The Italian parliament is considering giving Serie A football the option to extend current broadcasting contracts that expire next year, in order to prevent a decline in club revenues through the usual process of selling rights through a public auction.
DAZN paid 2.52 billion euros for sports broadcasting, while Sky Italia paid 263 million euros for the right to broadcast the competition matches between the 2021-2022 and 2023-2024 seasons.
This is equivalent to half of what Premier League clubs are paid under current TV broadcast contracts locally, according to European Union (UEFA) data.
Under the proposed legislation, which will be considered by the Senate on Tuesday, league clubs could renew existing contracts beyond June 2024 if they fail to obtain sufficient economic returns through the normal bidding process.
If the legislation is passed, competition clubs will be able to extend existing broadcasting contracts “for the required period, without exceeding 5 years in total.”
The proposal provides for the possibility of renewing existing contracts “after conducting a market test, to determine the ability of another party to offer better conditions.”
The League plans – this year – to open the door to selling television broadcasting rights to its matches in Italy beyond June 2024.
