Italy

State broadcaster Rai has acquired the broadcasting rights in Italy to all the Italian national football team’s matches in the European qualifiers for the Uefa Euro 2016 and the 2018 Fifa World Cup competitions.

Qatari pay-television broadcaster Al Jazeera is closing in on a deal to acquire, or take a controlling stake in, the Mediaset Premium pay-television service of Italian commercial broadcaster Mediaset, according to Italian media sources.

The structure of the two new European club rugby competitions, the Rugby Champions Cup and the Rugby Challenge Cup, beginning in the 2014-15 season

SRO Motorsports, promoter of the GT Series motor-racing organisation, has agreed a host of new broadcast deals ahead of the start of the 2014 season.

Mike Kiernan, analyst for SportBusiness Intelligence, examines television audiences in the home markets for this year’s Six Nations Championship L

The guidelines for the sale of the media rights to Serie A, the top division of Italian football, for the three seasons from 2015-16 to 2017-18 have been approved by the country’s antitrust authority and communications authority.

Italian media group Mediaset has secured a €700m ($966m) loan from three banks to help cover its expenditure on football rights, according to Il Sole 24 Ore.

The Telecom Italia telecommunications company has struck a deal for its Cubovision video-on-demand service to carry the Sky Sport F1 pay-television channel.

Mike Kiernan, analyst for SportBusiness Intelligence, reviews audiences across selected European markets for the Winter Olympics in Sochi

Serie A guidelines give no clues on key question about media rights sales

Mike Kiernan, analyst for SportBusiness Intelligence, reviews the most-watched events of 2013 across 10 of the world’s biggest media markets E

Mediaset’s €700m Champions League gamble is part of Italo/Spanish pay-TV plan

Italian commercial broadcaster Mediaset has acquired media rights for the Motocross World Championship.

Sky Italia has acquired rights for the Uefa Europa League European football club competition after it was confirmed yesterday (Monday) evening that the pay-television broadcaster had been dislodged by commercial broadcaster Mediaset as the rights-holder for the Uefa Champions League club tournament.

Italian commercial broadcaster Mediaset has acquired the rights to the Uefa Champions League club football competition for the three seasons from 2015-16 to 2017-18 and intends to exploit the contract through its pay-television platform Mediaset Premium, according to La Repubblica.

The Lega Serie A assembly, comprising the 20 clubs of the top division of Italian football, has approved the guidelines for the sale of media rights for three seasons, from 2015-16 to 2017-18.