Radio Monte Carlo: the voice of the Principality of Monaco

In 1943, the Germans stationed on the French Riviera (which was then part of the “Vichy Republic”) created a radio station to spread their propaganda in the South of France. The famous French singer Maurice Chevalier (1988-1972), disregarding the delicate situation, inaugurated the transmitters installed in Monaco. This, in fact, led to a decline in his popularity when the region was liberated.
After the defeat of the Axis, the Monegasques and the French took control of the facility and later transformed it into RMC.
Today, Radio Monte Carlo is an Italo-Monegasque radio station broadcasting from studios in Milan and Monte Carlo, and it can be received in Italy, the Principality of Monaco, and the French Riviera. It ranks fifteenth among the most followed national radio stations.
Its history began on March 6, 1966, initially as part of the Italian programming of Radio Monte Carlo under the direction of Noel Coutisson, but later it became an independent broadcaster. The station’s peak came between the late 1960s and mid-1970s. RMC’s antennas, free from the censorship that affected Italian radio, played “hidden” songs that RAI had banned and spread an informal language throughout the peninsula. This new approach to radio thrived, supported by multimillion-dollar advertising contracts with cigarette brands that couldn’t advertise in Italy but could abroad (since the AM transmitters were located in Monaco). It set a trend for many years. The great names emerged: Barbara Marchand, Luisella Berrino, Liliana Dell’Acqua, Roberto Arnaldi, Awanagana, Ettore Andenna, Herbert Pagani, Federico l’Olandese Volante, Max Onorari, and the great programs, which became a guide for future radio programming.
However, in the early 1980s, FM radio stations, which had emerged a few years earlier, started becoming a threat—not so much because of the quality of their programming, but due to the quality of the audio signal. Frequency modulation became the new technological standard, and the large medium-wave transmitter of the Monegasque radio broadcast programs that were increasingly less listened to.
A new strategy was then adopted, leading Radio Monte Carlo to form “alliances” with private radios in various regions to share FM radio links. This marked a period of great changes, with new forces arriving to cushion the impact of the new broadcasters.
Luisella Berrino, Roberto Arnaldi, and Awanagana were joined by a new team of DJs and journalists, such as Max Pagani, Marco Odino, Mario Raffaele Conti, and Manuela De Vito, who revitalized the programming while maintaining the Principality’s radio style.
However, the true revolution came in 1988 when Alberto Hazan, owner of the then Rete 105, one of the largest national radio networks, bought the brand rights for the Italian part of Radio Monte Carlo. In the same year, historical figures like Roberto Arnaldi and Awanagana left the station, and new voices (Maurizio Di Maggio, Lester, Patrizia Farchetto, Marco Porticelli, Max Venegoni) arrived, alongside a sound more in line with American radio stations.
Starting in 2006, to differentiate the product, a new channel, RMC 2 (Radio Monte Carlo 2), was created, available on FM in certain Italian cities and the Principality of Monaco. From 2006 to 2014, another station, Radio Monte Carlo Swiss, existed, broadcasting in German in Switzerland.
On September 5, 2018, the main radio station was acquired by RadioMediaset, separating from the activities of RMC2.