Italy’s court upholds nine-icon prominence rules for connected TVs

Daniel Okafor

On November 10, 2026, Italy’s Lazio Regional Administrative Court (TAR) upheld rules requiring a nine-icon home-screen access block and direct access to DTT broadcasts on connected devices.

The ruling confirmed the full legitimacy of content-prominence guidelines issued by Italy’s Communications Authority, AgCom. Google, Samsung and industry association Anitec-Assinform lost their appeals against the framework. It applies to connected TVs, decoders, set-top boxes and connected home media players.

What did the court decide?

TAR rejected the challenges because the interface rules protect public-interest television and radio without removing every commercial service from connected devices. The court found that “screen positioning strongly influences viewer choices, often overriding initial user intent.”

Its judgment treats protected entry points as a regulatory compromise, requiring prominence for public-interest services without reserving the entire interface for them or excluding commercial placements. TAR said the rules created “a necessary balance between free-market commercial interests and the protection of media pluralism.”

For traditional broadcasters, the outcome rejects the appeals and preserves visibility designed to stop prominent streaming interfaces from crowding out free-to-air services. The ruling does not make connected-TV home screens exclusively public-service spaces. Instead, it distinguishes mandatory access for public-interest content from screen space that manufacturers may still sell.

What must appear on a connected-TV home screen?

Manufacturers and connected-TV operating-system providers must reserve a dedicated block of nine primary access icons on home-screen interfaces for protected television and radio services across connected devices. They must also provide one fixed physical or digital button that opens DTT broadcasts directly. DTT refers to digital terrestrial television, the broadcast service the rule seeks to keep directly reachable.

AgCom requires dedicated direct-access icons for five primary Italian free-to-air television networks. Those named networks are:

• Rai
• RTI Mediaset
• La7
• Sky Italia
• Warner Bros Discovery Italia

The rules add three aggregator categories, each represented by a specialised container icon. They cover:

• Other non-top-tier national free-to-air channels.
• Local and regional television stations.
• National radio networks.

The named networks and three aggregators sit alongside the required direct DTT control within the structured access set. Grouping smaller services in three containers limits duplication on the home screen. It also prevents regional and secondary broadcasters from being buried beneath commercial app agreements.

Why did the appeals fail?

The ruling rests on two connected findings about interface design and market access. First, the placement of services can shape choices more strongly than a user’s opening intention. Second, a regulated route to public-interest services can coexist with the market for commercial placements on the same device. TAR therefore rejected the challenges to the mandatory prominence structure.

It does not reserve the whole home screen or remove commercial distribution from connected devices. For Google, Samsung and Anitec-Assinform, the decision means interfaces offered in Italy must accommodate protected entry points while retaining the separate commercial space that manufacturers are allowed to monetise. For traditional broadcasters, the change gives free-to-air services a fixed route to viewers rather than relying on users to find a channel app. For connected-TV platform providers, the ruling shifts prominence from a negotiable screen position to a mandatory interface requirement.

How will devices comply?

The required changes will reach both new and existing devices through over-the-air software updates and interface updates. That route matters because AgCom applies the same requirements to devices already in use and devices sold with the updated interface. No compliance timetable appears in the published ruling summary, leaving timing dependent on the OTA and interface-update process described by AgCom’s guidelines.

End users can still rearrange their screen layouts and choose alternative content. Rearranging does not remove the mandatory prominence structure. Manufacturers retain the right to commercialise all screen space outside the required nine-icon block. The arrangement preserves both user choice and a protected route for public-interest broadcasting. The next test is practical rather than appellate: whether OTA software and interface updates deliver the nine-icon block, direct DTT access and three aggregators consistently across new and existing devices.