Italy

Football

The regional administrative court (TAR) of Lazio has scrapped a fine of €51.4m ($55.1m) imposed on media company Mediaset for alleged violations of competition laws in the 2014 sale of rights to Serie A, the top division of Italian football.
Football

The German Football League (DFL) has agreed rights deals in Austria and Switzerland, along with three other German-speaking markets, with pay-television broadcaster Sky, international sports broadcaster Eurosport and DAZN, the OTT sports subscription service operated by digital media specialist Perform.
Multi-sport

Vivendi chief executive Arnaud de Puyfontaine will meet Italian financial markets regulator Consob in Rome on Friday following complaints over the French media group’s growing interest in Italian broadcaster Mediaset, according to Reuters.
Motorsport

Mike Kiernan reviews television audiences across the big five markets for the recently concluded Formula One World Championship
Multi-sport

French media company Vivendi has upped the ante in its ongoing battle with Mediaset by stating it could acquire up to a fifth of the Italian broadcaster, leading to speculation over a hostile takeover bid.
Football

Agcom, Italy’s communications regulator, has launched a procedure that intends to define the rules for the sale of the next set of domestic rights to Serie A, the top division of Italian football.
Motorsport

Will Partington, research analyst for SportBusiness Intelligence, examines television audiences for motorcycling’s MotoGP World Championship in selected European markets.

The Infront Sports & Media agency has confirmed that Marco Bogarelli, president of its Italian division, and Giuseppe Ciocchetti, managing director of the regional subsidiary, are to leave the company.
Multi-sport

Italian broadcaster Mediaset and pay-television broadcaster Sky Italia are in “contact” over a possible deal for the former’s pay-television division, Mediaset Premium, according to Reuters.
Multi-sport

Pan-European pay-television broadcast group Sky is becoming more selective about what sports rights it seeks as it focuses more on entertainment content amid shifting viewing habits, according to chief executive Jeremy Darroch.

Rugby Union

International sports broadcaster Eurosport has secured exclusive rights in Italy for the Pro12 European club rugby union championship.

Cycling

Urbano Cairo, the president of RCS MediaGroup, has said that commercial broadcaster La7 is interested in acquiring rights for the Giro d’Italia cycling race in Italy.

Football

Italian broadcaster Mediaset has said it still expects its contentious pay-television deal with French media company Vivendi to be completed and has maintained the ongoing impasse will not hamper its efforts in the forthcoming bidding process for two key football properties in Italy.

Football

Lega Serie A and Uefa are in a race to be first to sell their rights in Italy for the period 2018-19 to 2020-21.

Basketball

Sky Italia has strengthened its grip on the NBA in Italy by becoming the league’s sole media partner in its new two-season deal, and has done so without paying an increased rights fee.

Football

Online service provider StreamAMG has secured OTT rights in Europe to Serie B, the second tier of Italian club football.

Paralympics

Joseph Rivers, research analyst for SportBusiness Intelligence, examines television audiences in selected European markets for the 2016 Paralympic Games.

Basketball

The North American NBA basketball league has extended and expanded rights partnerships with Chinese IPTV provider BesTV and Italian pay-television broadcaster Sky Italia.