
  14. ^ «Crediamo che l'informazione sia un servizio, crediamo che debba restare indipendente, crediamo che questo significhi libertà», from the "Official Website" (in Italian).
  15. ^ "La "bibbia" negazionista tra i bestseller". La Repubblica (in Italian). 1 September 2021.
  16. ^ Della Riva, Massimo Citro (2021). Eresia. Milan: Byoblu. ISBN 978-88-945482-5-9.
  17. ^ a b Marianna Rizzini (4 September 2021). "Byoblu, la corazzata della controinformazione". Il Foglio (in Italian).
  18. ^ ASI, Redazione (2023-12-12). "Il nuovo  docu – Film di Severgnini su BYOBLU smentisce Garrone: traffico di esseri umani dietro immigrazione irregolare". Agenzia Stampa Italia (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  19. ^ ""Io, no capitano". Il nuovo documentario di Michelangelo Severgnini su Byoblu". www.lantidiplomatico.it (in Italian). 2023-12-09. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  20. ^ ""Io No, Capitano!": il nuovo docufilm di Severgnini su Byoblu smentisce Garrone". www.primapaginanews.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  21. ^ Pierri, Francesco. "Investigating Italian disinformation spreading on Twitter in the context of 2019 European elections". PLOS ONE. Archived from the original on 2024-07-25. Retrieved 2024-07-25.
  22. ^ "Terms and conditions".
  23. ^ "Byoblu and Ars Europa" (in Italian).
  24. ^ "La Tv dei cittadini". Byoblu (in Italian).
  25. ^ "È l'Ora della Verità" (in Italian).
  26. ^ Claudio Messora: "ByoBlu cerca di dare voce a chi non ne ha" (in Italian). La 7. 3 October 2021.
  27. ^ "Archives of Mauro Biglino". Archived from the original on December 7, 2023.
  28. ^ "I programmi di Byoblu" (in Italian).
  29. ^ Note that there is also Luca Funiciello, the Anti-Catholic author of the Italian book titled Avrai altro Dio.
  30. ^ "Editorial policy" (in Italian).
  31. ^ "Association United Citizens for the Freedom of Thought and the Media Pluralismo" (in Italian).
  32. ^ Andrea Bianchini. "Il nuovo corso del complottismo: l'ora dei profitti dopo le fake news" (in Italian). Il Giornale.
  33. ^ "ByoBlu, la tv dei complottisti ora entra nel "sistema": nel 2024 pronta a sbarcare in borsa". la Repubblica (in Italian). 2023-12-21. Retrieved 2024-01-05.

Bibliography

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