Italy

Italian state broadcaster Rai and DTT sports broadcaster Sportitalia have retained their rights to Serie C, the third tier of Italian club football.

Pay-television broadcaster Fox Sports has acquired rights in Italy to the 2017 World Judo Championships.

The Italian division of the Infront Sports & Media agency has recorded a drop in turnover, but has seen its net profits rise by over 50 per cent.

International sports broadcaster Eleven Sports and German sports broadcaster Sport1 have acquired rights to the Drone Champions League (DCL).

Lega Serie A, the organising body of the top division of Italian club football, has launched its international media rights sales process for the three seasons spanning 2018-19 to 2020-21.

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

It is thought Fox was Discovery’s only rival bidder, but the broadcaster’s limited budget for sports rights did not allow an aggressive bid. Discovery, on the other hand, was very keen on the rights

French media group Vivendi has confirmed plans to form an Italian pay-television platform in association with its Telecom Italia (TIM) and Groupe Canal subsidiaries.

Italy’s antitrust watchdog, the AGCM, has launched an investigation into possible cartel activity by three agencies managing overseas rights to Italian club football competitions.

European pay-television group Sky has reported a six per cent fall in operating profit due to the increased costs of rights to football’s English Premier League, while it has outlined plans to launch a “simple and affordable” OTT platform in Spain.

French media group Vivendi is pursuing plans to form an Italian pay-television platform in association with its Telecom Italia and Groupe Canal subsidiaries, according to Les Echos.

Italian media company Mediaset has appointed Adriano Galliani, a long-time senior executive at AC Milan, as president of pay-television unit Mediaset Premium as it gears up for the new domestic rights tender for Serie A, the top division of Italian club football.

The Milan prosecutor’s office has had a request to arrest two former senior executives at the Infront Sports & Media agency dismissed by the Milan Review Tribunal.

ARD and ZDF are close to a sublicensing deal with Discovery Communications for Olympic Games rights in Germany about nine months after negotiations between the parties broke down.    

Italy’s Lega Basket has seen the value of its domestic and international rights almost double in new deals with Rai and Discovery Communications.

Lega Serie A, the organising body of the top division of Italian club football, has spelled out its plans for its latest international media rights tender after staging the first edition of a new roadshow initiative.