Lega Serie A strikes Italian cup deals in multiple markets

Italy’s Lega Serie A last week announced new deals for its club-competition rights covering a host of markets.

Serie A has sold rights to the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana for three seasons, from 2018-19 to 2020-21, to three companies: pay-television broadcaster Sport TV in Portugal (including the Azores and Madeira); the Pragosport agency in Hungary and Romania, ex-Yugoslavia (Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia), as well as the Czech Republic and Slovakia; and the B4 Capital agency across South America (excluding Brazil) and in Greece and Cyprus.

B4’s rights across South America will be exclusive in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, the Falkland Islands, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela; and non-exclusive in Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, French Guiana and Trinidad and Tobago.

All Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana international rights were held by B4 in the three-season cycle, from 2015-16 to 2017-18.

The Lega opened a private negotiation process for international rights to the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana in the new cycle earlier this year, with initial bids due on July 23.

The only other international rights deal to have been agreed for the new cycle so far is understood to be in the US, where pay-television broadcaster ESPN has acquired the rights.