End of BT/Sky pay-TV war halts trend of Premier League growth
After successive 70-per-cent rises in the last two cycles there were only two sets of circumstances in which the Premier League was likely to secure another increase in the value of its domestic live rights.
Mediapro hopes to sell league channel in Italy despite doubts
Spanish agency Mediapro said this week it wanted to create and distribute a Serie A league channel on the same model as the LaLiga channel it distributes in Spain. But Italian law may make this impossible.
Rai bounces back from World Cup failure with three big deals
Italian public-service broadcaster Rai has bounced back from losing out on rights to this summer’s Fifa World Cup by agreeing three important football deals.
Sky hopes F1 exclusivity will help reignite subscriber growth
Pay-television operator Sky Italia believes its acquisition of exclusive rights to motor racing’s Formula One world championship can expand its subscriber base, which has been stuck at 4.7m to 4.8m for more than five years.
Mediaset confident World Cup fee will stack up without Italy
Italian media group Mediaset said this week it expected to make a healthy profit on its acquisition of 2018 Fifa World Cup rights by showing all matches free-to-air.
Serie A must find OTT solution to hit €1bn-per-season target
Italy’s Lega Serie A is hoping to earn €1.05bn ($1.26bn) per season for its domestic live rights in this month’s tender process. To hit that figure, or even come close to it, the league will need to do something it has failed to do in previous auctions: secure an offer which meets its valuation of its OTT rights.
Rai strikes deal with Discovery for Olympic Games rights in Italy
Italian public-service broadcaster Rai is understood to be close to a sublicensing deal with Discovery Communications to acquire rights to the 2018 and 2020 Olympic Games.
Fifa and MP & Silva struggle in Italy as TV4 anticipates jackpot
Rai, Mediaset and Sky were all expected to bid this week for a cut-price 2018 Fifa World Cup. The rights in Italy have plummeted in value since the national team failed to qualify for the tournament, losing a play-off to Sweden.
Big CCTV deal puts Infront on course for healthy Asian margin
The Infront Sports & Media agency looks well placed to earn a healthy margin on its World Cup rights across Asia following this month’s deal with Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
Vivendi-Telecom-Mediaset axis poses threat to Sky’s dominance
Rights-holders are keenly following negotiations between French conglomerate Vivendi and Italian media group Mediaset, which could unblock the impasse over Vivendi’s takeover of the Mediaset Premium pay-television platform.