* Italian ad sales down about 2 percent in Q1
* Italian ad sales up 2-3 percent in April
MILAN, April 20 (Reuters) - Italian advertising sales for broadcaster Mediaset fell about 2 percent in the first quarter, the company said on Wednesday.
However, April should show a rise of between 2 and 3 percent in advertising sales in its key domestic market, Mediaset said.
Mediaset detailed comments by Chief Executive Giuliano Adreani, who said on Wednesday the first quarter had been "slightly negative" with a "heavy" month of March.
"The market recovered in April," he said at press conference after a shareholder meeting.
Mediaset, which is controlled by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's family, will release first-quarter results on May 10.
Mediaset shares were up 1.7 percent at 1413 GMT at 4.37 euros. The STOXX Europe 600 media index was up 1 percent.
(Reporting by Claudia Cristoferi and Valentina Za; Editing by Erica Billingham)