The Italian football league, Lega Serie A, is studying the bids it received today, February 3, for four packages of media rights.
The packages contain the rights that the league was unable to sell when it auctioned all of domestic media rights in September. They include live and highlights rights for pay-television digital-terrestrial platforms, free-to-air highlights rights and radio rights. The rights on offer are for three seasons, from 2012-13 to 2014-15.
The Gazzetta dello Sport reported that state broadcaster Rai, had, after all, bid to retain the main free-to-air highlights rights package. The broadcaster had earlier said it would consider dropping its coverage because the league’s asking price was too high.
Commercial broadcaster Mediaset, Rai’s main free-to-air rival, was said not to have bid for free-to-air highlights rights or for the second package of live digital-terrestrial rights, covering eight smaller Serie A teams. The broadcaster has the live rights to the top 12 Serie A teams and is thought to be keeping its powder for a bid for the rights to the Coppa Italia, which have yet to be tendered.
The league had been forced to extend its bid deadline for Serie A by a week, from January 27, because the Rai board had not yet approved a bid.
The league is advised on media-rights sales by the Infront Sports & Media agency.