Italian Serie A football club Inter Milan has rebranded its television channel as part of a major revamp of its in-house media operations.
Launching under the banner of Inter Media House, the new initiatives intend to better serve the club’s fan base, both in Italy and overseas.
Seventeen years on from its creation in September 2000, the Inter Channel will be rebranded as Inter TV. New studios and technology have been introduced to make the channel a fully HD experience.
Inter TV is currently distributed in Italy exclusively via pay-television broadcaster Sky and Inter said overseas content will be created both via a twice-weekly magazine show and daily content. The latter content will be provided in China via online streaming platform PPTV and Indonesia through a telecommunications provider that is yet to be determined.
Inter, which is owned by Chinese conglomerate Suning Holdings Group, said it will also undertake special projects involving virtual and augmented reality, while it has launched a new app to harness the content.
Inter chief executive Alessandro Antonello said: “Football is changing and football clubs are becoming more and more like media and entertainment companies. Inter is a club with a long history – we celebrate our 110th birthday on March 9 next year – and we’ve enjoyed a great deal of success down the years. That’s why we’re one of the biggest football brands in the world.
“We want to ensure we remain at the forefront of the game in this time of great change by exporting our brand outside of Italy.”