Italy

Pay-television broadcaster Sky Italia has become the new rights-holder of the Uefa Champions League and Europa League club football competitions in Italy.

Lega Serie A, which operates the top football division in Italy, is set to launch a new rights auction in the coming months after Mediaset refused to participate in the latest tender and the only bidders tabled offers that did not meet the league’s expectations.

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.

Italy’s antitrust authority, the AGCM, has opted to suspend action on a complaint brought forward by Italian broadcaster Mediaset to enable the tender process for the domestic rights to Serie A can proceed as planned, while French media company Vivendi has expressed interest in the tender.

Italian broadcaster Mediaset has filed a complaint to the country’s antitrust authority, the AGCM, over the tender for the domestic rights for the Serie A football competition for three seasons, from 2018-19 to 2020-21.

The Infront Sports & Media agency has revealed details of a host of broadcast deals it has signed for the new Hammer Series cycling event, which commences tomorrow (Friday).

French media group Vivendi has secured European Union antitrust approval for its plan to gain control of Telecom Italia after the European Commission said it has agreed to sell the Italian telecommunications company’s majority stake in broadcasting services group Persidera.

Social video production, editing and sharing platform Tellyo has entered into a partnership with rugby union league the Pro12.

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 Euroleague will face a litmus test for its new product this summer as it takes its media rights to market in France and Italy – two markets from which the competition is desperate to earn greater revenue.

Lega Serie A, the governing body of the top division of Italian football, has issued a domestic rights tender for the three seasons from 2018-19 to 2020-21.

Autorità per le Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni (Agcom), the Italian communications regulator, has approved the rules for the sale of the next cycle of domestic rights to Serie A, the top division of football in the country.

European football’s governing body Uefa has launched tender processes for broadcast rights to its Champions League and Europa League club competitions in Italy, Spain and Slovenia.

International sports broadcaster Eurosport has agreed a partnership with software and solutions provider CA Technologies that has led to the introduction of a new second-screen app to enhance its cycling coverage.

International sports broadcaster Eleven Sports has entered into the Italian market with the acquisition of a majority stake in over-the-top platform Sportube.

State broadcaster Rai has acquired exclusive rights in Italy to the next two editions of national team football tournament the Uefa European Under-21 Championship.