Lega Serie A, the organising body of the top division of Italian club football, has said it will enter into private negotiations with bidders for its domestic broadcast rights after offers opened yesterday (Monday) failed to meet the minimum revenue target of €1.05bn ($1.26bn) per season.
The Lega yesterday opened offers after issuing the tender documents for its next set of domestic broadcast rights earlier this month. The rights on offer are for the three seasons spanning 2018-19 to 2020-21, and two separate documents had been issued – one for pay-television operators, digital terrestrial television platforms and internet outlets, along with a subordinate tender intended for independent financial intermediaries.
Bids were due by Monday and the Lega confirmed it had received five offers from broadcasters and media companies, along with one from an independent intermediary. The Lega said that it has declined to accept any of the offers and will enter into private talks in a bid to reach the €1.05bn mark. The total of the highest offers received for the packages did not reach €800m per season, according to multiple reports.
The league, which is advised by the Infront agency, has created five packages of live rights for the tender. The three main packages each contain 248 matches per season, featuring most of the top teams. One of these three packages is for OTT delivery and has a reserve price of €160m per season.
The Reuters news agency said the five bidders were pay-television broadcaster Sky Italia, media group Mediaset, broadcaster Italia Way, telco Telecom Italia and media company Perform. Sky is said to have submitted an offer of €261m per season, versus the base price of €260m, for Package A. This covers pay-television rights to 248 matches per season of eight teams, including Juventus, Napoli, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Lazio and Fiorentina.
Reuters said Sky also entered a bid far less than the target figure of €310m per season for Packages D1 and D2, platform neutral rights for matches featuring Serie A’s other 12 teams, including Roma. The pay-television broadcaster is also said to have bid €170m per season, versus the base price of €160m, for OTT rights held under Package C. Perform and Telecom Italia are also said to have bid for this package.
Mediaset and Italia Way are reported to have presented an offer for Package B, which encompasses digital terrestrial rights for the same content included under A and C. However, Mediaset is only said to have offered €200m per season versus the base price of €260m.
The Lega was forced to draw up a new rights auction after Mediaset refused to participate in the last tender and the only bidders tabled offers that did not meet expectations. Mediaset refused to participate in protest after filing a complaint to Italy’s antitrust authority, the AGCM, over the structure of the sales process, which the broadcaster claimed favoured rival Sky.
The Lega added in a statement that if the private negotiations are not successful, it reserves the right to evaluate the offer presented by the independent intermediary. This is said to have come from Spanish agency Mediapro. Italian newspaper il Fatto Quotidiano said Mediapro has made an offer worth €990m per season.