Pan-European sports broadcaster Eurosport is considering taking legal action following the award of domestic rights for Serie A, the top division of football in Italy, on Friday.
“We note the decision of the league, but we believe it is contrary to the rules of the auction and, for this reason, we are considering all options, including the legal one,” Eurosport said following the award of three of five available packages of rights covering three seasons, from 2015-16 to 2017-18.
Eurosport tabled a bid for Package D, including exclusive platform-neutral live rights to 12 Serie A teams, not including the biggest clubs. The Package was acquired by RTI, pay-television broadcaster Mediaset Premium’s parent company.
RTI also acquired one of the other two packages to be awarded, with pay-television rival Sky Italia acquiring the other package. The rights were awarded after Sky and Mediaset agreed sublicensing deals with each other for the coverage. The deals have left Sky with rights to all 380 matches per season, of which 132 will be exclusive. Mediaset will have the rights to home and away matches of eight teams, including the top four.