Sky Italia and Mediaset bag Serie A rights

Italian pay TV operator Sky Italia and broadcaster Mediaset have had their bids for the broadcast rights to top football league Serie A accepted, according to various reports.

Lega Calcio, the governing body of Italy’s soccer leagues, invited bids for three seasons covering 2012-2015. The new deal with News Corp’s Sky Italia will see the DTH operator pay an average of €560 million each season for the rights to all 20 teams. Mediaset’s package is worth about €265 million each season for the rights to 12 teams.

Overall, the deals are worth about five per cent more than existing deals.