
<p>Serie A is struggling to land domestic broadcasting rights. The league’s broadcasting rights, at both domestic and international levels, expire at the end of the 2023/24 season. However, as seen with the Premier League in 2022, leagues like to have their broadcast rights locked up some time in advance. </p>



<p>The Italian top flight is entering private negotiations over the future of its domestic media rights. <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/serie-a-tv-schedule/">Serie A</a> deemed offers from a pair of broadcast entities as too low based on the league’s valuations.</p>



<p>Serie A targeted a 6-year deal worth around <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/serie-targets-up-72-bln-euros-next-domestic-media-rights-deal-2023-05-16/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$7.86 billion</a> for domestic rights. By comparison, the current three-year deal pocketed the league a reported $3 billion. DAZN broadcasts the majority of the games, and Sky Italia also chips in with coverage, albeit not as much as DAZN.</p>



<p>Still, Serie A did not receive any offers that it was overly pleased with. Serie A is fighting to maximize profits, but it may be forced into choosing between three broadcasters. According to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/soccer-italys-serie-enter-private-talks-over-media-rights-2023-06-16/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Reuters</a>, those are DAZN, Sky Italia and MFE-MediaforEurope, formerly known as Mediaset. The league did not release any information about who it would be entering negotiations with.</p>



<p>Regardless, Serie A is fighting an uphill battle, particularly given the profits of other leagues. Namely, Serie A’s current three-year deal is less than half of the domestic broadcasting rights that the Premier League pulls in from English broadcasters. </p>



<h2>Serie A waiting for domestic rights before looking abroad</h2>



<p>Securing a broadcasting partner, or partners, in Italy is the top priority for Serie A. Only then can the league start to look at international deals, including the United States. Just like the domestic rights, <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/cbs-sports-acquire-rights-to-serie-a-for-next-3-seasons-according-to-report-20210323-CMS-329125.html">Serie A’s deal with CBS</a> expires at the conclusion of the 2023/24 season. </p>



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<p>CBS has done great work with Serie A, it simply faces the challenge of continuing that growth. The broadcaster is <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/cbs-could-be-destination-for-more-soccer-leagues-in-the-future-20230619-WST-437512.html">a potential home for a number of leagues</a>, and many of those competitions would do well to find the in-depth analysis that CBS’s array of hosts can provide. </p>



<p><em>PHOTO: IMAGO / Gribaudi/Imagephoto</em></p>


Serie A is struggling to land domestic broadcasting rights that match the league's valuation of nearly $8 billion over six years.

Serie A unable to get favorable offers for domestic rights


<p>Serie A, the top flight of Italian soccer, is considering a move to buy media entity Sky Italia, the Italian branch of Sky Sports. Sky Sports falls under the umbrella of Comcast, which purchased Sky in 2018 for over $40 billion. </p>



<p>According to Italian daily paper <a href="https://www.lastampa.it/economia/2023/03/13/news/la_serie_a_pronta_a_investire_2_miliardi_per_comprare_sky-12690234/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">La Stempa</a>, Serie A is looking to create its own Serie A channel. With a customer count just shy of 5 million subscribers, Sky Italia’s offerings are among the most popular in Europe. As of now, it broadcasts sports, entertainment and news. That does include Serie A games. Currently in Italy, Serie A airs on Sky Italia and DAZN over a three-year deal worth around $2.8 billion.</p>



<p>However, Serie A sees Sky Italia as a way to create a dedicated channel just for the league. Sky Italia carries a heavy infrastructure and established and experienced employees. Therefore, it would be a seamless transition between Comcast and Serie A. Essentially, the employees would take on similar roles to what they already do in covering Serie A. </p>



<p>However, Sky Italia, which has committed significant funding to its development, may not be willing to sell. La Stempa reported that Serie A is ready to invest $2 billion. Select banks, including JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Barclays and Citi, are interested in helping the deal.</p>



<p>The elevated interest right now stems from the fact that the current media rights deal between DAZN, Sky Italia and Serie A ends after the 2023/24 season. As seen with leagues like the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/nbc-wins-premier-league-rights-through-2027-28-20211118-CMS-356238.html">Premier League</a> last season or <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/2022/06/14/mls-signs-10-year-deal-with-apple-tv-in-global-deal/">Major League Soccer</a>, leagues redo their deals around a season in advance.</p>



<h2>Serie A and Sky Italia interest have no impact on US</h2>



<p>For Serie A fans in the United States, the interest in Sky has no impact on American viewership. The deal between <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/cbs-sports-acquire-rights-to-serie-a-for-next-3-seasons-according-to-report-20210323-CMS-329125.html">CBS and Serie A</a> runs through the 2023/24 season, just like the Italian deal with Sky Italia and DAZN. </p>



<p>However, the interest in growth from Serie A could connect to a previous desire for the league to request more out of its international deals. Reports in October stated the league wanted to <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/tv/paramount-may-have-to-pay-more-for-serie-a-rights-in-future-20221020-WST-405084.html">triple its international revenue</a> from broadcasting. The three-year deal with CBS pocketed the league around $220 million. </p>



<p>That being said, it is interesting to see a soccer league eye a media conglomerate the size of Sky Italia. Developments will come, with Sky Deutschland also on the table, according to <a href="https://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2023/03/13/serie-a-considering-sky-italia-bid/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Broadband TV News</a>.</p>



<p><em>PHOTO: IMAGO / Insidefoto</em></p>


Serie A wants to create its own media channel, and it sees Sky Italia as a seamless way to do that with its infrastructure.

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Serie A unable to get favorable offers for domestic rights

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Serie A looking into buying Sky Italia from owners Comcast