Italy’s antitrust authority, the AGCM, has approved a deal to award Spanish agency Mediapro the domestic rights for Lega Serie A, the country’s top football division.
However, the regulator has insisted that Mediapro cannot compete with established broadcasters in Italy, thereby ruling out the possibility of the agency launching a dedicated Serie A channel – for the time being at least. The rights cover three seasons, from 2018-19 to 2020-21.
The AGCM said Mediapro must distribute the rights “in a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory manner”.
Last month, the Lega accepted an offer from Mediapro that was €1,000 above the minimum asking price of €1.05bn ($1.26bn) per season after bids in an auction failed to reach the threshold.
The Infront agency managed the rights-sales process on behalf of the Lega.