History
The Italian version of the channel began its broadcasting at 6:45 pm on 10 November 2011 with the show Destroyed in Seconds; before its launch, the channel was airing a loop of promos on its LCN (52). [4]
On 13 September 2012, DMAX unveiled its autumn 2012 programming season, with the introduction of a new slogan (Lo guardi, lo vivi; "You watch, you live"), a reface designed by Harriman Steel in London and the first two Italian productions, Football Hooligans and Milano City Tattoo. DMAX also unveiled a new website featuring catch-up functionalities and previews of upcoming programs. [5] On 17 December 2012, DMAX launched on Tivùsat channel 28. By then, the channel's share stabilized at 1%. [6]
The success of the channel was because Discovery aimed to conquer the 20-49 male demographic, which was, at the time, believed to spend more time online. In 2013, DMAX was the fastest growing television channel in Italy, which included also included the acquisition of television rights to the 2014 Six Nations Championship in order to attract more viewers. The mix of reality shows, featuring an "ironic and a little exaggerated tone", as well as its "rythmic and modern language", captured a predominantly young demographic. The channel also gave Gabriele Rubini, alias Chef Rubio, his claim to fame, with the on-the-road cooking show Unti e bisunti. By March 2014, its Facebook account had over 500,000 followers. [7] On 9 April, DMAX moved to channel 136 on Sky, launching the +1 timeshift on channel 137. [8]
On 6 February 2015, DMAX added the Discovery symbol to its screen bug, in an attempt at unifying its portfolio of free-to-air channels. [9]
On 4 January 2016, it aired a scripted TV series for the first time, Z Nation , marking its premiere on free-to-air television. The series aired on Monday nights. [10]
On 2 May 2016, DMAX unveiled a new identity and the slogan "In ogni uomo, c'è un maschio DMAX" (in each man, there's a DMAX male). During the summer, it held a promotional campaign to find the "real DMAX male" in Monza, and in the beaches of Romagna, Salento and Naples. [11]
From 1 March 2019 DMAX HD and DMAX +1 become visible also on Tivùsat at LCNs 28 and 128, respectively, replacing the SD version. [12] On 13 March 2019, the SD version definitively closed on satellite, as well as Sky Italia. From 9 April, DMAX, together with the other free channels of the group, is also available in high definition streaming on Dplay. [13]
On 1 December 2020, DMAX +1 was shut down. [14] It will cover all Six Nations matches until 2021.
On 8 March 2022, DMAX closed its SD feed, being replaced by the HD feed, as part of an Italian decision to convert most national channels (RAI, Mediaset, La7 and Discovery Italia) to high definition, while switching its encoding from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4. [15]
On 26 March 2024, WWE's official commentators for the network, Michele Posa and Luca Franchini announce that for the first time in 30 years Wrestlemania will be available on a free-to-pay channel in Italy in prime time on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14. [16]
From December 2025, the channel was added to DAZN Italia, as part of an agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery. [17]
