Communities

Italian TV in the UK

Italians have been in Britain since the nineteenth century, from Clerkenwell's Little Italy to Bedford, where post-war brickworks recruited thousands of men from southern Italy. A new wave arrived in the 2010s, mostly young people working in London.

Updated 6 October 2026 · By the IPTV UK editorial desk

How do Italian households in the UK watch TV?

Serie A and the Rai channels lead. Italy is one hour ahead, so a 20:45 kick-off in Italy is 7:45pm in the UK.

What does the census say?

Measure	People
Born in Italy Census 2021 TS012, Italy	276,669
Main language: Italian Census 2021 TS024, people aged 3 and over	160,010

Where does the community live?

The council areas in England and Wales with the most people counted by the country-of-birth figure, out of 318:

Tower Hamlets10,5533.4% of residents
Newham7,0262% of residents
Wandsworth6,8642.1% of residents
Manchester6,5211.2% of residents
Birmingham6,1850.5% of residents
Westminster6,1253% of residents
Southwark5,9391.9% of residents
Lambeth5,6751.8% of residents

Our town pages with a large Italian community: Brighton and Hove.

This is what people from the community ask us about, not a promise that every channel is in the line-up today. We confirm specific channels in writing before you buy.

Ask us to confirm these channels

What are the legal ways to watch from the UK?

Rai ItaliaRai's channel for Italians abroad, with a selection of Rai programmes and some football.
RaiPlayFree, but most live channels and many programmes are geo-blocked outside Italy.
Mediaset InfinityMediaset's player; some content works abroad, but most is limited to Italy.

Availability and prices change; check the provider's own site before you subscribe.

Sport and kick-off times

Serie A, the national team and Formula 1 with Ferrari.

Time in Italy now—

UK time now—

Italy is 1 hour ahead of the UK all year. Busiest viewing: Sanremo in February and Serie A weekends.

Try it before you pay

The free 24-hour trial gives the full line-up, including the channel groups for Italian. If it suits your family, plans start at £6.25 a month.

More communities

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Readers also ask

How many Italian households live in England and Wales?

Census 2021 counted 276,669 (born in Italy); 160,010 (main language: Italian). Scotland and Northern Ireland run separate censuses.

Can I watch Canale 5 in the UK?

Ask us before you buy and we confirm in writing whether it is in the current line-up, or check it during the free 24-hour trial. Legal routes from the UK include Rai Italia, RaiPlay, Mediaset Infinity.

What time are Italy programmes in the UK?

Italy is 1 hour ahead of the UK all year. So a 9pm programme at home airs at 20:00 UK time in summer.

Sources

Census 2021, TS012 Country of birth (detailed) checked 6 October 2026
Census 2021, TS024 Main language (detailed) checked 6 October 2026

Try before you pay

Watch it on your own telly for 24 hours. Free.

Send a message and we reply with your log-in, usually within minutes. If you buy afterwards, plans start at £6.25 a month, and the first 14 days are covered by a full refund.

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