Berlusconi says Italy TV companies undersized-press

MILAN, March 11 (Reuters) - Italian television companies are too small when compared with the sector's world leaders, the owner of Italy's biggest private broadcaster Mediaset (MS.MI) Silvio Berlusconi was reported as saying on Tuesday. "At present competition on the television market goes beyond national borders and takes place among global giants, compared with which Italian companies are definitely undersized," Berlusconi said in an interview with Italian weekly newspaper Chi to be published on Wednesday.

Mediaset, which dominates Italian free-to-air broadcasting along with state broadcaster Rai, is worth about 6.5 billion euros ($10.06 billion).

In extracts released ahead of publication, Berlusconi also said his lower position in Forbes magazine's most recent list of the world's richest men showed he had not profited personally from his political career.

The former Italian prime minister, a favourite in opinion polls to win April's elections, ranked 90th, down from 51st the previous year.

"I did not become richer with politics. The exact opposite is in fact true!" he was reported as saying.

Berlusconi's Mediaset publishes 2007 results on Tuesday after the market closes.