(ANSA) - ROME, OCTOBER 09 - Lillo Tombolini, former director of Italia 1, Rete4 at La7, died on 9 October in his home in Rome at the age of 79.
Born in Palermo on February 5, 1941, responsible for the schedule of Antenna Nord at the end of the 1970s, he contributes to the success of Lombard TV.
On January 4, 1982, all 22 broadcasters of the Rusconi group give life to a single channel, Italia1: Lillo Tombolini is one of the founders of the new television, before the next step at the helm of Rete4, a network owned by Mondadori.
These are the years of DriveIn and Bim Bum Bam, as well as cartoons including The Smurfs.
A Rete 4 Tombolini launches other successful formats, acquiring, among others, the rights to the serial "Venti di guerra", drawing an agreement with the US company Abc for the exchange of programs, and a contract with the Brazilian network Tv Globo to ensure the exclusive rights of telenovelas successfull.
In 1987 he took part in the birth of Odeon TV and became responsible for it.
In the second half of the 1990s he was called to lead Telemontecarlo and Telemontecarlo2, the Cecchi Gori Group broadcasters.
Among the successes obtained with Tmc, sports programs such as Goleada and Biscardi's Il Process, talk shows such as Luciano Rispoli's Il Tappeto Volante, series such as Sex and Thecity.
In 2001 Cecchi Gori sold the two broadcasters to Seat PagineGialle, of the Telecom Italia group.
On June 24 of that year, Telemontecarlo becomes La7.
Tombolini is one of the protagonists of the change and becomes the coordinator of the editorial processes.
In those years, the schedule can count on characters such as Giuliano Ferrara with Otto e Mezzo, Gad Lerner with L'Infedele, Daria Bignardi with The Barbarian Invasions, Piero Chiambretticon Markette, Ilaria D'Amico with Exit.
In December 2007 he became the director of the network and since 2010 he is also responsible for La7d.
With Tombolini La7 it grows in audience numbers and is consolidated also thanks to the arrival of Enrico Mentana at the helm of the news in 2010. The following year Tombolini leaves the post of director to Paolo Ruffini.
He leaves his lifelong partner, Daniela.
(HANDLE).