Italy

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.

Italian state broadcaster Rai and international sports broadcaster Eurosport have been awarded rights for Lega Basket, the top division of basketball in Italy.

Italian DTT sports broadcaster Sportitalia has acquired rights for the 2017 World Games multi-sport event.

Mediaset vice-president Pier Silvio Berlusconi has said the Italian broadcaster would be interested in a partnership with pay-television rival Sky Italia for the final season of its Uefa Champions League rights deal, adding that a pay-per-view service will be launched for the club football competition as the company assesses its future direction.

Sports and betting-related services company Sportradar has signed up its latest partner for its new over-the-top product by agreeing a multi-year deal with Italian DTT sports broadcaster Sportitalia.

Mediaset president Fedele Confalonieri has confirmed that the media company will participate in the new sales process for domestic rights to Serie A, the top division of Italian football, when it is launched later this year.

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.