When Rupert Murdoch and Silvio Berlusconi clash, it is no surprise that the dispute plays out across multiple platforms.

In Italy, Berlusconi, the prime minister, has used an interview on one of his own television channels to accuse Murdoch of mounting a personal attack through a newspaper owned by the News Corporation, his global media empire.

The articles and editorials in question, in The Times of London, examined the relationship between Berlusconi, 72, and an 18-year-old model, Noemi Letizia. Murdoch, appearing on a television channel in New York owned by the News Corporation, discounted Berlusconi’s claims of a personal attack, calling them nonsense and saying that other newspapers, not owned by his company, have been even more critical. On that level, the dispute may seem as farcical as the antics on an Italian variety show. But on another, the rivalry between the men is serious, and is heating up.

Berlusconi is “fearing what Murdoch could do in Italy,” said Fabrizio Perretti, a professor at Bocconi University in Milan who studies the Italian media industry. “And that’s why he accused Murdoch, even if he isn’t really to blame.”

News Corporation owns Sky Italia, a satellite broadcaster that has dominated the pay-television business in Italy since the company was created in 2003. Berlusconi’s family holding company, Fininvest, is trying to challenge Sky’s hold on pay TV. Despite Sky’s strong position — with more then 4.7 million subscribers, it reaches about a quarter of Italian households — media analysts say changes in the national market could create an opening for Mediaset, a company controlled by Fininvest.

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