Lega Serie A clubs have approved the retention of the Infront Sports & Media agency as the media-rights sales adviser to the top division of Italian football.
The agency’s existing deal, which expires at the end of the 2015-16 season, will be extended for a further two years, from 2016-17 to 2017-18. The contract will be extended for a further three years, from 2018-19 to 2020-21, depending on certain pre-agreed targets being met.
Serie A president Maurizio Beretta said that the deal would guarantee a minimum income of €5.9bn ($8.1bn) for the league over the next six seasons, or an average of €983m per season.
Seven Serie A clubs, including Juventus, Internazionale and Roma, had previously called for the adviser contract to be put out to competitive tender once Infront’s current deal expired.
The clubs rejected an unsolicited offer for their rights from the IMG Media agency before finalising negotiations with Infront.
Nineteen of Serie A’s 20 clubs approved the deal with Infront, with Roma abstaining from the vote. The agency is expected to confirm it has accepted the terms of the deal in the coming days.
Beretta said that the new agreement “takes into account everyone’s needs.” He added: “The most important objective now is to start immediately the rights sales process through an invitation to submit offers.”