Mediaset set to offer free-to-air Champions League coverage in Italy

Italian media group Mediaset will open up its coverage of the Uefa Champions League club football competition to free-to-air television next season, according to multiple reports.

The 2015-16 Champions League campaign saw Mediaset restrict all games featuring competing Italian clubs Juventus and Roma to its pay-television service Mediaset Premium.

However, Mediaset executive vice-president Pier Silvio Berlusconi said the company intends to broadcast Tuesday evening Champions League games via free-to-air channel Canale 5, including key matches played by Italian clubs.

Mediaset holds exclusive rights in Italy for the Champions League in a deal worth just over €230m ($253.5m) per season for three seasons, from 2015-16 to 2017-18.