Italian publishing giant Seat has appointed Roberto Giovalli as Telemontecarlo's (TMC's) new chief of programming, as part of its drive to target the youth market and rake a healthy portion of the TV advertising market.

Giovalli, who takes up the post on November 1, is currently director of Mediaset's youth-orientated channel, Italia 1. He was also previously director of programming and vice president of pay-TV company Telepiu.

"The choice of Giovalli is part of Seat's project of developing a network targeted at a young audience and creating an integrated multimedia group," Seat said in a statement.

In an interview with Rome daily La Repubblica, Giovalli said that TMC would aim only for a 5% audience share but would specifically target 15-34 year-olds. In doing so, he hopes to be able to win over a coveted portion of the TV advertising market, currently divided between RAI and Mediaset.

TMC's targeted audience also fits neatly in with Seat's plans to establish a leading multimedia group, as 15-34 year olds are the heaviest users of the internet in Italy, Seat said. Seat is currently involved in merger plans with Tin.it, Telecom Italia's internet arm, and also controls Italy's most popular portal, Virgilio. TMC is also negotiating to air music channel MTV which recently lost its Italian broadcasting licence.