Telecom Italia backs DAZN Serie A bid
February 23, 2021
From Branislav Pekic in Rome
Telecom Italia has reached an agreement with DAZN to provide backing in its bid to obtain the TV rights to Italian Serie A football for the 2021-2024 seasons.
The deal, subject to conditions, would see Telecom Italia providing distribution and technological support to the streaming platform, in addition to around €1 billion in financing, according to Bloomberg.
DAZN offered €840 million a season for the football rights and Telecom Italia would be prepared to cover 40 per cent of this amount, or €340 million, well-informed sources told the news agency.
In a confidential letter sent to the Italian Football League on 8 February, DAZN stated that its business plan “includes an important distribution agreement with a partner who’s an industry leader and will provide further support also from a financial point of view”.
In the letter, DAZN claimed that its partner “is committed to the payment of an annual guaranteed minimum equal to more than 40 per cent of the annual total amount due to Serie A.”
The Italian Football League will meet again on February 26th in a new attempt to reach an agreement on the awarding of the TV rights.