Serie A is to enter private negotiations for rights to Italy’s top-flight football after it deemed bids from three broadcasters to be insufficient.
Although Serie A didn’t name the broadcasters directly, they are widely thought to be Comcast’s Sky Italia, MFE-MediaForEurope (the former Mediaset), and streamer DAZN.
Last month, the League said it was targeting figures ranging from €3.6 billion for three-year contracts to €7.2 billion over a five-year period in an attempt to close the gap on other European leagues. However, broadcasters are keen to put a cap on the rising costs of sports rights.
The League plans to meet with the broadcasters privately on June 26, but in a statement it made clear that if no agreement could be reached it would reopen plans for a dedicated Serie A channel, where six bids have already been put forward.
DAZN currently has the rights to broadcast all of the games in the League with Sky holding the rights to three matches per round.
