Italy: Regulator opens probe over soccer rights

Italy’s anti-trust authority AGCM said on Tuesday it was investigating the sale of Serie A soccer rights to Sky Italia and Mediaset on suspicion the deal may have violated competition laws and excluded new entrants.

Italy’s soccer league awarded rights to broadcast matches of the eight main Italian teams in the three seasons to 2018 to Sky Italia, part of Sky Plc, and Mediaset in June following an auction that was delayed due to legal complaints by rivals.

The official outcome of the auction was tweaked in a deal that gave Sky Italia exclusive rights to broadcast matches of the other 12 teams in Serie A, a package that had initially been awarded to Mediaset.

Mediaset said in a statement on Tuesday the final agreements relating to the allocation of the soccer rights had received the green light from the communications regulator as well as from the competition watchdog.

“Mediaset is absolutely convinced that the allocation of the TV rights was done correctly,” it said.

Full content: Reuters

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