Serie A TV rights: DAZN considers that the advance payment proposed by Sky Italia is illegitimate

The pay-TV operator Sky Italia is reported to have offered to pay the Lega Serie A, if awarded the domestic broadcasting rights for the 2021-2024 Serie A TIM cycle, €505m three days after the rights are awarded, according to the Italian media on 17/02/2021. This amount corresponds mainly to the remaining payments of the current contract over the 2018-2021 cycle (including € 130m for the end of the 2019-20 season, which is still the subject of a dispute between the League and the broadcaster, see below).

The OTT platform DAZN, which reportedly formulated the best financial offer (€840m per season for 7 out of 10 games per matchday exclusively, and the other 3 games non-exclusive, according to the Italian media) for the 2021-2024 rights, considers Sky Italia's proposal as "a late offer that cannot be accepted because it is illegitimate" and that it would create "a dangerous precedent for the Lega Serie A", in a letter addressed to the League, reported Italian media.

The Italian League is in a private negotiation phase, since 29/01/2021, for its 2021-2024 domestic broadcasting rights…