Italy

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

Italy’s top-tier Serie A football clubs will meet on Friday to discuss the issue of how to maintain the value of the league’s domestic broadcast rights and increase revenue from overseas rights.

Infront Italy was appointed as media rights-adviser to Serie A for six years, from 2010-11 to 2015-16, after beating rival proposals from the IMG Media and Sportfive agencies

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The IMG agency has contacted Maurizio Beretta, the president of Lega Serie A, to express an interest in becoming the Italian top-tier football division’s new media-rights sales adviser, according to the Corriere della Sera newspaper.

The Discovery Italia arm of US media group Discovery Communications has acquired the exclusive media rights in Italy to the Six Nations rugby union tournament.

Italian state broadcaster Rai has lost its appeal against a court ruling that it should cease encrypting its services, including coverage of Italian national team football games, on pay-television broadcaster Sky Italia.

Italian commercial broadcaster Mediaset has agreed a deal to televise all home games for Italy’s Pro12 rugby union clubs, Benetton Treviso and Zebre, during the 2013-14 season of the competition.