Serie A clubs approve DAZN, Sky bids for Italian TV rights

MILAN : Italy's top flight soccer clubs on Monday approved bids worth at least 4.5 billion euros ($4.8 billion) from DAZN and Sky for the rights to screen Serie A matches for the next five seasons in Italy, league officials said.

According to one source, 17 out 20 clubs voted in favour of the deal that will kick in from 2024-2025.

The clubs had met in Milan on Monday to review offers tabled by streaming services DAZN and Sky which amounted to some 900 million euros per year until the end of the 2028/2029 season.

Domestic TV licences are a crucial source of revenue for Serie A teams such as this year's champions Napoli, Juventus and Milanese clubs AC Milan and Inter but their value falls well short of the most lucrative English Premier League.

Current major rights holder DAZN submitted an offer worth 700 million euros to screen all Serie A matches for the five seasons until 2028/2029 in Italy, sources have previously said.

Sky Italia had offered some 200 million euros to co-broadcast three out of 10 Serie A games per matchday, according to the same sources.

Under a three-year deal expiring next June, Serie A is collecting some 930 million euros per season from the sale of its broadcasting rights in Italy, with DAZN again holding the lion's share.

The new deals may match or even top the value of those current contracts when including some variable components, league officials said on Monday.