Sky Italia has renewed its rights agreement with Sky Italia for another three years, gaining exclusivity on the majority of the races. It means the pay-TV platform will hold the exclusive TV and digital rights in Italy for the FIA Formula 1 World Championship through to 2020.
Earlier, it was confirmed that Sky Deutschland is dropping its coverage, because the event is also available on free-to-air television in Germany.
Sky Italia’s agreement includes coverage of the three free practice sessions on Friday and Saturday, qualifying sessions on Saturday afternoon and race on Sunday. The races will be screened on the dedicated channel Sky Sport F1 HD.
“We are very happy to have renewed our partnership with Sky Italia for a further three years,” said Ian Holmes, Director of Media Rights, Formula 1. “Italy is one of the most important countries in the history of Formula 1, where the passion for our sport is part of the DNA of many people, and it is very important to have reached this agreement which will ensure that all the races will be broadcast live.
Matteo Mammi, Senior Director, Sport Rights, Programming and Production, Sky Italia, added: “The new agreement sets a new paradigm in Italy where Sky gets full exclusivity for the first time ever and will broadcast all 21 races of which 17 live on a pay-TV basis only. We look very much forward to the partnership and continuing to serve Formula 1 fans in Italy by offering a broader and enriched multiplatform offer, including a multitude of contents via Sky digital and social media accounts.”
The main support competitions – the FIA Formula 2 Championship, GP3 Series and Porsche Supercup – are also part of the package.
Four of the season’s 21 Grand Prix including the Gran Premio Heineken d’Italia 2018 will be made available on the free-to-air TV8 and Now TV will also stream the entire season.
Recent agreements have also been signed with Movistar+ in Spain and FOX Sports in Latin America.
