Italian soccer's top-tier Serie A has announced new broadcast rights partnerships in several key markets just ahead of the new season. The league's general assembly disclosed agreements with OneFootball in the UK, Fox Deportes (Spanish-language coverage) in the US, and TV4 (Sweden) and MTV (Finland) in Scandinavia.
The deals were announced last Friday, a day before the commencement of the Serie A matches of new season. In addition to these new partnerships, in the UK, OneFootball will be broadcasting alongside TNT Sports under an existing agreement, CBS' Paramount+ streaming service will provide English-language coverage in the US and new agreements have been made with Finland and Sweden.
Previously, C More held rights for these Scandinavian countries. However, these are fresh deals for those markets.
Changes to media rights selling method
Over recent weeks, Serie A has been working diligently to complete its international broadcast partner portfolio. The league’s international rights tenders have been ongoing since mid-2023. There has been a significant shift from previous methods where most rights were held by Infront agency. Now:
- The league is directly negotiating with broadcasters across various markets.
- However, Infront continues to distribute rights across Asia-Pacific.
Recent deals include DAZN (Spain), Match TV (Russia), and Saran across 15 Eastern European and Central Asian countries. During its last cycle, overseas broadcast rights reportedly brought over $650 million across three seasons for Serie A.
Amazon Prime Video finalize deal for Serie B
The second-tier Serie B is reportedly finalizing a deal with Amazon Prime Video streaming service. This news follows a three-year rights deal between Serie A and DAZN announced last week. The process of selling Serie B's domestic rights for the next cycle has been complex and lengthy. The league had to issue several rounds of tenders before finding a solution at the eleventh hour.
From 2021-22 through 2023-24, Serie B was broadcast by pay-TV operator Sky Italia, and now-defunct streaming service Helbiz. Serie B had considered creating an in-house channel or streaming service as one potential solution. This direct-to-consumer service was seen as the only realistic option at one point.
The league also lobbied Italian soccer’s FIGC governing body to ensure financial security for Serie B and other non-elite soccer competitions in Italy through greater revenue distribution. These new partnerships mark significant changes in the broadcasting landscape of Italian football, offering fans more options to follow their favorite teams while providing leagues with potentially lucrative revenue streams.
