Italy

Eurosport has been announced as a launch partner for the new Xbox One video game console in a deal that will offer customers in various European markets the opportunity to access the pan-European sports broadcaster’s coverage of sporting events.

Winter Sports

Pay-television broadcaster Sky Italia has signed a deal with Telecom Italia for Sky’s dedicated Sochi 2014 winter Olympics channels to be carried by the telecommunications company’s TIM broadband and ultra-broadband networks.

Football

Italy’s Serie A clubs have agreed in principle to extend Infront Sports & Media’s role as media-rights sales adviser to the Lega Serie A, the top division of Italian football, but not on the terms proposed by the agency, according to media reports.

Olympics

Italian commercial broadcaster Mediaset is close to acquiring free-to-air rights to the Sochi 2014 winter Olympic Games in a sub-licensing agreement with pay-television broadcaster Sky Italia, according to the Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper.

Basketball

Pay-television broadcaster Sky Italia has acquired the exclusive Italian rights to North American basketball league the NBA in a three-year deal running from the 2013-14 to 2015-16 seasons.

Football

The Infront Italy arm of the Infront Sports & Media agency has filed a lawsuit against Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera concerning “false rumours and misinformation” contained in reports surrounding its role as media-rights sales adviser to the Lega Serie A, the top division of Italian football.

Football

Tough Italian market is World Cup opportunity for MP & Silva

Eurosport in difficult carriage negotiations with Sky Italia

Football

The Infront Sports & Media agency, media-rights sales adviser to the Lega Serie A, has offered to guarantee the league media-rights income of €5.5bn ($7.5bn) over the six seasons from 2015 to 2021 to retain its role with the top division of Italian football.

Cycling

Italy’s RCS MediaGroup, the organiser and commercial rights-holder of the Giro d’Italia cycling race, has suspended three managers at its sports division in connection with an internal investigation into suspect transactions, according to the Reuters news agency.

Football

The MP & Silva agency has been appointed by football’s world governing body Fifa to serve as the exclusive sales representative for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup media rights in Italy.

Football

Italian pay-television broadcaster Sky Italia has agreed a deal with Lega Pro, the governing body of the Prima Divisione and Seconda Divisione, for highlights rights to the 2013-14 season of Italian club football’s third and fourth divisions.

Gymnastics

Italian state broadcaster Rai has agreed a four-year rights deal with the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) covering competitions leading up to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Basketball

The Italian basketball league, Lega Basket, has agreed rights deals with state broadcaster Rai and the MP & Silva agency.

Football

Italian pay-television broadcaster Sky Italia has said it would be willing to pay more for exclusive pay-television rights to Serie A football for the three-year period spanning the 2015-16 to 2017-18 seasons, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.

Cycling

Pauline McVey, analyst for SportBusiness Intelligence, examines live television audiences in key European markets for the centenary edition of cycling’s Tour de France T
Athletics

Pauline McVey, analyst for SportBusiness Intelligence, examines television audiences in Europe for the last month’s World Athletics Championships in Moscow T
Cycling

The International Cycling Union (UCI) and marketing partner the Infront Sports & Media agency have said the forthcoming Road World Championships will receive an “unprecedented level” of television coverage, including exposure for the first time in Middle Eastern, South American and Israeli markets.