2018-2021 Serie A TV rights: the Italian League breaks contract with the audiovisual group Mediapro

The Lega Serie A has terminated - via the unanimous decision of its clubs - the contract for the awarding of the domestic audiovisual rights to the Serie A for the 2018-2021 period with the Chinese-Spanish audiovisual group Mediapro on 28/05/2018. Mediapro refused to provide the security deposit of €1.2bn before 26/04/2018, following a legal challenge by the pay-TV group Sky Italia on 16/04/2018. Mediapro had proposed, on 24/05/2018, to pay a security deposit of €186m to the Italian league, but the majority shareholder of the audiovisual group, the Chinese investment fund Orient Hontai Capital, had still not agreed to the payment of this guarantee.

The Lega Serie A will begin "private negotiations" with pay-TV operators for the allocation of these domestic audiovisual rights for the 2018-2021 period.

Mediapro had been awarded, by the Lega Serie A, the domestic audiovisual rights to the Serie A for the 2018-2021 period as an independent intermediary, for an amount of €1.05bn, on 05/02/2018. Mediapro had put together a (nominally, sub-license) tender comprising seven lots (one for…