Serie A looking into buying Sky Italia from owners Comcast
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.
According to Italian daily paper La Stempa, 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.
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.
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.
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 Premier League last season or Major League Soccer, leagues redo their deals around a season in advance.
Serie A and Sky Italia interest have no impact on US
For Serie A fans in the United States, the interest in Sky has no impact on American viewership. The deal between CBS and Serie A runs through the 2023/24 season, just like the Italian deal with Sky Italia and DAZN.
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 triple its international revenue from broadcasting. The three-year deal with CBS pocketed the league around $220 million.
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 Broadband TV News.
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