Serie A

Saran Media secured Serie A rights for 15 territories across Eastern Europe and Central Asia, along with its home country of Turkey, at a slightly lower fee than it previously paid.

Italy’s Serie A was able to capitalise on DAZN’s strategy of securing top European leagues in Spain to strike a late deal, though at a lower fee than it previously earned in the country.

Direct-to-consumer services will soon be an integral part of the international media strategies of Europe’s top five football leagues, with Serie A and the Bundesliga rolling out D2C offerings in multiple markets and the Premier League developing its product.

Serie A clubs, in accepting a total of €900m per season from DAZN and Sky Italia for five seasons, opted for guaranteed rights fees in the face of their high operational losses and debts.

Telefonica and Sport TV renewed their Serie A deals in Spain and Portugal at reduced rates, benefitting from rival broadcasters focusing attention elsewhere.

Telco Telia was able to seal a three-season deal for Serie A in Sweden and Finland for a relatively modest increase amid strong competition and high increases for rights fees in the Nordics.

Indian media group Viacom18’s acquisitions of rights to Italy’s Serie A and France’s Ligue 1 signify the growing presence of tech and media giant Reliance in the Indian sports broadcasting landscape.

China Mobile Migu has acquired streaming rights for Italian Serie A football in a deal covering at least the 2021-22 season, which begins this weekend

Satellite operator Arabsat has branded comments made by a group of major rights-holders as “irresponsible” and “disgraceful” about its alleged role in the Saudi Arabian pirate channel beoutQ dispute. Ara

At stake is the future funding of elite sport through the sale of media rights.

Serie A football clubs Torino and Fiorentina are seeking financial damages from IMG and other unnamed parties, the agency has confirmed in a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)