Italy: Rai ready to invest €40m per season for one Champions League game per matchday on free-TV

The Italian free-TV group Rai may bid to broadcast one Champions League game per week of the competition on free-TV over the 2018-2021 cycle, according to the Italian newspaper La Repubblica on 03/12/2016. Rai are considering investing €40m per season.

The free-TV group is also considering withdrawing from Formula 1 (Rai shares these rights with Sky Italia) and the TIM Cup (for which it owns rights to from 2015 to 2018 for €22m per season), and to reinvest these funds for the rights to the Champions League.

Mediaset, which acquired exclusive broadcasting rights, in Italy, to the Champions League for 2015-2018 (about €230m per season) on 02/10/2014, could waive its rights to this competition. The Italian free and pay-TV group, owned by the Berlusconi family via Fininvest, could focus on the new tender for the domestic audiovisual rights to the Serie A TIM for the 2018-2021 cycle. Mediaset, Sky Italia, and Rai are the rightsholders to the Italian first division for the 2015-2018 period.

The tender of the Champions League in Europe for the 2018-2021 cycle, organised by TEAM…