Mediaset, Sky, Fox and Eurosport bid for Italian football
June 6, 2014
From Branislav Pekic in Rome
Mediaset, Sky Italia, Fox and Eurosport have submitted sealed bids for the Italian Serie A football TV rights for the period 2015-2018, with a total starting price of €2.88 billion.
Lots A and B include the rights to the matches of 8 Serie A teams, respectively on the DTH and DTT distribution platforms. The two packages are alternate, i.e. one bidder can be awarded only one of the two lots. Both have a minimum price of €273 million for the season 2015, rising to €274 million in 2016 and €275 million in 2017.
Lot C covers the additional images (pre-match, changing rooms etc..) and starts from a base of €66 million for the first season, going up to €68 million in the third season. Lot D is for the rights for 132 matches of the remaining 12 smaller clubs and starts at €705 million.
Fox and Sky Italia submitted bids for all 4 lots (A, B, C and D), Mediaset is in the running for lot A and two bids for lot B, while Eurosport is only bidding for lot D. No bids arrived for the internet/IPTV/OTT/mobile telephony rights package, valued at €108-110 million.
The Italian Football League now has 21 days to evaluate the offers.