DMAX is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, launched in 2011 as Discovery Communications' second free-to-air channel, after Real Time. Since launch, Laura Carafoli has directed the channel; she also directed Real Time since 2010.
It is the first factual-entertainment channel for a male audience in Italy. Programming largely consists of factual and reality content, as well as some sports.
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 aired a loop of promos on its LCN (52).
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.DMAX presenta il palinsesto autunnale. Debuttano i primi 2 programmi Made in Italy e la campagna multimediale. Per la tv produce Mercurio. Y&R firma stampa, affissioni, online e radio On 17 December 2012, DMAX launched on Tivùsat channel 28. By then, the channel's share stabilized at 1%.
The success of the channel was because Discovery aimed to conquer the 20-49 male demographic. In 2013, DMAX was the fastest-growing television channel in Italy; which 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 "rhythmic 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.DMax, la “nativa digitale” che piace ai maschi. In 2 anni è già cult On 9 April, DMAX moved to channel 136 on Sky, launching the +1 timeshift on channel 137.
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.
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.DMAX canale 52: per la prima volta in chiaro "Z NATION", dal 4 gennaio alle ore 23:00
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.Discovery presenta il nuovo DMAX
On 1 March 2019, DMAX HD and DMAX +1 became available on Tivùsat at LCNs 28 and 128, respectively, replacing the SD version. On 13 March 2019, the SD version closed on Sky Italia, ending SD broadcasts of the channel on satellite. From 9 April, DMAX, together with the other free-to-air channels of the group, became available in high-definition streaming on Dplay.Dplay Plus, nasce l'area premium del servizio di streaming di Discovery
On 1 December 2020, DMAX +1 was shut down. It covered all Six Nations matches until 2021.
On 8 March 2022, DMAX closed its SD feed, which was 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.Digitale terrestre, 8 marzo switch off: come risintonizzare la TV. Cosa fare se non riceviamo i canali in HD
On 26 March 2024, WWE's official commentators for the network, Michele Posa and Luca Franchini, announced that for the first time in 30 years, Wrestlemania would be available on a free-to-pay channel in Italy in prime time on 13 April and 14 April.
In December 2025, the channel was added to DAZN Italia, as part of an agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery.
The channel is expected to move soon to LCN 37, with the former slot being used for a possible CNN Italia with Antenna Group.Claudio Plazzotta, WBD, balletto dei canali tv, ItaliaOggi, 13 August 2026, retrieved 15 August 2026
References
External links Official Website: dmax.it DMAX channel on YouTube