Serie A TV rights: debate on a free-to-air multiplex and payment order from the League to Sky

Vicenzo Spadafora, the Italian Minister for Sports, has repeatedly declared that Serie A TIM matches will be broadcast free-to-air if the Italian championship is resumed behind closed doors. The Minister notably proposed that the programme "Diretta Gol" (multiplex) broadcast on the channels of the pay-TV operator Sky Italia be on free-TV, like what Sky Deutschland did with the multiplex of the Bundesliga in Germany (For Matchdays 26 and 27 only so far).

"If you deviate from the Melandri law by opening encrypted TV rights, and authorizing their broadcasting in the free-to-air, then you must also open the TV rights to all television operators. Otherwise, an unfair advantage would be granted to pay television. This would be a serious violation of the competition rules. RAI (Italian public audiovisual group) must in turn be able broadcast Diretta Gol, as it has done for Italians abroad for more than 20 years. We wait for a position on this matter on behalf of the RAI CEO," said the RAI Sport journalists' association, in a column on 26/05/2020.

Sky Italia had asked the minister to…