Frank Dunne

When FBI raids brought the Fifa scandal to public attention in May 2015, one of the burning questions was: how will football benefit from the crackdown on corruption? The outcome of the Conmebol tender this week provided the clearest answer so far.

Media commentators will debate whether the 36-per-cent increase the English Football League secured for its rights from Sky is a great result, a disappointment, or something in between.

Italy’s third-tier professional football league, Lega Pro, is heading for a substantial increase in the value of its domestic media rights after holding its first formal tender processes for both national and local broadcast rights.

July 26 and 27, 2017, are two days that could completely reshape the sale of Serie A international media rights.

Pay-television platform Sky Italia is thought to have agreed to pay just over €300m ($336m) per season for exclusive rights to the Uefa Champions League and Europa League from 2018-19 to 2020-21.

The attempt by MP & Silva to terminate a deal with Fifa for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups in Italy is being challenged by football’s global governing body, just months after the two appeared to have reached a settlement.

IMG has finally signed off its long-form agreement with England’s Football Association for FA Cup international rights after months of negotiation.

Lega Serie A’s invitation to tender for its media rights could allow Sky Italia to secure a monopoly of Serie A rights in the next cycle, dealing a potentially fatal blow to its main rival Mediaset Premium. Bids are due tomorrow, June 10.

Eleven Sports Network said this week its strategy of targeting second-tier rights in larger markets, and running a ‘lean and mean’ business operation, would succeed in Italy, despite the country’s pay-television market having proved difficult for other players.

The Asian Football Confederation said this week there were three main reasons why the value of its media and marketing rights would increase in the next cycle.